December 2012 Bowls - Maple and Cherry

I finished up the year by turning a number of maple and cherry bowls for family and friends. I'm really loving the process and playing around with different shapes, sanding techniques and finishing styles. The bows are a lot of work, but reveal new character and hidden gems within the wood grain throughout the process.

I have also spent the past few months cutting up blocks of wood with my chainsaw and storing them (green) in the back of my garage. When time permits, I pull one out and true it up on the bandsaw and rough turn it on the lathe. What I'm left with is a "green" bowl (not dry) that is about 1" thick and will be stored again in the back of the garage for about a year to dry out naturally. Wood that dries too quickly or unevenly tends to crack and split and quickly turns into a scrap piece for the fireplace.

Below are some photos of two bowls I turned and finished. The first is made from a chunk of maple and the second, a nice piece of cherry. They are both about 8" in diameter.

Maple bowl with nice beetle holes.

Cherry bowl with some black lines running through the grain.

Maple and cherry bowls for comparison.

November Turnings

Here are a few of the smaller projects I've been working on in the shop. Christmas presents that will surely get some mileage. It has been a fun break from cutting boards.

Beer bottle opener made from cocobola.

Coffee scoop made from coffee beans and acrylic.

Ice cream scoop made from marblewood. Huge and heavy.

Mach 3 razors made from maple burl. A crowd favorite.

Those Cheesy Cheese Boards

A giant sigh of relief after many months in the wood shop. The largest set of edge grain cheese boards I have ever created, seventeen in all. Now the disclaimer is that I took my time and worked on these in my spare time, which seems like a precious commodity these days. A few hours here, 30 minutes there, a tip-toe into the shop here before being called back inside for any one of the many daddy-duties. However, I'm done and I'm thrilled with the outcome. They look awesome.

I decided to stick to an interesting shape I created in the last round of cheese boards. Heavy rounded opposite ends with offset routed grips. Just gives the boards clean lines and shows off the pin striping a bit more in my opinion.

The boards are a mix of exotic and domestic hardwoods. Tons of sawdust created in the making of these. I will do my best in the captions of each photo to name the species used. Sorry for the so-so photography, I was running out of light and snapped a few quick photos with my iPhone.

I can't promise anyone a certain board as they tend to sell quickly. If you want to claim one for your own, please email me with the board # you want and I will do my best to update the site with SOLD signs to avoid confusion.

Thanks for looking.

All 17 cheese boards lined up. I typically let them sit in the sun for a day or so to "color up." Some of the woods intensify in color when exposed to sunlight. I did this a few weeks ago and thought they looked really cool lined up like this.

An aerial shot so that you can see the ends as well as the routed grips.

Two stacks of incredibly heavy hardwood. Had to move one stack at a time.

Below are the numbered boards. I did my best to order them from lightest to darkest. Just helps when people are selecting the boards they want to buy. Have at 'em.

SOLD - All domestic woods. Maple, walnut and black cherry.

SOLD - All domestic woods. Maple, walnut and black cherry.

SOLD - Maple and purpleheart.

SOLD - Maple, murado, bloodwood and walnut.

SOLD - Very similar to #4 but with slight variations. Maple, walnut and bloodwood.

SOLD - Maple, padauk, cherry, murado, bloodwood and walnut.

SOLD - Maple, bloodwood, murado, padauk and black cherry.

SOLD - Maple, bloodwood, sapele, walnut and black cherry.

SOLD - Curly maple, purpleheart, walnut, padauk and black cherry.

SOLD - Bloodwood, maple, walnut an black cherry.

SOLD - Bloodwood, maple, walnut and black cherry.

SOLD - Bloodwood, maple, purpleheart, black cherry and murado.

SOLD - Purpleheart, maple, walnut, black cherry and padauk.

SOLD - Walnut, maple, bloodwood, black cherry and sapele.

SOLD - Sapele, maple, purpleheart, black cherry and walnut.

SOLD - Purpleheart, black cherry, maple, sapele and walnut.

SOLD - Sapele, maple, padauk and walnut.

Claro Walnut Bowl

I wanted to post a few photos of the claro walnut bowl I've been working on. After lots of sanding, a few coats of Antique Oil finish, and a buffing of steel wool, the bowl is finally finished. Super smooth and ready to display. Looking forward to getting started on my next bowl.

Claro walnut bowl. Overall dimensions around about 5.5" wide and 3" tall.

Claro walnut bowl finished with Antique Oil finish.

Claro walnut bowl. Very cool swirling grain patterns.

My first bowls on the lathe

Before I even got into wood turning, there were a few projects that I was anxious to try. Turning pens (check!), turning wine bottle stoppers (check!) and finally turning bowls (check!)

The process of turning a bowl is completely different from pens, razors, wine stoppers, etc. Takes a bit more time, a bit more control and a few more tools.

The first attempt at a bowl didn't even make it to the lathe. I decided not to pre-drill my holes to mount the face plate to the chunk of wood and had a screw break off in the wood. So I threw the piece away. No need to have a chunk of metal in the wood waiting for a tool to hit it.

My second attempt resulted in a DOH! moment when the screws I used to mount the face plate were too long and I ended up having 4 nice holes in the bottom of my bowl that I just couldn't carve away.

While they may not win any awards, my first few attempts have made me proud. Really excited to keep at it and continue to learn and experiment. Below are a few of my firsts that actually turned out well enough to consider a finished project.

My first successful bowl that I turned from a piece of curly maple I had laying around the shop.

The above photos shows a blank of claro walnut that I rounded off on the bandsaw before mounting on a face plate. Easier to get it somewhat round before trying to turn it.

Same claro walnut bowl blank after turning the outside and bottom. Sanded down a bit and ready to flip around and carve out the inside. This one will still need a good bit of sanding to smooth out.

My first try and turning "green wood" from my firewood pile. This was a small oak log that was split and ready to burn. I kept the live edge (bark) and turned it down to about 3/4" thickness before putting away to dry for a few months. Need to let the moisture content drop down before turning to final dimensions and sanding.

Some wine bottle stoppers

I haven't ever run into this problem, but I hear it happens. Let's say you open a bottle of wine and can't finish it (gasp!) What does one do? Well, you could put the original cork back in, but that would be so passe. How about adorn the top of your bottle with a custom hand turned wine bottle stopper? Great idea.

I have turned a few of these and use chrome bottle stoppers with two silicone rings to get a nice air-tight seal. They are fun to make and allow me to experiment with different shapes and wood combinations. I have also started lining them up on my mantle piece as nicknacks. Plenty of folks comment on their resemblance to chess pieces. I have no interest at this point on making chess sets.

A few of the wine bottle stoppers I turned on my lathe. Different wood species and shapes. Notice the top two stoppers have the hardware attached. The bottom (rosewood) version doesn't have the chrome piece installed.

I played around with laminating a strip of maple in between two pieces of sapele for a pinstripe effect. These do not have the chrome hardware installed. Just playing around with shapes. They are drilled out on the bottoms so that I can add in the hardware later.

Here is a small maple bowl I turned with a collection of wine bottle stoppers thrown in.

More Mach 3 burl razors

I put on a mini turning class on Saturday for a few of my friends that were interested in learning the basics of the lathe. We had a really fun time and they both went home with incredible pens that they made themselves. I played a supervisory role and let them get the feel for the tools and the steps involved. I was really impressed with what they were able to make on their first attempts.

After they left, I spent some time working with some new chunks of burl I had purchased and made a few more Mach 3 razors. The wood was fantastic and had amazing color and grain patterns. They make for great presentation pieces and something that the average Joe can use on a weekly basis. If you have to shave, why not shave in style?

I still have a few left for those looking for a very unique Father's Day gift, or just a thoughtful gift for the gentleman in your life (including yourself).

For those of you unfamiliar with what you're looking at below: These are kits that accept Gillette Mach 3 replaceable razor heads for shaving. Very common and easy to find at your local grocery store or pharmacy. These will last for many years and require new blades once dull.

Burl Mach 3 razors made from eucalyptus burl (1 and 2) and some new red mallee burl (3 and 4)

A very lengthy finishing process ensures a long-lasting razor and an amazing glass-like finish.

You can see the swirling grain patterns and bark inclusions that make each razor unique.