| Black Walnut Distended Hollow Vessel 7" Max Diam 5.75" Min Diam 4.5"H | |
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What you see head-on in the first picture is the bark that I had left on this piece. The two piths (centers of the tree around which you see the growth rings) are on the left and the right ends of the vessel in this picture. I almost always turn my pieces when the wood is green, i.e., it still has a fairly high moisture content. After turning, the piece is set aside to dry, and, in the process, it becomes elongated in the axis of the piths. That is very evident in this piece, as you can see in the second picture. When I had finished turnign the piece, it was round. After it finished drying, one axis was more than 20% longer than the other! Because my pieces are primarily decorative, I leave it as it is--in fact, many of my customers are fascinated by the fact that this happens. | |