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Bookends


RangerJay

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Here are a pair of bookends I just finished up for a Charity Fundraiser Golf Tournament in September.  It is the 2nd Annual Presidents Golf Tourney and Auction put on by the Canadian Hearing Society to raise scholarship funds intended to support Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students in their post-secondary schooling. 

The burl is Red Mali (Australia), the backing is Red Elm, and the base is Walnut..  The patterns are re-purposed from from Sue Mey clock patterns.

The burl was a bit of a challenge - I had originally wanted it to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of an inch thick - didn't take me long to figure out that wasn't going to happen - I did try an experiment at 1/2 inch and was steadily breaking drill bits and blades - so finally settled on 1/4 inch - which went OK - but still broke a couple of drill bits.

Anyway, I'm reasonably pleased with how it turned out - the grain of the burl is stunning (the pictures do not do it justice) - but I think I would do a little more pondering on how best to cut the golf shaft - and pretty sure I'd do it a little differently .....

Comments welcome,

 

Jay20170620_142522.thumb.jpg.c7d99bb60612dd3557606d481b683434.jpg

20170620_143242_edited-1.jpg

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The wood is beautiful, but I know from experience how hard it is so you did an amazing job.  I got myself a burl when I was woodturning and my chisels would not touch it so I took it to a guy that had been turning for a heck of a lot long than me and even he could hardly make a dent in it.. We eventually put it in the too hard basket.  :lol::lol::lol: No we oiled it and it now sits on my dresser.

 

Marg

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Thanks everyone for your responses and very kind comments.

Rob:

  • I did pretty much my normal finish which in this case was 6 coats of Minwax polyurethane spray (semi-gloss) followed by furniture paste wax that is applied with 0000 steel wool. I sprayed the piece with the burl face flat - I did not want to create even the hint of any opportunity for the polyurethane to slump or run.  The only other thing different that I did was add a coat of Claphams Beeswax Polish to all - first time I've done this - I don't really think it made any special difference to the walnut or elm - but (at least in my mind) it did seem to make the colours and swirls of the burl a bit richer.

Wombatie:

  • I had never heard of Red Mali before but was really taken with the look of the grain - once I started working it I was surprised at how hard this wood was - my only other experience with a burl was on Maple but it was nowhere close to the hardness of this Red Mali.  I also have a burl slab from a Yellow Box tree which is heavier and feels even more dense than the Red Mali - I'm guessing it will also be difficult to work with - any hints??

Thanks again everyone,

 

Jay

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