Plywood for Bowls
Birch Plywood Vase is a laminatIon of multiple layers of 3/4 inch Baltic plywood to form a solid brick of wood. My career is in packaging where we are always making steel rule cutting dies to cut box shapes. The knife is set into the high quality plywood as part of the tool. I am able to use these cut off wood scraps by gluing them into blocks and then turnIng into vessels. This birch plywood vase is from one of these glue ups. The size is 7 Inch diameter by 7.5 inches tall.
Optical Illusions
The interesting thing about turning plywood is the patterns that develop as you look around the vase. If you look at the front view you see concentric valleys. Looking at the side you will see what appears to be straight lines. These lines are the orientation of the layers of the plywood from the end view. The arcs are the peeling away of cross sections of the stacked layers of plywood.
Choosing Materials
Woodturning allows for experimenting with a variety of materials. The most common of course is wood and all the different species which yield unique results. Maple and Walnut look very different as does Norfolk Island Pine and Manzanita. Then there are plastic and resins. And best of all is mixing different media like resin and seed pods. Here is a piece combining with resin and acorns. Acorn and Resin Vase
I design many jewelry items using a combination of natural materials and resin. Here is a piece featuring cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon Brooch
Gift Ideas
There are also more jewelry items in my Etsy store made with spices and seed pods.
Studio
I make all my items in my studio in Montvale, New Jersey, USA. I divide my time between the lathe and the studio bench to achieve the results I am seeking.