VERY Spalted Ash !!

[TWiG]

A recently completed H/F in a piece of very spalted Ash , about 10" tall ,  the spalting is  in a very advanced state in some areas , showing the black zone lines raised above the surrounding softer wood , next to smooth , sound areas of wood , it was just a "feasibility  study " really just to see if anything nice could be made from such a decayed piece of wood , needless to say it is quite a fragile piece and took great care to turn , especially the hollowing ....I am pleased with the result , but not planning another just yet ...Terry ..

[TWiG]

A close up of the spalting

[edbanger]

Nothing like a challenge and I think with a great deal of success in this case. Well worth the time and effort

Ed

[Bryan Milham]

Twig,

I've seen Spalted timber, that's not spalted, that's rotten! How did you ever manage to get a smooth finish on it?

Whatever you did, you made a damn fine job of it.

[Les Symonds]

Hats off to you....hollow forms can often be left a little 'raw' on the inside, but when there's voids as big as this, the condition of the inside becomes rather more important. A great piece of wood which oozes character.

Les.

p.s. ... it would really help if you could get the picture sizing sorted!

[TWiG]

p.s. ... it would really help if you could get the picture sizing sorted!
[/quote]                                                                                                              I am not the only one who finds this site pretty awkward with regards posting pictures , not sure why but other sites ( non turning ) I have no problems with .                                         I am glad that some of you like it anyway !!

[Eric Harvey]

nice rewarding piece Terry,love the close up,its great when you can turn a piece this rotten without it exploding and get such a good result,as to the sizing,I always reduce mine through picasa 3  to 800  pixels size,then I don`t have any problems here,cheers,

Eric.

[bodrighywood]

I suppose it's unnecessary to say that I love this? Only thing I don't like is that it was you making it not me lol. When I get pieces ascragileas this I bind them asecurely with trade cling film tape before doing the inside. I know some people have suggested duct tape but with woods like this it can rip lumps out when you remove it. Lovely work


Pete

[flames]

This is a great one Terry, what have you used to remove the punky wood around the splating lines?
I do this with a wire cup wheel on an angle grinder - seems to work better that a slower wire wheel in a drill, but does cause scorching if not done carefully.
Tom

[TWiG]

Cheers Tom , Yes I use  a wire brush , but this time in a drill , I think the angle grinder would be a bit too aggressive !!  I also used a stiff plastic brush as well , I then sprayed the soft bits with acrylic sanding sealer and gave a quick brush after this so the surface looked natural rather than plastic , the fluid soaked in enough to consolidate the soft wood .  The remaining areas I sanded and finished as normal ........Terry ..