Spalted Figured Maple Bowl
This bowl was made over the past couple of days (mid-August 1999) and is the first "serious" turning I've done in a long time. Faced as I was with the need to remodel the house (largely ignored) and learning to build furniture (not ignored nearly enough) I have been avoiding any turning beyond simple furniture parts because it is so addictive. I found the blank for this bowl when I was cleaning in the shop and moving stock to a new roll-around made for scrap and turning stock. The temptation was too strong...
The wood for this piece was purchased in Alaska from John Hartvigson's woodworking store. John was my "wood pusher" when I lived up there and sometimes found delicacies like this and offered them to the deprived locals who got tired of turning birch. I had never seen wood that was both spalted and highly-figured although I don't know why—the organisms that do the spalting probably don't have much idea about the appearance of wood that is their meal/home. The figure in the bowl is, if anything, more intense than I was able to photograph but this picture of the bottom comes close. It is equal to what I expect to find on a great guitar back. Finish on this piece is boiled linseed oil to pop the grain sealed with blonde shellac and Briwax. The inside of the rim was accented with black dye. Overall size in inches: 11¾ Diameter X 2½ High.
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