Phil no matter what you feel about a piece from your skills you certainly realease the beauty held within the timber that in its self is a skill love it 👍
My goodness that's a big honkin' piece of wood! Wow! I don't know if it's birdseye or not but to me it sure looks like part of a burl with the way the grain goes every direction! It came out beautiful for sure!
Hi Phil Thanks so much for your channel. I have just started wood turning and I'm hooked. I'm in western Australia and am lucky to have access to a range of timber stock. Trying to make a bowl a day ,maybe 4 on the weekend. Your example and instruction is worth ots weight in gold. Kind regards KEV
Beautiful piece Phil - one of my favourites. It puts me in mind of the shield of an ancient soldier which has been damaged in battle and then left buried in the ground of the battlefield and been rusted and patina'd by the elements and the centuries and then unearthed and cleaned and shined by an archaeologist who recognised its history and significance but who left its flaws to demonstrate its purpose. I know the wood is not centuries old but it shows its age and its flaws and its purpose is now no longer as a tree but as a platter. It is still a piece of history though and you brought that to life with your skill and imagination. You have a gift Phil, truly.
Hi Phil, I have been following you for over a year now, this came about when I bought my first large. You have been a true inspiration to me. Your method of communication is fantastic. I remain extremely grateful to you. Best wishes Derek From York England UK
The grain is lovely. It looks almost like marble. And yes, that would be called Birdseye according to the wood database. It’s a beautiful platter. I’d love to have that sitting in my great room. Stunning.
I love this piece, Chanda, I'm glad you like it, too! I've been told it is a burl, rather than birdseye. I got it at a garage sale with a couple other nice pieces of wood for a total of $7.00. One of my best purchases ever! Phil
It's one of my very favorite pieces too, JN! This piece has a bit of a story. I was at a yard sale and this was standing behind an open door. I told the guy I wanted it and he said he had a couple more pieces out in the yard. I bought all three pieces for 7 dollars. This is the only one of those I have turned. The others are a large end-grain Cherry and a 4x8x4ft. piece of Walnut. I only hope the others are as spectacular as this piece is. It really surprised me! Thank you for taking your time to watch and comment! Phil
Love the work you do with firewood. Most anyone can take a perfectly dimensioned piece of wood and create. The stuff you work with takes talent and perseverance. Very nice piece.
Thank you for watching and commenting, Jim! By far, I prefer to do the oddball stuff when I can find it, like this piece. It does take perseverance, but the reward is worth it! Most of the time, anyway.
Thank you, Glenda! It turns out I was wrong when I called this Birdseye Cherry. It's actually a Cherry burl. And to think it came from a yard sale! I agree, it's beautiful grain.
Good evening Phil this wood grain is breathtakingly stunning, it makes me think of velvet the way it shines. I love the natural edge around the platter it is really awesome.
Howdy Kobie! I bought this piece of wood at a yard sale, along with two other pieces. It was leaning against the wall behind a door. I don't think they even knew it was there but I could see some of the grain and had to have it. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I've ever had the opportunity to work with. I'm so glad you like it, too! Phil
Going back through your videos Phil & spotted this & thought, that’s going to be one to watch. Certainly not disappointed. What a great piece of wood to start with. Some of the features look like it had a burl that penetrated inwards & the bird’s eyes are really nice. I’d call that a gallery piece. Would make an excellent wall hanger or a standing piece stood on a support plynth. I like it a lot, great job. All the best from the UK Geof
That wood was such a lucky find! I got it at a yard sale, along with a couple more pieces. I don't know if they are burl like this one, I guess I should plane them a little to find out. It was a surprise for me, that's for sure! Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Geof!
I got this piece, along with two other nice pieces, but not this nice, at a yard sale of all places. I think it was $7.00 total. Don't get good deals like that very often! Thanks again, CG! Phil
I bought another piece of cherry at the same time, only it's bigger. I hope it turns out to be of the same quality. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Barb!
That piece presented some real challenges Phil! It looks like the edge of a burl because of the grain going in so many directions. If it s cherry, it's a huge one. It turned out to be a beautiful piece. Good job. "I am still envious of the deal you got on your new lathe...." LOL
"It's a burl" seems to be the consensus, Charlie. That didn't even occur to me! It if hadn't been for the deal, I would probably still be turning on my old Delta, which was very good to me. Thank you, Charlie!
Hi Billy from down under, what a beautiful piece of wood, I cannot get any cherry in Australia, one day I will drive out too the cherry area and see if I can get some. Beautiful piece. Kind regards Steve Sayers SJS Wood turning Australia
Hi Steve! If you can get some cherry I'm sure you will enjoy turning it. When it's just normal grain it turns easily and finishes beautifully. Good luck and thank you so much for watching and commenting!
Hi Phil. Beautiful work mate. I know this is an old video but I’m looking at similar things for some Tasmanian timber called myrtle.. It has the same awesome finish and I really love your work and your explanation as you go. I’d like to send you some pics but I’m not sure how. Anyway your work is lovely. Thank you Tassy Greg
The Birds Eye Cherry plate was spectacular - I would be very interested in buying that piece. Is that possible? Regards / Dick Hampton Denver, No. Carolina PS: When I retired I bought a used Shopsmith, now after watching you I wish that I would have bought a nice lathe like what you have.
I'm so pleased that you like this piece enough to buy it, Dick, thank you! 😊 I'm unable to sell any of my work. There just isn't time for packing and shipping. Maybe one day I'll have a helper.
Stunning piece of work. I've never seen figure like that in cherry. What do you use to glue those little foam pads back together? I'm always ripping the velcro off the super soft one and I haven't found a way to glue it back onto the foam. Any tricks?
I repair those fairly often. I use CA glue. Apply it only to the Velcro part, don't let it get on the foam until you put the pieces together. It will harden the foam and make it useless. I put the pieces in a vise and apply the most gentle pressure to just keep the pieces together. Squeeze too hard and you'll ruin the foam.
It definitely looks like burl grain but I can't see any "eyes" on my phone but I take your word if you can. I've never seen many burls on standing cherry trees but understand they are pretty common on cherry in DE.
So glad you like it, Eric, thank you! I use just about the most inexpensive chisels you can buy. Benjamin's Best from Penn State Industries. I bought almost their full set before I retired knowing I was going to be woodturning after retirement. That was more than 10 years ago. I use them almost daily and they do everything I could ask of them. I guess I would like if they would stay sharp longer, but honestly, I think that is the case even with the more expensive chisels. It takes less than a minute to sharpen one so it's really no big deal. There is another brand that I've never purchased but they look exactly like mine and that is Hurricane. I've seen other turners use them and I'm sure they are fine, too. Hope that helps! Phil
It's called Sand O Flex, Kenneth. The metal model I use is no longer made. You can still find them on eBay. The newer plastic model can be found on eBay at mostly inflated prices or at various online retailers. I've found best selection and prices at: supergrit.com/products/products_woodworking-sandoflex Phil
What type or brand of sharpener do you use to keep your tool sharp. I’ve had two grinders that I was using and I have throughly dulled my tools by taking all of the edges off. So I need some info.
Well, I'm not sure what you are asking, Bryan. You don't need a dovetail tool for a recess, I just happen to have one so I use it. Are you saying you don't have dovetail jaws on your chuck? I guess I will say in my case, I tend to make recesses about 1/8"-3/16" deep. Any deeper than that and they become unsightly unless you remove them when done, which I don't always do but I do recommend for a great appearance.
Since I'm a newbie. Guess I didn't ask question correctly. But you did answer it. I do have the dovetail on my chuck. Just wondered if it helped hold piece on better
Yes, it helps immensely to have a dovetail. I actually had a piece split in half using a recess and half went flying but the other half stayed on due to the dovetail. I was amazed at that. 😊
HI PHIL say i really like this one it to me is one of the best i seen you done so far say i just thinking do you have any trouble at a airport you turn some rough stuff and i wanted to know have they cought you yet standing in front of a prop plane turning on the propeller while it was standing in line for take off hahaha this is kind of DUMB of me wasting printing space and asking DUMDASS questions haha again but what the hell its just life anyway talk to you later if you want to respond back to a idiot GODBLESS larry
Thanks again, Larry! No problem at airports. I may be dumb but not THAT dumb! :) I think this may be one of my best, too, Larry. But, the wood gets much of the credit. It's just beautiful!
HELLO PHIL HAY i was in one of my modes i know you are not dumb just me for one of my stupid minutes when my brain jumped time no intenion of hurt on the youtube channel my apologies larry
It's an angry eye to me. Maybe serve meat on it. Killed animal.It looks alife, yet, ready to kill/die/death. It's got strong spirit, and you brought it all out. Great, thanks.
A very stunning piece of art sir, very beautiful. Was enjoyable to watch, you worked hard on this one. Thanks for the hard work and sharing it with us. 🌿 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
Phil. Love the plate. The figure is great. I noticed that you have different sand o flex units for different grits. Do you know where I can get just the wheels and brushes without the sanding paper refills? The sites that I have found only sell the wheels with 80 grit. Thanks.
How beautiful this would be in the center of a dinning room table. And to think someone no longer wanted this piece of wood,and you saw the beauty and possibilities in it . A true treasure to be past down for generations found at a yard sale,can you believe that! But it took a master to bring it out for everyone else to see.
That may be one of the reasons I haven't tried to sell any of my pieces, Keith. Who knows? Just the wood in this one would be very expensive to purchase, I'm told, because it is such a large burl. I just really don't know, sorry. Phil
I truly believe that your hands have been touched by an angel. Your are provided with the most incredible magic bean stock ( fire wood) and you turning it into intoxicatingly beautiful pieces work of are no matter the shape or form the beans were. God bless you Phil. Take care and be safe.
I love the fact your so honest when your in doubt about something. So hard to find these days. Phil, your doing a great job, love your site. Would like to meet you some day. I’m a naivest wood turner just retired. I’m learning a lot from you keep going. 👍👏
Good day Mr Andersen, How do you sharpen your recess tool as it has two sides to sharpen at an angle? I can do only one side (the end) as I would sharpen a scraper. But what about the side?
Sharpening that tool is, as you have found out, problematic, Alain. I will admit to trying to sharpen that inside angle with a diamond card. You can get most of it but it's hard to get inside that corner. I also think that if you try that enough, you will alter that angle. I've found the best way is just to lay the flat top on a diamond card and slide the chisel back and forth. This will not raise the desirable burr, but it will make the edge thinner, thus, sharper than before you started. Hope that helps!
