Woodturning an Elm Burr Platter — Iron Paint, Coffee Grounds & Gold Wax

Elm burr is one of those timbers that does much of the work for you — the natural voids, the grain figure, the weight of it. The challenge is responding to it rather than imposing on it. In this project, the finishing is the real story: iron paint pressed into the surface, coffee grounds worked into the voids, and gold wax detailing that ties the whole piece together. The Robert Sorby Pro Mount system features here — a well-suited tool for platter work of this scale. In this video I cover: Selecting and mounting an elm burr blank Turning the platter form with a Robert Sorby bowl gouge Using the Pro Mount system for support Filling natural voids with coffee grounds Applying iron paint effects to the surface Gold wax detailing and Hampshire Sheen finishing 🎓 Want to learn in person? I run woodturning courses at my school in Hampshire for all levels — from complete beginners through to more advanced techniques. Details at www.thewoodturning.school 🛢️ My Finishes: https://www.yandles.co.uk/shop/?manuf... 📘 Design and proportion in woodturning — I wrote the book: https://www.msabansmith.com/shop 📍 Based at Garthowen Garden Centre, Four Marks, Hampshire — next to the South Downs National Park. 🌐 www.msabansmith.com Facebook — Me:   / msabansmith   Facebook — Woodturning School:   / thewoodturningschool   Instagram — Me:   / msabansmith   Instagram — School:   / thewoodturningschool   The visual video content (including my voice), any text and any graphics in the video are Copyright © Woodturning Online Ltd 2015–2025. All rights reserved. #Woodturning #ElmBurr #PlatterTurning #WoodturningFinish #WoodturningColour