I have worked fairly extensively with Maple in the past and I have reported on large Maple platters as well. I had two more large Maple platter blanks that I just finished turning yesterday.
Both of these blanks show a good deal of curly figure and that really adds to the attraction of what is otherwise a fairly plain wood. I would very much like to be able to dye a piece of Maple but I have never had good results with that. The dye always goes on in splotches and in fact this is a problem with most any finish on Maple, especially a large piece.
Maple Platter #1
These platters are a soft maple species so they cut easily but not at all cleanly. Fortunately, the wood is so soft that sanding is a breeze but you have to be very careful in handling these platters as you can dent or scratch them with just a fingernail.
Platter number one is 12.5″ diameter and platter number two is 17.5″ diameter.
Maple Platter #2
What may, or may not, be obvious is that these platters are both raw unfinished wood. I’ve had nothing but trouble getting a decent finish on Maple, especially on large pieces that I have chosen to not finish these platters with a friction finish but instead I will travel with them to my Dad’s shop in the hope of shooting them both with a lacquer which seems to be about the only finish that looks decent on Maple.
I am pleased so far with the outcome and we shall see soon how they look with a fresh coat of finish.
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system on my Robust American Beauty lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using a Easy Wood Tools Easy Chuck with Big Easy Jaws and Extension. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!