Video
This video shows an Hyperlapse of how I turn the thin vessels that wil eventually be pierced with my Hot Rod flame design. This 270mm (10.5") Tall vase is turned from green Macrocarpa, which I have found to be very good for piercing as the thin walls of about 1.6mm still retain strength and flexibility.
I harvested this tree back in 2014. The blanks were wrapped in industrial clingfilm and stored under a tarpaulin in my driveway. Much to my delight, the timber was as wet as the day I cut it. I left the rim at 4mm but the main body has been turned down to 1.6mm (1/16").
We've set a target of 1500 spinning tops to be delivered to couple of Kids charities for Christmas. I've set aside some Kauri blanks for this over the previous few months. Got quite quick at these, about 27 seconds according to the video. I delivered 750 to the Guild just before Christmas. Might have to start earlier in the year next time.
I have made a series of video's showing me wet turning a Pohutukawa Platter. I wet turn pretty much all of my timber that I harvest.
The first advantage of wet turning is that the piece is reduced in size and thickness. Drying takes approximately a year per 25mm (1"), so if I reduce the thickness down to about an inch then the drying time is reduced. The second advantage is that if I maintain an even wall thickness, the chances of the piece cracking during the warping stage is reduced.
There are three clips, the first two relate to the bottom of the platter. The third relates to the top of the platter and I go into quite a bit more detail of what I'm doing
Most of the timber used in my pieces has been harvested by me from fallen trees. I don't cut trees down, I'll leave that to the experts at Treefocus. Here's a video I made of me cutting a couple of hat blanks out of Eucalyptus Saligna (Sydney Blue Gum).