This is one of the other pieces I purchased Sunday night. It had several bark inclusions which I broke loose before starting.
I had high hopes that the black coloring was more than just superficial. To that end I planned to turn a hollow form in this orientation, with the black color and the voids on the top.
This is what I planned to be the bottom. The piece started at 9" diameter and 4.5" thick. I was told it is elm but I now suspect it's maple.
This is a section of the Birdseye Maple veneer boule. Even in a dirty and rough state the intense Birdseye figure is clearly visible.
And here's the crack running down the side. It's unfortunate that this defect is present but that's what happens when green wood dries too fast.
On the end you can see where the drive centers from the veneer lathe gripped the log as the veneer was being cut. I normally use a 1" diameter drive center. The veneer lathe used one at least 6" diameter.
The remainder of the veneer boule. 6" diameter and just under 6' long.
I roughed out the outside of both pieces and then started hollowing with a small scraper. The piece on the right is the piece I hoped would have all the black coloring. That coloring ended up being only on the surface. After seeing the coloring and the spalting patterns I decided to flip the orientation of the blank.
The large void will now be on the bottom and the the lighter color and bug holes on the top.
Profile view of both pieces. I was afraid that I would be disappointed with the blank without the black coloring. In some ways I think that this coloring is better.
Close up view of the Birdseye figure. This stuff is very intense, I can't wait to get it finished.
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