First piece turned with the new batch of Acacia.

 I was quite keen to try out a piece of my newly acquired  Acacia to see how it was to turn. I managed to get out to the shed at a fairly reasonable hour and clutching my third cup of coffee of the day, selected a suitable piece of the timber. I went for the smallest of the blanks I had cut yesterday which was 6" wide and 4" thick and set about making a side grain hollow form. I'm loving the grain patterns you get in these side grain forms at the minute and am probably making far too many of them!
 I must admit that turning the Acacia is a delight, for such a dry timber (this is absolutely bone dry), it cuts like a dream and I was sending long shavings across the shed in streams :) A light touch on the outer finishing cuts with the gouge sharp leaves a fairly nice surface with ease. The hollowing was just as easy and the Keltons once again made really light work of the process, although with this particular shape  my laser guided captured bar hollowing rig hasn't the reach to get right into the corners and as a result I have to do what is the most awkward bit by hand with the hooked Kelton in a handle (they fit nicely into the big Munro handle). I must order some steel to make an articulated one which I'm sure would reach into the very corners of these with ease and with the simplicity of laser guidance.
 The hole is 7/8 of an inch wide with a flush fitted lid in Bocote and an aluminium finial. The finished piece measures just over 5 1/2 inches wide by 3 3/4 inches tall (without finial).