I haven't been in the shop much lately, or around here, but I had an opportunity last week to get my hands on a fresh-out-of the ground walnut root ball. I happened to have the day off so I took my chainsaw over and did my best to get turnable chunks out of it. My favorite piece was this 16" platter.
By the time I got it round it's only 1" thick at the rim. It's a little thicker through the body, the outside is ogee, inside is hemispheric. I'm a little worried if it moves too much while drying I'll lose the rim and the sapwood. Part of me is tempted to finish turn it 1/2" thick or so and just let it dry. You can see it's got a chunk already missing. It's probably more of a display piece than a serving dish.
Thoughts?