That is one very nice platter Barbs, I have been playing with some mahogany myself lately it can be dirty stuff to work with & a bit "teary" at times. This looks like Honduran mahogany as opposed to African which is gererally a lot darker. If you ever have to fill some of the grain lines wet sand it with Danish oil & the slurry will help fill up,also leaves a great finish, (I always clean of the Danish straight away so it dont go "sticky" & take too long to dry.)
You have made a fantastic job of this one a beaut size also, hey what did you do with that rim?? looks great )
Thanks all. I didn't know the patterning would be such a puzzle! The edge has two U-shaped grooves with a flat in between, then I used a Lee Valley carving stamp (square one) on point to stamp the diamond pattern around it. Finished the sanding at 10:30 pm, and began the stamping process. My 90-yr. old mother lives upstairs, and today I apologized for finishing up my wood project so late at night. Told her I was hammer-stamping the edging, and she said, "I know. Three taps, then three taps, then… three taps…then…."
Pete, I think African mahogany is the lighter variety? This was quite light before I oiled it with Watco Fruitwood.
Sheee Zamm that's one beautiful platter. I really like the detail around the edge. I know your mother knows the tap tap tap was well worth it. Great job by a super lady.
Babs you may be right? Afrcan Mah' (Khayab ivorensis) is gererally held to be less stable & used as an alternative to the more favoured Honduran variety (Swietenia macrophylla) which is accepted as the true mahogany, I have always taken the African as more open grained & slightly darker.
I think it is fasinating what we side track into on this site.
Lets forget about that anyway, this is a realy beautiful piece, & I am more interested in this "CARVING STAMP" what's this all about? never heard of these things before, come on spill the beans : )))
Barbs: A beautiful platter. The wood species shouldn't be anything to distract from the great job.
But the Mahogany that I've got the Genuine mahogany is lighter than the African Mahogany. But I've found a lot of variations in the color of the Genuine Mahogany, because it can come from different regions in South America.
The beauty of that platter is self evident. A great job on the creation.
Man, that is one big platter! Very nice craftsmanship. I was thinking that you carved all those embossments around the platter, and how much work that would take. I see you used a stamp from lee Valley. I think that is much easier. A really nice touch. Great job.
Thanks so much! I'm glad you all like it. Here is a link to Lee Valley's carvers' punches, which are all just filed in cross-cuts, but come in several different shapes so you can get into corners or different areas, usually as background filler:
Lee Valley Carver's Texturing Punches http://tinyurl.com/62h2yjt
Beautiful platter Barb and thanks for the info on the stamping. You just opened up a whole new avenue on decorative enhancements for my own turning. I have some pieces I have been wanting to use for plates but wanted something to add to it. Now I know
Sounds like your mother spent some time in the shop with you. I always counted seconds before the thunder is heard from a lightning flash. I imagine your mother was doing something similar. "Tap tap tap done, tap tap tap, done…"