From start to finish

[bodrighywood]

Some time ago I was given a rootball by the gardener. He didn't have a clue what it was as it had been chopped down and he just dug it up for someone. I had to clean all the mud out, trim the root back to a workable base then start turning. s soon as I did the first cut I knew it was pine from the smell. Over the next week or two I rough turned the outside, let it settle as it was pretty green still, then cleaned it up and did the inside. I found that virtually all the lower part was roots that weren't attached by much, just sort of hanging on by being tangled with one another. I CA glued it until it was as stable as I could hope for and finished the inside. The wood was really soft and came out like butter from the inside but cleaned up pretty easily on the outside. Just finished today and am in the process of sorting it out as a piece. At the moment I have it mounted on two bits of riven slate. It's 220mm tall and 190mm wide, not including the slate.I'll probably adjust and fiddle with it over the next few weeks until I am happy with it.
C+C welcome as always

[edbanger]

Well I think if it had been my piece of wood it would have been in the firewood pile but after seeing this not any more I like the whole thing it looks very effective 

Ed

[georg]

 That looks like you had a bit of a challenge there Pete   You have managed to get a lovely shape
which is pleasing to the eye......like it a lot
  Di and Tony

[Eric Harvey]

its great when you get a nice piece like this out of something that looks rough and fit for the firewood pile,well done its a nice piece,the best bit is when the roots stay together for you to turn the base,it can be very tricky talking from experience,cheers,

Eric.

[Graham]

I have looked at this several times now. Mostly I am amazed. It would never have occured to me to try turning something like that. The resultant vase looks good but I am not sure what the slate brings to the party.

[woodndesign]

Well it's gone from Worzel Gummidge to a seal Pup and finally a good old English Bull Dog ... well we all read something into a piece... nice to have the detailed WIP, goes to show what can come slowly out of the oddest of timbers.

Your usual fine work, Pete.

Cheers  David

[bodrighywood]

Thank you guys. I do like the challenge of seeing what I can get (if anything) out of something that initially looks impossible. No doubt I will fiddle with this for a while before finally feeling good about it but we'll see.
Graham, the slate is because a piece like this needs to be elevated and have some sort of contrasting base, at least that is how I think.

Pete

[Graham]

Pete. I appreciate why you use the slate, it is the same thing you often do to great affect with a piece of old oak or some such.
If I screw up my eyes and just concentrate on the vase I see it on a polished circle of dark wood, still off centre as you have done.
Obviously it is your creation and vision not mine but you did say you didn't want just a string of Ooos, Ahhs and wows

[bodrighywood]

No problem Graham. Oohs and aahs are only acceptable if followed immediately with a cheque or bundle of cash LOL. I don't glue these things up and they often end up[ different in arrangement as I fiddle or Mo does, what looks good at first can sometimes stat to loo wrong after a bit so it can take months to get to the final 'It's for sale' stage. Input like yours can help the thinking process.

Pete

[Bryan Milham]

Mark Sanger introduced us to Wabi Sabi, with his visions and interpretations of it.

Pete, you've taken that vision and brought you own feel to it, it's a vision so different from the starting point we were introduced to, as to almost be worthy of a separate descriptive name.

For me the shape of the vase funnel sits well on the top of the vase bulb and together if the rest iof the vase was a normal turning it would still look good.

But then below that the rootball becomes an interesting counterpoise to the whole, the main twist of the root makes me see the Great Red Spot storm that rages on Jupiter, or the flow of a hurricane raging across the atlantic.

The raging balances the calm, it is full of (e)motion.

[bodrighywood]

Thank you. Must admit making pieces like this is always a bit of a gamble, will I get anything worthwhile from the wood? Or in fact anything at all. Not `100% sure about the slate bade but it will sit around for a while so may get changed before it ends up on the market.

Pete

[Haggy]

Amazing result- you have put so much time into this.  I hope you show the gardener who gave you the root ball!
I wouldn't have thought of turning something like this -  it really helps us novices  to see what is possible.
  Thanks for posting
        Haggy