Turning the burr sycamore tree

In my last post, I acquired a beautiful burr sycamore tree and have spent the last two weeks cutting up and preparing the timber. The patterns inside are amazing – unlike anything I’ve seen before…

I started by chain sawing the timber into blanks and managed to get a good variety of sizes. Some of these were small enough to be cut on the band saw, whilst others were much larger in size. I ended up with quite a range of styles – the very burry lumps were ideal for natural edge pieces, with the rest destined to become fruit bowls.

Here are some of the natural edge blanks, ready for mounting on the lathe…

A few of the blanks after rough turning – although quite subtle, the swirly patterns are just the same as those in oak or elm…

The top image shows just how ‘spiky’ the edges are. I will most likely leave the bark in place, giving a dark outline to the finished piece and adding some extra character. The photo below shows a selection of the burry fruit bowls…

The patterns and grain are stunning…

There’s still two big ones to turn – and these are going to be quite special...