Vase saved from the scrap pile becomes "Resurrected Vase"

I spent most of Thursday and all day Friday in the workshop. I had some clean-up work to do in the workshop after finishing all the screwdrivers and pens from earlier in the week. I also cut wood blanks for two letter openers and turned some additional bottle stoppers.

But I wanted first to try two bowl blanks, a cherry and a mahogany. And, I decided to try to save a turned vase that I thought I had messed up too badly. One bowl was turned and the vase repaired by a late lunch. After a short break I turned the mahogany bowl and then polished all three. For these three items I am applying a coat of SealCoat prior to the polishing.

I call this the "Resurrected Vase" since I actually pulled it from the firewood pile and was able to correct my previous turning mistakes. It is made from cherry and has an inlay band. It is called a "split vase" since the inlay strip hides the cut made to hollow out the vase. See my previous post on the Woodcraft class where I learned to make the vase.

This whole time is a gift from my wife, Mary Lou. She thinks I worked so hard getting the Christmas presents done that I should get some time for myself in the shop. While I admit that today I am feeling less pressure to get things done, the last two times in the shop have both been very enjoyable. What really made this time nice was that Mary Lou joined me on Thursday evening and Friday.

Friday I returned to the shop with several goals. First I wanted to turn one final screw driver to use the last 4-in-1 kit. Then I wanted to turn the additional bottle stoppers. So far, drilling larger holes and inserting the brass insert into the bottle stopper wood blank has worked well. I have several more pieces of cocobolo, bicote, thuya burl, and a glue-up of morado and curly maple. That let me clean up the pen turning supplies and clear of my work bench.

I’ve done a lot of turning in the space of one week. I am really learning to use the 1/2" SpindleMaster to almost eliminate the need for sanding.
I am beginning to get excited about the prospect of the turning class in North Carolina which comes up at the end of January. Right now I would like more guided practice, help on better tool control, and some design and project ideas.

My goals for the immediate future would be to complete the finish on the cherry cabinet, assemble the veneered lidded box, and assemble my sharpening center cabinet. That would clear up one section of the garage and almost allow two cars to actually park inside in the winter!