Hollow Form - Vase

This is a hollow form turned from an as-yet-to-be-identified species.

It is about 7 1/2” tall and a little over 7 1/2” in diameter.

The color is all artificial … KEDA alcohol-based aniline dyes. I mixed clear shellac into the dye (about 1 part shellac for 15 parts dye), applied the color, fired it with a lighter, then knocked the piece back with 320 grit. I repeated the process with a different color, using brown, red, yellow, and brown again in that order. I sanded to 800-grit, and finished with 5 coats of wipe-on poly.

The use of shellac with the dye is something I learned from Jimmy Clewes. He says the shellac binds the color to the alcohol, which aids finishing process … with each coat of color the wood becomes more progressively sealed, therefore the later colors soak in less.

I included a couple of shots of the rough piece on the lathe before any color was applied … if anyone cares to hazard a guess as to the species, feel free! Sorry, I stripped the bark off before I had presence of mind to get the camera fired up.

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"