A volunteer tree that had probably spawned from an ornamental crab tree in our yard had sprouted up close to the side fence in our neighbour's yard. Growing up among lilacs and caragana, it was just another anonymous bush until eventually it got large enough to tower above the surrounding vegetation. We noticed when it began to shade our deck significantly and it became obvious that it would eventually threaten the fence and the neighbour's garage if left in place to grow to full size. With the neighbour's permission, we removed it to head off future problems.
The trunk was about 5 inches in diameter and based on the growth rings was about 18 years old. Most of the tree ended up in the city compost depot, but I saved a length of the trunk. Rather than wait a year or maybe several years for it all to dry out, I chopped off a 1-foot section to do a green turning. I mounted it to the lathe and roughly turned a vessel, leaving the walls about an inch thick.
This piece was then dried out by heating it in the microwave oven. It started at 1030 grams and after about three hours of on-and-off heating, ended up at 690 gm. The weight (OK, technically mass) difference meant that it had lost about a pop-can's worth of water. It seemed pretty dry at that point and fortunately had no major cracks. I then finished turning it to the final size and to give it a bit nicer look, carved some leaves into the top whose shapes were made to match the actual tree leaves. The usual excessive amount of detail on the process is
here.
| Material: | Ornamental Crab |
| Construction: | Turned and carved |
| Finish: | 3 coats Miniwax Fast-Dry Poly, Clear Satin |
| Size: | 3.9" diameter x 8" tall |
| Done: | July 3, 2019 |
