Stunning Tree Root Woodturning Creation

[@squareandlevel]

I was given this Almond tree root ball from a member of my local woodturning club. This is my first attempt at turning a root ball. I was definitely a little nervous about this one, it was the largest and most unbalanced piece I have turned to date. Originally I had planned to not use any resin in this piece, but unfortunately there was no way I was going to be able to hollow it out and have it stay in one piece. I also had a bit of a scare when part of the root caught on the tool rest and broke. I’m sorry I didn’t catch it on camera. It was pretty intense. I set my lathe speed at 450 rpm for the majority of this turning (lowest speed my lathe will go). Only raising it to approximately 600 rpm once the piece was cut and better balanced. I think I lost about an inch of my 5/8” bowl gouge turning this piece due to the constant sharpening. The inside of the root had lots of rocks and dirt that I just couldn’t get to until I turned it down a bit. The simple woodturning carbide tools worked great as always. The Sumi black pigment powder from Eye candy pigments came out amazing and really went well with the grain color of the piece. I finished the piece with Danish oil and polished with carnauba wax. This was by far the most fun I’ve had turning a piece and plan on finding more root balls to turn. The fact every piece is original and one of a kind is what I think makes it so special. Thanks for watching! Hope you have a great day! #woodworking #woodturning #resin Affiliate links Simple woodturning tools www.simplewoodturningtools.com?bg_ref=gkr80FMJN5 Limited time coupon code!!!!!!!!! Square3 Acrylic resin simple start turner and hollower www.simplewoodturningtools.com/knyydq Acrylic resin simple start roughing tool www.simplewoodturningtools.com/yio14f Simple hollowing system with laser kit www.simplewoodturningtools.com/ect9ii Super Clear Epoxy Partner Superclear epoxy resin www.superepoxysystems.com/ref/squareandlevel/ Eye Candy pigments 👁️ bit.ly/48vZNLf Coupon code: Squareandlevel Sumi Black Eye Candy pigment powder- bit.ly/3J5Qasr

[@TheNewJankyWorkshop]

I like this idea of duping the description in the comments... borrowing. :)

[@johnlivsey4146]

Thanx. New turner and new sub. Something about the rootball really speaks to me. Not sure why. Maybe you are giving new life to a 'reject' or something. Not sure. Keep up the good work. Going to call my shrink now....

[@squareandlevel]

@@johnlivsey4146 haha. I totally agree. It’s basically trash. Would either end up in a landfill or a bonfire. Kinda cool to make something unique and interesting with it. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a great day.

[@JamesCouch777]

I like turning stuff that shouldn't be turned, in other words, trash 😊. This one turned out great 👍​@@squareandlevel

[@wadihkarim4088]

Is this for sale and how much?

[@mdaley3102]

Rey nice, looks like an ancient pot that is in perfect shape and ready for display in a museum.

[@pedsermd]

The artisanship that goes into these pieces blows my mind, and erases any skepticism I ever had over the pricing.

[@joelbernard5453]

As a viewer, I think that the most gnarly, unpromising-looking root balls often result in the most beautiful pieces after epoxy casting and turning. The irregular shape of the original wood often produces the most imaginative and unpredictable final piece.

[@squareandlevel]

Well said!

[@fastjazz]

A WINNER, a thing of beauty!!!

[@kumiejoubert-vanniekerk8794]

Silence is golden..., let the process and art speak for itself! Your work and production is beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with us. Keep making videos of this standard and quality!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much!

[@dang6832]

That turned out so much better than I originally expected. Beautiful piece.

[@JamesCouch777]

I like the black, I use a lot of coffee grounds in my turning.

[@davidhunt7519]

Ha! I didn't know anyone else did that!

[@JamesCouch777]

@@davidhunt7519 lol, I really like the color and tone, smells good too

[@squareandlevel]

Sorry for late response. I’m intrigued by this idea and am most likely going to “barrow” it. Haha. Curious if you have any rough ratios you go by for coffee/resin. You’ve convinced me with the “smells good”comment.

[@harryrespass9473]

Didn’t know that was possible but I’m trying it.

[@yvonnepagan9912]

Gotta love what an artisan can do with wood! Incredibly beautiful piece! Well done!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@frankmurphy2776]

Beautiful piece! Thanks for posting! 👏👏👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@abdeslamakhrif9688]

You are an artist and I love the smell of wood

[@blacksorrento4719]

Me too! I went into a wood turners shop on the west coast of Tasmania many years ago, he had a lot of Huon Pine, and worked in the back, so the smell was intoxicating, my husband had to coax me out, I think I was high for the rest of the day.

[@michaelcoslo6497]

Wow! Glad you kept up with that after the piece broke off. That thing is gorgeous

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks! Hope you have a great day!

[@klutchdust4346]

My first thought was my fear of the piece grabbing your tool and pulling your hand into the piece. Something similar happened to me and lost part of my finger. Second thought is the finished piece is amazing and your work will be admired for many years to come. very relaxing watching the process.

[@cjspice6310]

Oh boy. I've never seen your shop this dirty 😊. First class work as always sir.

[@squareandlevel]

Haha. It’s still a mess. Deep cleaning time this weekend. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a great day!

[@stephanielovatt2787]

Lovely! Great choice of resin colour!

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks so much 😊

[@RaeC5280]

I'm always so impressed with sculpting when you're taking away material to create the end result, instead of adding to, like with clay. To be able to see what something could be is a true skill! Great video ❤

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@octaviaria8081]

I love the contrast - beautiful !! 👍 from 🇨🇦

[@johnsanders8168]

Magificant! Beautiful. Marvelous work!

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks John! Have a good one!

[@vickirogers2844]

You have created a beautiful piece of art! ❤

[@uniqko]

Beautiful piece

[@auntkaren12]

That is a beautiful piece of art. Thank you for sharing.

[@joebarrett4353]

Extraordinary skill. I was transfixed for the whole process.

[@steby123]

Very impressive, quite the job there !!!!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@MikeHolton]

Beautiful Vase Scott, what a challenge!!! You did amazing, great work

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks so much Mike. Really appreciate it. This was a fun one. Hope you have a great day!

[@qapla]

Now that sure turned looking nice!! I also liked your zip-tie trick for keeping the wood from floating while giving you a handle to lift it out of the pressure pot. I have found that roots do not always turn the same as the parts of the tree that are above the ground. They also seem to dry a little faster.

[@LivingOurDream]

What do you do with the shavings that have the epoxy in them? I normally put my shavings out as mulch around the trees, but wouldn't do that with epoxy for obvious reasons. I am curious to see your method of reuse or disposal. Thanks for another great video.

[@tgoldfisher]

WOW! That is beautiful. Thanks for posting!!

[@MrErViLi]

Man that's beautiful. Whenever I mess with a root ball I usually break out the pressure washer and blast away all the dirt and rocks. Works great and all the mess is outside.

[@squareandlevel]

Did that twice before I started. Still full of rocks and dirt. These roots were wrapped so tight the stuff just wouldn’t come out. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a great day!

[@johnlivsey4146]

That's true. You can blast the outside all day long and then 7/8th of an inch in after 3 min of turning... there's a rock. 😢

[@minajones1635]

Oh My Goodness- it’s stunning! Such a delight to watch you create!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much!

[@kunokdureau6464]

What a beautiful natures art this artist found and made . all my reaspect for you. thank you for let us see such a beauty.

[@CarolynMcPherson-r3z]

What a fabulous artistic sense you have!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you!

[@GlennMartinPhotography]

Man look at that lathe shake rattle and roll!!! Beautiful piece, Scott!

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks Glen. It's really not good that the lathe is shaking so much, but that's the slowest setting mine runs at. Thanks for watchinf mate! Hope you have a good one!

[@davidpickens3117]

That is an AMAZING piece of work

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you David. Hope you have a great day!

[@scottcates]

I like the direction that this went. And the black.

[@leaannd.8786]

Fabulous! I love the black with the orange and red tones of the wood. Great job. 👍

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much. I appreciate the kind words. I hope you have a wonderful day! Scott

[@FabianKawau-cq5bw]

FRIGGIN AWESOME MATE👍

[@dianefiske-foy4717]

WOW! Beautifully done 👩🏻‍🏫👵🏻👏🏻🥰‼️

[@bigboy9706]

That's absolutely beautiful

[@BARUCHKAHANA]

Excellent work. Beautiful result!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@84deeanne]

wow that is a beautiful piece of art way to go!!!...........Larry USA

[@OzfGP35]

Really great 👍 gosh u did a lot of tiding up 😊 turned out fabulous ❤

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks so much 😊

[@irisf.9355]

My husband loved turning wood. Pleasure to watch this. So much work and a little danger even! But a gorgeous result.

[@shirleypowell6768]

Phil , that vase is beautiful, I can't believe that came out of that piece of wood.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you, but who is Phil? Hope you have a great day!

[@yall2743]

Wah wah whee wah ...!! ❤❤❤❤ Man, thats so beautiful !!!😮😮😮

[@lyndaowen2154]

just gorgeous! very nice work--- hope to see more from you

[@squareandlevel]

More to come!

[@johnbrereton4756]

New subscriber . .That was very impressive, never turned a root before. Think I will wait awhile before I try. I will be closely watching your channel in future. Keep it up.

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks John. I’m definitely going to try and find more. That was by far the most interesting bit of turning I’ve done. Thanks for watching. I hope you have a great day!

[@AlvaroMontero-z5j]

Espectacular empecé a verlo para ver cómo quedaba muy bonito 😮

[@yourtruereview3621]

Looking through the comments, I guess I'm the only one with my head in the gutter... because at about the seven-forty-five mark, things start to look a little funny. Besides that, like everyone else is saying, this is a nice piece of work.

[@squareandlevel]

I actually made an alternate blurred out thumbnail with the exact part you are talking about as a joke. Got a good laugh from some friends. Thanks for watching. I hope you have a wonderful day. Scott

[@milindaboyer6726]

I came to the comments looking for this reply! 😂

[@stevedoolanTacoma]

Stupendous, I was so surprised when you stopped the lathe at the end. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. 😎

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you!

[@carolineecou]

I'm enjoying your videos. You are doing some fun pieces.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you! I hope you have a great day!

[@BlueTurtleStudios]

This is my favorite of your pieces so far! Good job! I am wanting to do this with table legs for some of my pieces but a 16 inch tall pressure pot seems like what I will need to stop from waisting epoxy. I think your simple tool affiliation is a plus and if you could explain what each tool is and does on a video that may be a good video. I turn mostly legs and have no idea the techniques involved but do enjoy. thanks

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you sir! It's one of my favorites as well. I'm on the fence about doing a tool video for multiple reasons. We will see what the future brings. Thanks for watching! Have good one!

[@alexclark6777]

Yeah, I happened upon one of your videos. That was over an hour ago. Now I have to subscribe because your work is just outstanding.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much. Appreciate the compliment. I hope you have a great day!

[@shirleychavez2758]

Absolutely gorgeous

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you! 😊

[@sturdyboneswoodworking]

Awesome video Scott! This one turned out amazingly! Such a huge starting point too! Keep up the great work!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you Cam. Maybe in ten years I’ll be able to make a video as good as yours. Thanks for watching man. Hope you have a good one.

[@scotter_dotter]

When you first start carving, it scares the 💩 out of me! But wow! The end results ❤

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks Scott. That was a fun one. Have a good day man

[@leisongivangomo4478]

Gorgeous results! Well done!

[@laurarivera5875]

Gorgeous!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you! 😊

[@pennyclark6349]

Stunning, absolutely stunning.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much! Hope you have a great day! Scott

[@johnemmett2969]

Absolutely, a total pleasure to watch. Thank you.

[@littlecreekbowclub5288]

Beautiful piece!

[@kathyunderwood8864]

I’m in awe!😮

[@crashburn3292]

You make it look so easy, but it's so *NOT* this easy. Beautiful.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you! 😊

[@CM-xn6xc]

Very beautiful work!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@valeriewilleto5583]

Wow, absolutely beautiful! 😊

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks, and thanks for watching. Hope you have a wonderful day! Scott

[@ratsalad5054]

The prep work before it even gets mounted is crucial. I’ve hit a stone inside one root system before

[@DennisDolan-fl3mw]

Beautiful. But I don't get why almost everyone uses dark resin. In a case like this, where you had to use resin to hold the root ball together, why not use a resin more transparent, maybe even clear so you can look into it and see the root ball. Those twisty roots are the best part.

[@robertocoiante1981]

DENNIS DOLAN. ciao Dennis il tuo è stato un ottimo punto di osservazione, ma senza la resina scura si sarebbe perso quel tono di antichità Etrusca che abbiamo qui a Roma.

[@johnrains8409]

Opinions are like...well you know what they are like.

[@robertocoiante1981]

@@johnrains8409 Continua con il tuo modo di fare, non contesto mai l'operato degli altri perché ognuno di noi ha una visuale del lavoro diversa dagli altri, anzi cerco sempre di carpire i lati migliori, quindi buon lavoro di tanto in tanto questo filmato me lo riguardo perché sicuramente è costato tanto di fatica che di attrezzatura. un caro saluto da Roma

[@yvonnepagan9912]

Boy, oh boy! That was one screwed up, pot bound tree! What type of wood was it? I used to dabble in marquetry and loved all the types of veneer available. I just loooove wood! This is like polishing a raw opal. You can’t wait to see what you uncover. It’s magnificent!!!!❤. From junk to jewels!

[@stevehogg]

Love your work, please keep it up. I'm learning by watching.

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks, will do! Hope you have a great day!

[@debradavis9331]

Absolutely beautiful

[@OlgaKn-tour]

Получилось великолепно....💜 Красиво и оргинально 💚

[@tombruno3986]

So nice to look at.

[@davo-h1t]

Very nice indeed and a good length of video too! Some people like to talk more and make the video more about them then their turning 🙂

[@Sebastopolmark]

Very well done. Came out GREAT! !! !!!

[@PorfirioCampos-wk7oi]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks for watching!

[@juanitajohnson586]

Gorgeous!

[@brucewatt2864]

Great looking piece Scott. Really enjoying your videos, please keep them coming. I thought that yu may have used the top piece you parted off as a lid (not that it needed it). Thanks for sharing Cheers Bruce

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you Bruce. I considered that exact thing with the lid but eventually decided against it on this specific piece. Will definitely keep it in mind for the future. As always thanks for watching and I hope you have a great day!

[@VickiAndersonwoodturning]

Very stunning. Great job.

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much!

[@danwahl8559]

Very well done sir

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you.

[@Emilio-sq6gb]

Truly beautiful - made me think of antiquities - like you'd find in a pyramid.

[@oneminer]

All I can just beautiful keep up the good work

[@Rose_2381]

La finale est magnifique le bois et une matière noble bravo félicitation pour ce que vous faites 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@juanitajohnson586]

It’s gorgeous!

[@marycatherinelebouef-op4hf]

Absolutely gorgeous! Fantastic work on what I would have thrown out to burn!! You have great talent and a creative vision!!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you so much!

[@floydmayes4924]

All I can say is"WOW".

[@SarieMorris7-dh1fh]

Absolutely wonderful keep it up.

[@mikemccormick8115]

Masterful! 👍🏻 Beautiful piece!

[@squareandlevel]

Thank you very much!

[@lennartharry]

BRAVO!!! no music

[@Audie1234]

Lovely ❤

[@kenfolstad1346]

Gorgeous

[@raydriver7300]

Yep, got a like from me. A very interesting video and I thank you for sharing 🌞

[@ceejayretired]

Beautifully done. May i ask if you made anything with the leftover piece you cut off the top please. Watching from NZ, my Dad used to be a wood turner but was in his 60s when he started.

[@squareandlevel]

I have not made anything with the cut off pieces yet. I did save it along with some of the bigger pieces I trimmed off. I’ll probably make something with them eventually. Thank you for watching. I hope you have a wonderful day. Scott

[@c.a.chambers68]

Beautiful 😊

[@jimrosson6702]

Absolutely amazing so very cool great job

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks Jim. Hope you have a great day!

[@jimrosson6702]

Thanks hope you have a great day also. Loving your wood turning stuff looks awesome . Keep up the great job

[@bst278]

Nicely Done Brother! I would imagine it took a lot of effort to make this one happen.

[@squareandlevel]

Thanks! It did for sure, but well worth it. This was a fun one. Hope you have a good one!

[@bradwiebelhaus7065]

Looks good.

[@geoffreylee5199]

Simply remove what is not part of the piece. Gotta admire a guy who can see and think in 3d.

[@tonydavies3511]

I'm not a woodturner, but find it so relaxing watching a craftsman create something beautiful from something so mundane. I'm curious though how you ensure that the thickness is the same down the sides when you are hollowing the inside. Probably a dumb question I know.

[@squareandlevel]

Hi Tony. Not a dumb question. There is a laser attached to the hollower set up I use that points down on the outside of the vessel being turned. It helps to reference where the cutter is on the inside, making it fairly easy to obtain a uniform thickness throughout the piece. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a great day.

[@larrylebowski8386]

That’s beautiful.

[@greenbeard.affliction]

0:22 Harmonica at the beginning of Black Sabbath's "The Wizard" 😂 Beautiful vase.

[@racheldow4238]

Absolutely beautiful!!