Hi Everyone,
Below are some pictures of a Sassafras and paduak bowl I just finished last night.
Like the Osage orange and Paduak bowl I wrote about 2 weeks ago, I wanted to do something different with this rather plain looking roughed out sassafras bowl.
The paduak rim was constructed from (2) layers of 1/4" thick (12) segment rings. The bottom layer separated from the sassafras by black veneer.
As as with the Osage bowl, I wanted to avoid the Paduak's color bleeding over into the adjoining Sassafras. I used black veneer to separate these woods, and to give definition to the inner segmented ring. After the glue was dried, I turned it to it's final shape.
If you've ever worked with Sassafras, you'll know that it is one of the toughest woods on which to get a smooth surface. The end grain is particularly nasty. Even with shear scraping and sanding, I was unsatisfied with the final surface. Using a separate cloth for each wood, I carefully applied sanding sealer to each portion of the bowl. I allowed this to dry, and then very carefully wet sanded the entire bowl with a mixture of 50% varnish/50% mineral spirits. This was a bit nerve wracking, but enabled me to end up with the ultra smooth surface I was looking for. The wet sanding mix stiffened up the fibers in the end grain and allowed me to shear them clean. It also filled in the "pores" of the Sassafras and made for a much more uniform surface.
Specs:
Outer dia.: 9 5/8"
Height: 2 1/2"
Wall thickness: 3/8"
Base dia.: 3 1/4"
Sanding Method: Wet sanded to 2000 Grit.
Finish: Watco's Danish Oil
Final: Buffed with Beall System
Thanks for viewing.
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