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Digging through my stash of spalted maple I found two pieces with exceptionally wild and crazy pattern in the grain. Not knowing how they might turn out, I gave it a shot. These are the results. The bowl measures 1 3/4" high by 4" wide, and the vase 7" tall by 2-7/8" wide, all outside dimensions. The vase was particulary challenging to hollow out evenly all the way down to the bottom. But with patience and keeping my tools sharp, I managed to get the the sides and bottom a consistent 3/16" in thickness.

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Nice looking bowl. That is certainly beautiful spalted maple! Where is a good source for spalted wood?

Sometimes I see bowls with thicker sides and sometimes the sides seem almost paper thin. Is there a reason to choose one thickness over another? Someday I hope to dust off the lathe and learn how to do turning.
 

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Love that spalted stuff! Great job, Ted.
 

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Hi WoodNSawdust. I find most of my wood from trees cut down. One good source is the Free Stuff section of http://craigslist.org, I just search for free wood. People will often have a tree cut down and don't know what to do with the logs, so they post an ad on craigslist telling people to come and get it. Often, it will sit on the ground for a long time, thus the spalting.

The thickness of the sides is mostly personal preference but also some like the challenge of seeing just how thin they can make it. I could have made the vase a bit thinner but I want people to actually use my stuff.

Thanks Candy, I got lucky with this wood.
 

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Ted, that's some really beautiful work. That wood is outstanding. Good job…..
 

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Ted, thanks for the pointer for the free wood. I have looked for lumber for sale but never thought of free wood. I assume that you have a mill and kiln to dry it?
 

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Nice looking pieces there.
Ya done did the wood good!!!
 

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WoodNSawdust, no mill or kiln needed. I use a chainsaw to cut the logs into manageable size pieces, then cut them further on my bandsaw. Before I had a chainsaw I used my reciprocating saw, circular saw, ax… whatever it takes. Of course the chainsaw is a heck of a lot faster.

Some of the wood I get has been sitting for a long time, so is already somewhat dry. If it's wet then I leave some pieces to dry and turn some pieces still wet. The finished pieces may distort some after they're turned, but that's okay… just part of my preference to keep it natural. Sometimes they distort too much or develop cracks. That's just the way it goes, sometimes we win and sometimes we don't. I still enjoy the craft of turning and that's what matters most. So just get some wood and do what you can with what you have, and have fun. :)

Thanks, Gary. The vase is my favorite turned piece so far. I've use up most of the wood these pieces came from. I'll have to check if that pile of wood is still there and grab some more of it.
 

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Thanks Randy, but I have to say the wood did me good. As Monte says "Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it." or in this case, I just turn it. ;)
 

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Great results Ted.
 

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Great job, beautiful wood.
 

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Sweet…..
 

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John, Cricket, Eddie, Branch, Monte, Marty, Bob… Thank you! :)
 

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Ted, You did that gorgeous wood proud.
 

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Came out awesome!! Nice job with some fine looking wood!
 

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Thanks Andy, Thanks Sue. :)
 
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