Burr Elm with Blue holographic epoxy

 This piece of Burr Elm came from  the village of Colesden in Bedfordshire where this tree stood for more than three hundred years. Sadly it became dangerous with pieces of dead wood falling into the road as it succumbed to the dreaded Dutch Elm Disease and in January 2017 the borough council said it had to be felled.

The massive 5' (1500mm) diameter trunk was sold to a furniture maker and I was fortunate to be offered all the branch wood, the biggest of which were 24" (600mm) diameter. Burr Elm is one of my favourite timbers, it is full of character, rich with features and no two pieces are ever the same.

This cross grained bark edged piece was rough turned and left to dry and stabilise for several months then taken back to the lathe and re-turned both inside and out.  All the drying splits, burr eyes and voids have been filled with blue holographic epoxy making a feature of them and they sparkle like little jewels. The whole piece is then sanded to a very fine finish and four coats of very durable eco friendly hardwax oil is applied over a period of two days

The Boxwood finial lid has a 12tpi handcut thread with a corresponding insert fixed into the neck ensuring a secure closure.

It measures,   360mm H x 185mm D ( 14 ¼" H x 7 ¼" D) and has a volume of 4 litres (244 cubic inches)