[bond3737]

Strange as it is, Ive never worked that much with ash. Few bowls here and there but nothing too crazy. It's not a bad wood! really cool when you get it nice and thin. Dries out in a snap both of these were finished the same day they were turned. I'm sure they will warp a bit but I turned em pretty darn thin so hopefully it wont be that bad.They both had some nifty sunburst (what I think are mineral stains) commin out of the heartwood. Anybody have a favorite finish for ash? I've tried a few but I really kind of like the coloring when it's natural... The vase was the tallest thing I think I've turned at 13 inches... Was pretty relieved to finish it without incident oh also... anyone have any good plans for building a photo booth? some of my camera pics just dont show the piece that well :furious: anywho... enjoy all, happy turnin,
Bond

 

[guglipm63]

Pretty cool looking pieces.

 

[Nate Bos]

Sweet! Burn it!:furious::furious:, no seriously, my favourite finish for ash is burned, like David Ellesworth does on some of his pieces.

 

[djg]

Man you did turn those pieces thin! Nice, both of them. I prefer a natural finish, if you're counting votes.

On the vase, is that center pith or a side branch? I always have trouble seeing the orientation of the blank in the log.

 

[Bonanza35]

Beautiful pieces Bond. The first is my favorite. The grain patterns are so prominent in ash and that shape really enhances the visual impact of the grain to my eye. The tall vase is great too. Interesting orientation. I want to see it in a week since the wood movement may give it an asymmetrical shape. Since the top is already asymmetric it might be a really cool effect. Either way I hope you'll post follow ups.
I always cringe when it comes time to finish fresh ash because I love how white it is and I'm less crazy about the yellow I usually end up with. No good advice on that one, sorry. I've done the burn and buff thing and it is really cool but it always checks on me, no matter how dry it is. Everyone loves how they feel though.

 

[Tambotie]

Bond very well done. I do not know if you have access or can purchase a penetrating oil / wax that is compatible with a poly varnish. If you can get the wax / oil then pour some in the two pieces and swirl around a few times and let the excess lay in the bottom do this every day for a week and there should be no cracks as this liquid wax or oil will displace the water / sap in the wood.

 

[wood shavings]

finish

If you are looking for very little change in color and an easy to work with finish, give mineral oil a try. Should work well on that piece as thin as it is it will be no problem seeing when it has soaked through.

Jerry

 

[Travico]

That is CRAZY good looking THIN!! I was thinking, like a wooden Lamp!

 

[duncsuss]

Great looking pieces, Bond -- love that translucent effect!

 

[20/20]

Very nice pieces. I've had the luck to find a bunch of ash, seems nice to turn, holds shape well and dries decent. It's odd though one piece is simple no real character, then another piece is full of natures deigns.

 

[bond3737]

thanks all! good info on the finishes and while I want to try the burn method I dont have a buffing wheel and I'm to big of a wimp to try it out on these guys anyway. I'd up n lose it if it burned it to nothing. perhaps on the next ash log I get Ill give it a shot. djg- both of the pieces are side grain turned with no pith anywhere in the piece. Just heart wood and sap wood. If you were to picture the log on the tall one I cut a 6 inch thick cookie and then trimmed off the edge and made a cut about 3-4 inches to the left of the pith leaving about half sapwood and half heartwood. The smaller one was oriented with the heartwood on the bottom and the sapwood on top. The mineral stains looked so freeking cool in the raw form but sadly not all of them could be used and some did not carry all the way through like good wood should:thumbdown: thanks for looking all and thanks for the advice on finish. Think I may try a bunch of the suggestions on some scrap ash before I use on a piece. Ill see if I can resize the before pics to show some of the before pics, my phone camera has a mind of it's own... sometimes it takes uploadable shots, sometimes it doesnt, no idea with the x factor is.... happy turnin all,
Bond