I just finished roughing out a chip and dip plater from a nice big leaf maple blank that I got from Mike Smith a fellow North Carolinian. This blank was covered with a thick coat of wax which had the grain and burl spots unseen by me until I turned the wax away. All I can say is WOW what nice grain this blank had. It started out right at 22" and ended up around 20" once I got it round. It is the largest dia. blank that I've ever turned. I didn't put any detail in the rough out, but hope to put a bit in it when I turn it to finish thickness. If the dip bowl warps to much as it dries I will have to turn it away and be happy with a nice large platter. My son had to get into the act in the last picture. He is a normal size 8 year old to give some reference to the size of the platter.
Jack
Jack