{"id":271,"date":"2010-07-25T21:20:22","date_gmt":"2010-07-26T01:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=271"},"modified":"2016-04-04T19:10:21","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T23:10:21","slug":"waterfall-bubinga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/waterfall-bubinga\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a Waterfall Bubinga Platter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest Authored by: Steve Staley<\/h1>\n

The Origins of the Wood<\/h2>\n

I was given a very unusual piece of wood for Christmas last year. It was a 12 inch square piece of 1 inch thick “waterfall” Bubinga. The “waterfall” refers to the highly figured and unique grain pattern that appears to flow in waves down the length of the wood. This patterning is due to torsional twisting in the grain and it cannot be determined prior to felling the tree if this pattern will be present. Due to this highly unusual pattern, the log from which this small piece was cut would prove to be one of the highest priced logs ever in the history of the exotic lumber trade and it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to work with a piece of it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Appearance of My Piece of Wood<\/h2>\n

The particular piece that I received had one side that was natural edge, and similar to the interior grain pattern, the bark edge was wavy and had the appearance of flowing movement. My hope was to retain that effect in the natural edge platter that I decided to make from the piece. However, as is always the case when working with a natural product such as wood, my intentions didn’t exactly play out as I had hoped they would although I am still pleased with the result. Unfortunately, I didn’t photograph the piece prior to working with it, but I do have an as yet unworked piece from the same tree that shows the pattern of the grain.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

About Bubinga, Including Its Uses<\/h2>\n

Bubinga is scientifically known as Guibourtia demeusei. Guibourtia is a flowering plant genus in the pea family which contains at least 16 different species. Most of these species are native to tropical and swampy regions of Africa with a small number being native to similar environments in South America. The trees are large evergreens, growing to between 40 and 50 feet tall with a diameter of 3 to 6 feet. These trees may also occasionally be referred to as African Rosewood, although these trees are not true rosewood species.
\nThese trees are well known as a source of luxury timber. The wood is used by the makers of fine musical instruments, including harps and bass guitars, because it is believed to produce a mellow and well-rounded sound. Some drum makers may also use this wood although only in very high-end models.
\nThe wood is sometimes used to make archery bows, and some furniture makers have even used slabs of the wood as table tops with very little manipulation. Even Lexus, the luxury car maker, has been known to use Bubinga in the interiors of a select number of their vehicles.<\/p>\n

Beginning to Work the Wood<\/h2>\n

The piece I received was well dried and ready to work with upon receipt but I verified this by taking routine weights to ensure that the wood was not continuing to lose weight through the evaporation of moisture. I rounded the blank on the bandsaw and retained the edge pieces to use as pen blanks, not wanting to waste anymore of this unique wood than could be helped. I mounted the blank with a face plate to cut the back and to fine round the edges. Retaining as much of the natural bark edge as I wanted proved to be very difficult. The relative thinness of the blank coupled with the need to cut some amount away to give a smooth and round character to the exterior of the piece meant that ultimately I had less natural edge area than I had hoped I would. At times I wished that I had cut out the natural edge completely. One fellow turner who saw the end result commented that it was a shame that I had lost such a big chunk out of what would have otherwise been a great piece! I admit that such a comment stings a little bit because, in fact, the piece did not experience any breakage, rather the end piece is just the result of the natural edge of the piece of wood I began with, although I can understand how a person who wasn’t familiar with the original piece of wood might think otherwise.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe turning revealed a beautiful contrast between the dark rusty red of the hardwood and the lighter, almost pink, color of the sapwood. The contrast particularly highlights the torsional grain pattern and highlights why the wood is nicknamed “waterfall.” I felt myself fortunate to have been able to work with a piece of wood that featured both sap and heartwood.<\/p>\n

Encountering a Problem and Solving It<\/h2>\n

Having completed the front and the edges, I confronted a problem about how to complete the back of the piece where the mounting tenon was located. The piece at this point, at 1115\/16 inches (I preserved quite literally everything I could from the original 12 inches!), was considerably too large for the Nova Chuck Cole Jaws system which holds at maximum a 10 inch diameter piece.
\nI then recalled a demonstration I had seen at Ideal Saw in Fresno, California where a turner constructed a jig to hold an oversized bowl using plywood and a few bolts. I decided to try this method myself. I started with two pieces of ½ Baltic birch plywood in 12 inch squares that I happened to have. I would have used ¾ inch if I had had it handy but I didn’t, and as it turned out, the ½ worked just fine. At this point I screwed the two pieces together and mounted both sheets on the lathe. Using a parting tool, I inscribed and cut out an opening in the top sheet of plywood that was just slightly larger than the platter I was working on, say about 1113\/16 inches, which would leave an overlap between the plywood and the finished edge of the platter. I angled the opening back with the parting tool and then beveled it outwards with a skew chisel.
\nThen, working VERY carefully, I centered the platter in between the cut and the uncut pieces of plywood, effectively creating a sandwich that allowed access to the exposed rear of the platter. Now, while carefully maintaining centering, which is admittedly not a simple task, I screwed the two pieces of plywood together, creating enough pressure to keep the platter firmly in place. In the demonstration I had seen, the jig was held together with bolts but in this case the overall lightness of the piece didn’t seem to warrant that level of holding power and as it turned out I was correct and the jig worked just fine. I was then able to mount a face plate on center to the uncut piece of plywood, mount the entire assemblage on the lathe, and using light cuts, finish off the rear of the platter, including the application of finish.<\/p>\n

Finishing the Wood and Finishing Thoughts<\/h2>\n

Bubinga is a dense hardwood that turns beautifully, cutting cleanly and taking a polished finish quite easily. The wood is naturally colorful and requires only a minimum of finishing product, in this case paste wax.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nOverall, the platter was a joy to turn and I greatly enjoy the finished product, especially for the fantastically unusual grain pattern, the contrast between heart and sap woods, and yes, I enjoy the natural edge effect even though some viewers misunderstand its origin. I view it as the natural and logical outcome of working with a natural product such as wood that is prone to revealing its unique surprises and beauties to those who can appreciate them on their own terms, a skill I believe most wood turners possess in abundance!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waterfall pattern bubinga is a rare and beautiful wood that I had the opportunity to work with in making a platter recently. The wood was beautiful even if the natural edge didn’t turn out exactly as I wanted it to. And, as a bonus, I describe how to make a custom jig for turning and finishing the rear of the platter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[144,176,181,188,200,217,221,239,241],"yoast_head":"\nMaking a Waterfall Bubinga Platter - Wood Turning Pens ..<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/waterfall-bubinga\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making a Waterfall Bubinga Platter - Wood Turning Pens ..\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Waterfall pattern bubinga is a rare and beautiful wood that I had the opportunity to work with in making a platter recently. 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