That is super figure Leo!
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
White limba and walnut. Not sure what it will be yet. Some kind of box with lid.
Wild grain on that one! It looks like the defect is part of a crack system. If it were me, I would the hole with epoxy and sawdust/bark/coffee grounds, and then put a line of pewa along the crack (including one going through the middle of the epoxy repair).
This shallow apple bowl has been kicking around the shed for quite a while. I finally got around to filling the bark inclusion with some epoxy and getting it sanded. Sad to have nicked the rim at some point, but still some interesting stuff going on.
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- Mar 1, 2006
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Good idea. Then I won’t have to make it a smaller diameter and that will add interest. Thanks.
Made my first deep hollowing. Started with a very simple shape just to test out my DIY tool and to figure out how to use it (tool is about 4 1/2 ft long with an 8mm carbide cup on the end). The wood is green sycamore, and the final form is about 12" L x 4" W.
Attachments
Final sanding of 14” wild cherry bowl.
Michael
Did you get an age with that piece of Swamp Kauri.
I have one piece carbon dated at 12,000yrs waiting to be turned. I guess it can wait a bit longer!
Swamp kauri - Wikipedia
I'm always on the lookout for butternut on my place. I have found a dead one that was too punky to turn but I'm sure there's more on my 5 acres. I found a dead tree that Picture This identified as butternut. Wrong again, Picture This. I cut it down and didn't notice any particular smell. However, it was pretty apparent it was sassafras. The sassafras bark is quite red on the inside. Anyway, to my happy surprise, it had a couple of nice crotches. Here's the first of what should be four sassafras crotch bowls. I still need to finish the bottom. You can see that the first 4-5 outer rings are pretty punky. Beyond that it is pretty solid. The other half of this crotch is deeper so perhaps I won't go live edge on that one.
Hey Neil. I got this blank from Terry Scott. He said he harvested/milled it with Gordon Pembridge around 20-25 years ago from a batch of logs in an acidic swamp. Didn’t give a date, but I’m assuming it’s x-thousands of years old. Has that same dark brown patina. It may be my imagination, but it seems like there is dirt embedded deep into the wood. Tools dull quickly and the fine shavings disintegrate when rubbed. Pretty wild. Here is a pic of them harvesting the log way back when:Michael
Did you get an age with that piece of Swamp Kauri.
I have one piece carbon dated at 12,000yrs waiting to be turned. I guess it can wait a bit longer!
Swamp kauri - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Last edited:
Spalted Oak. 9x4. Wet with DO.
Michael
Some of those Kauri were already up to 2,000 yrs old before they were submerged in the swamp and going by the size of that root ball in the photo, that tree was a big one if not also already old when it went down.
So, regardless of how long it was buried, it is a very special piece of wood you have there Michael.
odie
TOTW Team
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I normally pass up on bowl blanks this small, but this 5 1/2" two-tone Bubinga was too hard to resist! 
The chatoyance in the sapwood was something that wasn't apparent, until after it was sanded.
-o-
The chatoyance in the sapwood was something that wasn't apparent, until after it was sanded.
-o-
That’s amazing, thanks for the info. They’re real giants of the old and new. The growth rings are pretty tight on my bowl, and the root ball is huge. I bet you’re right that it was ancient before it even made it to the swamp. It’s something that is almost unfathomable. Here’s the current state of affairs (as of late last night). Have done a bit of preliminary sanding, but not too much. A fair number of thin cracks, but given how special the wood is, I’m taking the time to reinforce with a bunch of pewa.
Awesome piece. Would have liked to see the original shape and condition of the wood you harvested. Always trying to find what would be best as far as angle of placing in the lathe to get a product like this. Again, great looking product.
I am left wondering what exactly that coloration comes from. I would not guess spalting first off. I have seen this type of pattern in a number of trees, and they are all in the process of dying. The coloration does not follow the growth rings. Maybe it is spalting and dying. Not sure... Anyone know for sure?
robo hippy
I'm inclined to agree with Reed. I don't think it's spalting, but rather something similar to olive Ash. Spalting in Oak almost always occurs in the sapwood, outside-in. If present in the heartwood, the sapwood is usually too far gone. Mike's sapwood is pretty clean, but the heartwood (and the heart/sap border) contains the color.
I've read that the color pattern, at least in olive Ash, comes from a non-harmful bacterial infection. You have a pretty special piece of timber there, Mike. Cool!