Holes

Hi Boru,

Turn it and see what you get. I have done some pieces with worm holes and they look great. I turned a pen and it has a worm hole and my friend pick that one because it was so unique. Good luck.

Dan

This might sound a little silly to some, but I am tired of the pieces I see that are sanded and finished to the point that they look like they are some kind of resin, not wood.

I always enjoy the contributions of Mother Nature to the overall design, and worm holes, knots and other "features" made by her are almost always welcome.

Now if the bowl was made to use for salads or anything else that goes to the table I would want it as blemish free as possible. Otherwise, I have a tendency to look for the more "featured" pieces of wood.

Robert

I like pieces with 'character'.

As someone on this group once told me, "If it holds water, it's a bowl - if it doesn't it's Art."

I like turning wood with worm holes, I always get something interesting to me and to others.

If the worms are still in them, it's a bit messy.

Old Guy

make sure the worms dont get dizzy from the turning. this is easily achieved by giving the bowl some microwave quality time. to your point - wood with character is always a plus, though the average Joe might like his un-naturally perfect.

I sell some stuff through a local gallery - items with lots of worm holes sell as well as those without - I clean out the holes and turn thin enough that the perforated nature is clear to the viewer. It does make it harder to vacuum chuck the end result though.....

Just got back from a craft sale, made a few bucks, not bad. Got this piece, a burr-yew box with a fancy alabaster lid, this old lady looked at it and said she liked it, I turned it round to show her a natural hole and burr shape in it, "Oh its a pity about that isn't it", Doh! Turned out she wanted perfect, no features and looking like polished glass.

In message , Tom S writes

As long as the holes are not where I'll be working, I just stick a piece of masking tape over them. Helps conserve vacuum.

actually, I was attempting humor - when I need to vac chuck something with holes, I just put a plastic bag over it - masking tape leaves glue behind and costs something, plastic bags are everywhere and do the job just fine unless the hole is REALLY big, in which case you can bridge it with paper or cardboard.

Thanks for the replies. I do wish I`d found this group a long time ago, ye are all very helpful. :)

Boru

Slack Linux #328989

I was working on a butternut vase that had hundreds of little worm holes and having a hell of a time keeping them open... the shavings and sanding dust kept plugging them up and I wanted them to be a feature of the piece..

Chuck had a great idea: Wax the rough sanded piece on the lathe to fill the holes, sand to whatever grit you want and then hit it with a heat gun to melt the wax out.. worked great.. Actually, I did a show this weekend and almost sold that ugly sucker.. If you happened to see my "Baja Art Show" post on ABPW, it's on the back corner of the extra table..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Yep.. and bowls are cheap, art is expensive..

I sold 3 bowls this weekend and 2 of them had fairly large holes in them..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Those are the folks that I direct to the nearest Wal-Mart..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Just for discussion's sake, I wonder if "worm holes" are really worm holes. I would think that the Powder Post Beetle would be a more likely candidate for the job. And, if so, I would want to make darn sure they were all dead in any piece of wood I brought into my shop or storage place.

Pete Stanaitis

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Boru wrote:

once you turn the piece, the flying bug fragments pretty much give you proof that the beasties are no more - my curren theory is to submerge infested wood in water for a day or two and then take it out - figure that ought to either drown the beasties or cause them to go buy scuba gear

Well, they probably are beetles but in the larvae stage so they're kinda wormy sort critters...

...Kevin