I haven't updated this blog for a long time and I'll just blame it on the pandemic. It's been a rough couple of years for everyone but it's time to move on and get back to work. It's not that I haven't been in my shop but things just haven't been the same. Anyway, enough of that.

This piece is from a willow burl and it's the first time I have ever worked with willow. It's a very soft wood and a little difficult to work with but it doesn't seem to be as prone to cracking as some other species. I turned it wet and it was moving on me even as I  was working on it. To those of you reading this who aren't familiar with woodturning, wet means shortly after it was cut and before it has dried.  Moving means that it was warping while I was working on it which makes it very hard to get all of the tool marks out because some areas will hit the tool before other areas. Thus there a lot more hand sanding than usual in order to get a good finish. I am including some pictures of the process so you can get a better idea of what is involved.