This was an idea I had for a small vase made from a branch of eucalyptus that had dried for a few months. The ends had not been waxed so had split a little but the rest looked fine.
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| The eucalyptus log before removing the bark. |
The bark was dry and very hard. It was removed using a draw-knife and the difficult sections near a knot were removed with a small stock knife. The log was then put on the pole lathe and worked to get a round spindle about 6 cm in diameter. The ends were marked for eventual removal to give the vase a height of 18 cm. The vase was then carved to produce a shape as shown:
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| Final shape with some chip carving at the bottom. |
The centre was then drilled to accommodate a glass cylinder of 17 mm diameter and 120 mm in length to hold water and the flower stems. This was done with a 1 inch bullnosed auger and brace:
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| Drilling the centre hole using a winding stick as a guide to ensure the auger was central. |
The hole reached a depth allowing about 6 cm solid at the bottom of the vase. Experience had shown that drilling too near the base could crack the walls and also a solid base kept the centre of gravity low. The bottom of the base was gouged concave to keep it stable in case it shrank further on drying.
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| Finished vase after treating with milk paint ("truffle") and Danish oil. |
