best 50$ I ever spent...

[Russell Eaton]

I bought the log this came from for 50$. Since then I have gotten several freebees from the same guy. I posted this when it was rough-turned several months ago. I finished it last night and don't have a great picture of it but this will do till I get the tent set up. It is Ambrosia Maple with spalting and burl eyes in it as well. It even has a couple of voids, they made me a little nervous when sanding. I had to leave the rim a little thicker than I lit due to the void being so close and not wanting to loose a section of the rim. It is sanded to 400 grit and has a couple coats of walnut oil. Just for reference I added a picture of the before picture. Comments are welcome and thanks for looking. Russell

[Jason Ritchie]

What beautiful wood! Great job on the bowl. I have some maple very similar to this and I know how difficult it can be to turn.

[Allan Ferguson]

There are some big holes there. No one wants pieces flying off. Must have been a bear to sand.

[John Keeton]

Wow!! There sure is a lot going on with that one! When you say log, Russell, how much of it is burly and spalted? I assume most all of it is Ambrosia.

Good stuff!!

[Russell Eaton]

John the burl is hit and miss, the spalting is constant throughout. I still have a hollow form that has to be returned. I need a steady rest or a catchers mitt. It has a lot of voids as well.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful bowl Russell! Amazing grain!

Good luck using a steady rest with lots of voids! I found it usually made the ride too bumpy... and try to hollow without a rest. Course, that all depends on the form. Have fun!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Russell. The wood and voids just make it.

[David DeCristoforo]

That's an amazing piece of wood! Is there more of it? You mentioned a "log"...

[Bill Wyko]

Absolutely superb. Love the inclusion and the burl is georgeous.

[Russell Eaton]

David it was a log about 2' long. I have a couple of small cutoff sections left. I turned a captive ring goblet out of it about 2 weeks ago. I may return the hollow-form tonight. Just depends on how much courage I can muster.

[Dave Mura]

Looks very nice!

[Steve Busey]

Russell, I wasn't expecting to see those voids in the finished bowl, based on your rough out pic, but they sure add a terrific new element; even though the grain has enough character by itself. Great job bringing that one to a finish! My wife would say that's the kind of bowl where I kept my marbles (which explains how I keep losing them...). Well done sir!