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Thread: Salad anyone, spalted alder bowl. Pics

  1. #1

    Salad anyone, spalted alder bowl. Pics

    I turned this bowl over a year ago. It developed a crack along a defect in the wood. I filled the crack with black epoxy. It took a couple of pourings to get it all filled. One thing I learned the hard way is to seal the end grain before applying black epoxy. Normally I fill cracks before the finish turning. In this case the alder sucked up the black epoxy through the end grain and it didn’t all turn away. It kinda looks like blue stain in one area on the inside. I think we will keep this bowl. It is the largest bowl I have turned on my Jet 1236.

    This piece of alder just started to spalt. There are several nice black line circles. I like the mottled color of alder in this stage. Usually I get spalted alder when it is just short of being good top soil. Those pieces don’t turn very good.

    <img src="http://www.woodnheart.com/wc/turn/salad/alder11.jpg">
    Bowl is 11" wide and 6 1/4" high. The crack is not very wide but it is 7" long.
    <img src="http://www.woodnheart.com/wc/turn/salad/alder12.jpg">
    The side starts 1/4" at the rim and increases to ½" at the bottom.
    <img src="http://www.woodnheart.com/wc/turn/salad/alder13.jpg">
    Finish is Woodcraft polyurethane oil. I let the first coat dry about a week. The alder absorbs a lot of finish and I wanted the oil to cure before saturating it again.

    Kind of an ugly shape but it will hold alota salad.

    Thank you for looking.

    Dave Smith

    Eating my greens in style in Longview, WA.
    "Every man is as heaven made him and sometimes a great deal worse."
    Cervantes

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Chappell Hill, Texas
    Posts
    4,741
    I like it Dave! Neat wood too.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    974
    Isn't spalting caused by mold/fungus? I'm sure the finish helps seal it, but just seems unappetizing to use spalted wood for food use. I would want a varnish type seal and not just oil which could wear off unnoticeably. Not something you normally finish a salad bowl with.

    Your bowl is very slight spalting though. Anyone know the skinny on this? The mold/fungus is probably dead from drying the wood, but can't some of those go to spore and live through nuclear blasts?

  4. #4
    Hi Russ,

    The spores are naturally in the soil. There are probably more spores on the salad greens than could slough off the wood. Around here, on the wet side of the mountains, if wood is left on the ground for a short period of time it will quickly turn into soil. I do not believe there is any health hazard using this bowl for food.

    Dave Smith

    Ice is starting to melt in Longview, WA.
    "Every man is as heaven made him and sometimes a great deal worse."
    Cervantes

  5. #5
    Dave, great looking salad bowl - fungus or no fungus. Besides, I like fungus in my salad anyway, usually in the shape of a mushroom, with some bacon bits and some cheese and some dressing. Man, is it lunch time yet?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Muskoka, Ontario
    Posts
    294
    Love that grain Dave - shape too - can't agree with your "kind of an ugly shape" comment. Bowls are meant to be used (mostly) and I can see that one in my lap, filled with something tasty. -Steve

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,685
    I'm with Steve...no ugliness there that I can see!! It's quite a striking bowl.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8

    Thanks for the kind comments.

    The bowl has a "U" shape with the straight sides that I think makes it a little dumpy looking. The figure does make it more appealing though. Alder is not a very impressive wood for turning unless it is a crotch piece or spalted.

    Dave Smith

    Repairing an RV roof leak in Longview, WA.
    "Every man is as heaven made him and sometimes a great deal worse."
    Cervantes

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Putnam County, NY
    Posts
    3,086
    My wife tells me that when I show people something I've made I spend most of my time telling them what is wrong with it. I guess it is human nature. I love the bowl and Like the U shape. I think it works really well.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Royse City Texas
    Posts
    167
    At ease disease there's fungus among us.. LOl

    I too like the deep U shape of that bowl. Great work as usual

    ace

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Laguna Beach , Ca.
    Posts
    7,201
    It adds character! Great job!
    Mark
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

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