Woodturning: The Contaminated Cactus!

Watch until the end! I did something extra special for the glamor shots!

I have had this piece of cholla cactus kicking around my shop for literal years, just waiting for the right opportunity to screw it up and disappoint a good chunk of people with a tacky neon idea.

(1) For starters, the whole glow-in-the-dark concept is one I have tried before, but I had never to the extent that I did in this video. The main feature of the cholla cactus has to be its many uniform voids and open, almost lace-like, grain structure. In order to highlight those features, my strategy was to create an inverse effect, which was to fill the voids with layer upon layer of varying colored glow-in-the-dark pigments. In total darkness, the charged pigments impart shape and color to the voids, and the wood becomes invisible. Under UV/blacklight, the effect is slightly muted, though still very striking. However, under normal light the effect is a bit different, since the vibrant neon colors overpower the wood texture and draw the eye in a million directions. If nothing else, this piece was an exercise to explore whether more is more or if, in fact, less is more. In spite of my best efforts to prove the contrary, I am always left with undeniable evidence that more is, in fact, too much, and less, maybe, is just enough.

(2) As for the elephant in the room, the question (or rather accusation) I am usually faced with, let me address the wanton and indiscriminate wastage of epoxy. To the casual observer, it looks like I put a tiny log into a giant bucket of epoxy only to turn down all that epoxy into the shape of that tiny log. However, it's not that simple. My number one rule is that the wood will always take preference over epoxy, and, as there were some fairly tight tolerances with getting the glow pigments to sit as close as possible to the surface of the finished piece, I needed to maintain the exact center of the wood. This meant that I needed to keep the faceplate on the piece and not remove it for the resin casting step. In so doing, the mold needed to hold excess resin so that as shrinking occurred during the curing process there would be a sufficient reservoir of resin to pull from. As you might have noticed, the level of resin dropped nearly the entire length of the waste block, about 1.5 inches, which roughly translates to 3/4 of a liter of epoxy that soaked into the wood. But there was no way to anticipate exactly how much resin would be absorbed, so I decided to play it safe, for the sake of the wood/cactus. I have learned the hard way not to make molds too efficient, since very thirsty wood will pull in more resin than can fit comfortably in a tight mold.

Thanks for watching this video! You are the bedazzled neon colors that fill the ever-widening void of this channel. If you want to support what I do, please check out my website, where I am taking by the horns the bull that is "influencer" status and developing merch like tshirts, hoodies, hats, mugs and more, which will allows you to get something of use in return for your support. If you're hoping to spend more, you can also find a wide selection of my turned pieces. If you'd like to support me on Patreon, let me know because I am seriously considering getting that up and running.

If you enjoyed this content, please consider Liking this video and Subscribing, and make sure you have that Bell turned on so you get notified when I upload new videos. I also read every Comment, and I respond to as many of them as I can! Sharing my videos with your friends also really helps keep this channel afloat and enables my growing family's addiction to food!

Big thanks to @TotalBoat for providing the epoxies/resins used in this video. Without their support and amazingly versatile products, pieces like this simply don't happen.

Also thanks to @StarbondAdhesives for supplying the CA glue used in this video

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[Chrysanthemum-lg]

What a trippy piece! Looks like it belongs in the museum of modern art! I hope you had as much fun creating it as I did in watching you! ❤

[patrickmccune]

This is one of the most amazing pieces I've seen turned to date and I watch a lot of turning videos. Incredible work.

[debbiemcdonald]

You are a magician. This absolutely stunning. ❤❤❤❤

[Popinki-xr]

I've seen cholla cast in resin, but never turned by itself. I've definite never seen it frosted with resin into an alien seed pod. The final product is like a rave party from 1985 got sucked through a wormhole into my brain and exploded.

Fabulous job. I love it.

[Aylen-jhyq]

Without a doubt one of the most creative I have ever seen! Once again I am amazed. Thanks David for showing what is possible.

[tonylyons]

This is one of the coolest turning I've watched in a long while

[cheryl]

WOW, you are so creative. Those colors are so beautiful together and I love the see in the dark affect. Keep up your awesome work and thanks for sharing.

[evilotis]

i think what i like most about your work is that for a lot of the video, i often have no idea what the finished product will look like! it's always surprising and creative, and always interesting!

[flatflo]

Groovy, Dude!
Fascinating use of glow in the dark epoxy and this unique succulent skeleton. Your videography turning under black light was mesmerizing.

[carlspringle]

Absolutely stunning David. The colors you chose really pop. Your choice of finish is spot on.
Just stunning.
Thanks for sharing!!😊

[judithbresler]

Your amazing ability to foresee the way the different colours work together - a truly master craftsman. Beautiful piece ❤

[robslifeadventures]

Stunning piece. I don't do large pieces but instead I make decorative pens. I find I have to keep the resin blanks in a warm place before turning else they shatter or chip very easily.

[MCsCreations]

Wow! 😮
Truly amazing work, David! That's a work of art!!!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[marklengal]

I like the colors in this one . Remind me of the posters and the black lights we had as kids. I got your emails just haven’t had time to take some pictures of the wood I have yet.

[carmeslynn]

Hard to believe a creation like that was born out of nature. Kind of reminded me of some granite/quartzite with the detail of the grainlines popping out. You are a master- never saw anything like it- fascinating!!! - What a shop and tools to create your magic!!!! - thx for sharing. Carrie from Eugene Oregon👋👋👋👋

[julierutter]

Absolutely stunningly beautiful .
Well done!

[Alkivar]

this is the first piece I've seen you make I actually wanted to own. Great work!

[bespokewoodartistry]

Now that’s Art! Love your videography and set a level of skill I aspire to. I’ll be watching this many times. Cheers mate!

[johnnyb]

An amazing, beautiful, creative, and expertly executed work of art. I always so enjoy watching you work.

[jackiedejong]

What an amazingly different piece this is. Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the video too. Thank you David