little cypress vessel
little cypress vessel
little cypress vessel
walnut bowl with foot
walnut bowl rim detail
noyer bol à pied
crabapple vessel
crabapple vessel
These are all available over at Baumwerk.
Turnings in Walnut, Cypress, and Crabapple
The School of the Transfer of Energy
workshop studio land
The School of the Transfer of Energy 
Such rich, vivid work. ‘Little Cypress Vessel’ sounds like a song. These are all so beautiful! You really create great objects Jack!
It does sound like a song. I’ll have to see where that goes. Thank you, Steven, for the encouraging words, they mean a great deal.
These are so beautiful! I understand how the outside is shaped, but how do you shape the inside?
Thank you Diana. In order to shape the inside I have a couple of tools, which are basically hardened metal scrapers on a bent neck or shaft. The bent neck allows me to reach the interior curves of the vessel, while the scraper offers a more universal cutting approach, as opposed to a more specific gouge, which would be limited in its angles by the small mouth of the vessel. I have to stop often along the way and check the thickness of the walls along the way with calipers or my fingers so I don’t cut through too far.
Do knots and irregularities impact how the scrapers work? (I’ve never done any real woodwork before.) Those irregularities add tremendous character to a piece, but I wonder in they make the wood harder to work with?
Not too much. Some woods are certainly harder than others, and some are more abrasive, while not necessarily harder. These more abrasive woods (cottonwood is one) tend to dull my tools which slows me down a lot. Knots and irregularities are usually only moderately harder than the surrounding wood and I am taking a very small cut to begin with. The scraper is shaped with only a small bevel on the underside, so that the angle engaging the wood is only a little less than 90 degrees. This acts like a jig, keeping the scraper from trying to cut too deeply and catching, especially on irregularities. So taking a small cut with each rotation keeps things consistent.
I’m surprised to learn Cottonwood is abrasive! Their young branches are so pliant and soft.
It is funny. Imagine a sponge with sand in it. It is soft yet filled with abrasive particles. That is how cottonwood is. Elm is another. Persimmon is hard, but cuts like butter. Hedge -or osage orange is hard, but not abrasive- but it is incredibly dense and slow cutting. Walnut is kind of middle of the road.
Such beautiful objects and forms, and I love the quality of light and color you are getting with your camera. The photos do the pieces great justice!
The marbling on that little cypress vessel makes it look so flulid that it could have been made out of clay…
Thanks, Mikey. I feel like I am on a quest to understand and find a beautiful and authentic form. The cypress is such a simple and sweet wood to work with. I am glad it crossed my path!
beautiful shape, beautiful wood love it!
Thank you, Astrid. I am honored by your visit and comment.
beautiful!
Thank you, Namesi!
Why am I not surprised that you have a BFA…. the shapes are perfection and so beautifully thin!