Besides the red streaking normally found in Box Elder, if you get lucky the wet rough outs will mold like crazy. When I looked at this rough out two weeks after I turned it and stuffed it in a paper bag I was shocked to find it growing hair. The mold was at least an inch high. I killed the surface mold with a bleach mix but I'm sure it kept growing inside the wood until the moisture content became too low to support life. When I turned and sanded it the final product the mold showed up gray. One coat of oil made the color explode into a vibrant black. I didn't bleach this bowl because I really like the yellowish color with the black. Bleaching would have produced a stark contrast with the black. It is meant to be a "user" so I finished with Livos oil. Livos is an all natural derivative of linseed oil. It has driers but they are somehow derived from the same oil. It dries very hard and is intended as a floor finish. I guess this is a bowl you can walk on.
Reply With Quote
