Woodturning Design - Birch Crotch - Page 1
Initial wood turning design thoughts on a piece of birchwood
| This piece of birch is fairly dry, about 8" high and wide, 6" in rough diameter, and has crotch wood on one side and a branch coming out of the other giving a sort of crotch pattern as well. |
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| Looking at the "back" of the piece the crotch is even more evident on either side and some lichen is seen growing on the bark. While this is not uncommon on birch trees it usually indicates some internal color. |
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| Tipping the section over and examining the top reveals some central color, good grain and contrast from the separation of growth on the upper right and some mushroom growth on the branch tip indicates a good chance of spalting. There should be a lot of color contrast as well as grain movement. |
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| A quick 180° rotation shows a lot of mushroom growth and even more chance of spalting. There appears to be a more solid aspect to the bottom than the top indicating that the separating branches have not weakened the structure to the point where a solid turning is unlikely. In other words, I have a good chance of turning this without it breaking apart in my face. |
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| I would like to have the two offset branches leaving from opposite sides of a hollow form. The hollow form shape should allow for a demonstration of the crotch pattern on both top and bottom of the piece. Moving it on the sawbuck I aim to slice down one side in such a way as to have the centers of the branches, top and bottom more or less coplanar once the faceplate is in place. |
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| It looks about right. Not much chance to change now although I could mount it between centers and play a bit to fine tune it. I do not think it will be necessary. |
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Please let me know of any comments or ideas.
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