With a Little Bit of Luck

Well, as the post title says with a little bit of luck and if the chainsaw spirits are willing, I will be bringing into the log yard more wood for turning.  Two fairly large cottonwood trees with large branches, two elm trees, two unknown species of oak (leaves and bark are gone), and some more pecan.  Ought to keep me going for a while, hopefully. 

Amazing & Large Pecan Centerpiece Bowl

Do you have a large dining table?  This bowl is for you!  Do you want a large centerpiece bowl that has such wonderful colors?  This bowl is for you!  Another thing that makes this bowl stand out from others is that this is the 160^th bowl I have turned from pecan!  That’s sort of a landmark event in itself.  This large pecan bowl has the ability to do a lot of things.  You may use it as a super large serving bowl as it does hold 1 1/8 gallons.  That’s a lot of salad, smashed taters, or other veggies.  You might also use it as a centerpiece bowl for fruits and all other kinds of goodies.  There are two lines under the rim for decorative purposes as well as one on the foot.  I turned a rim for ease in handling seeing this bowl does weigh 4 ½ pounds.  Actually that ain’t bad for a hardwood bowl of this size.  The diameter of this bowl is 13 ¼”  with a height of 4 ½” and a depth of 3 ¾”.  The wood has some natural defects in it, as some might call them, that I left for a more rustic appeal.  I don’t think of knots or burring as defects but more as Mamma Nature’s fingerprints on the piece.  The wood was sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with several coats of a walnut oil based wax.  This gives the bowl a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  Renewable with regular kitchen olive oil.  Using the wax instead of a top coat finish allows you to feel the grains in the wood.  28Aug17  BLP160  For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/540495196/amazing-large-pecan-centerpiece-bowl

Elegant Elm Serving Bowl

Now I don’t have to tell you that this is a lovely looking bowl turned from elm because you can tell that by looking at it.  Right?  The subtle natural colors of this wood make it very popular.  I think elm gives off kind of a warm feeling.  Some it might even make them feel warm and fuzzy.  There are some pin hole sized bug holes in this wood that have no effect on the usage of this bowl.  It held a ½ gallon of water just fine for measuring the volume.  The wood was sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with a walnut oil/shellac combination heavy on the shellac.  Using a mixture such as this gives the bowl a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  The bowl measures 10 ½” in diameter, 2 ¾” high and has a depth of 2”.  You will find some lines burned into the bottom for decorative purposes.  28Aug17  BLE57  For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/540494066/elegant-elm-serving-bowl

Wonderful Pecan Pedestal Serving Bowl

When you hold this bowl in your hands, I truly believe you will not only find it being wonderful but absolutely gorgeous.  The natural coloration of this wood makes this a bowl that will look good sitting as the centerpiece of anybody’s table.  Use it with confidence as the wood was sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with a mixture of walnut oil and shellac heavy on the shellac for more sheen.  This combination gives the bowl a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  So fill it with veggies or even mashed spuds if you wish.  Or decorate your table using it as a display bowl full of fruits and nuts.  There are several lines burned into the base are of the bowl for decorative purposes.  The diameter is 10 ½” with a height of 4” and a depth of 2 ¾”.  Take all of those measurements and you end up with a volume measuring ½ gallon.  That is a fair amount, folks!  22Aug17  BLP159 For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/552882585/wonderful-pecan-pedestal-serving-bowl

 

Amazingly Rustic Pecan Serving Bowl

Oh, how this pecan bowl oozes rustic beauty.  The natural colors along with some minor cracks that were filled with clear glue and natural pecan dust make this an extremely attractive bowl.  Use it to serve salad, smashed taters, veggies, or anything else you want to put in it.  You may use it with total confidence as the wood was sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with a mixture of walnut oil and shellac.  The finish was mixed heavy on the shellac for more sheen.  This combination gives the bowl a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  The diameter is 9 ¼” with a height of 2 ½” and a depth of 1 ¾”.  The volume measures just over ¼ gallon.  The bowl held water just fine for measuring the volume.  This is without a doubt a lovely piece that anyone would be proud to have sitting on their table.  18Aug17  BLP158  For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/552000245/amazingly-rustic-pecan-serving-bowl

Winged Osage Orange Spice Box

Osage Orange is a downright beautiful and extremely hard wood.  Also known as bodark, horseapple, and even hedgeapple.  This winged spice box has all kinds of rustic things going for it.  One of the other unique things about this wood is that Mamma Nature turns it to a burnt orange color as part of an oxidation process over time.  Nothing you can do about it, it simply is that way.  There are some decorative lines burned in to lid.  And, you will see the usual stress cracks that are typical with this wood.  They do not affect it’s usage or durability.  Use it with confidence as the wood was first sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with a walnut oil/shellac mixture.  Using a combination such as this gives the box a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  I used a mix of coffee grounds and kosher salt as the spice fill for the photos.  I left some on it here and there for the photos to simulate usage.  The length of the box is 6” and the width is 3 ¾”.  The total height is 3 ½” and the vessel height is 1 ¾” with a depth of 1”.  The volume measures at ½ cup.  You gotta love it so don’t pass this up.  16Aug17    BXBA34 For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/537751308/winged-osage-orange-spice-box

Decorative Spanish Oak Salt/Spice Box

I was going to a potbellied stove shape while turning this nice spice box but did not quite get there.  The way it did turn out I believe is quite good looking.  With some decorative lines burned in on both the body and lid, how can you go wrong?  For most household cooks and even professional chefs this box is perfect in size as it holds right at ½ cup in volume.  Doesn’t sound like much but trust me it is.  Plus when you add the beautiful natural color of this wood it is hard to turn down.  Some may also know this wood probably by it’s more common name red oak.  All the same wood.  The outside diameter is 3 ¼” with an inside lip diameter of 2”.  The total height is 4” with a vessel height of 2 ¾” and a vessel depth of 2”.  The wood was sealed and finished with a walnut oil based friction polish.  Nothing wrong with a long lasting hard natural finish.  14Aug17  BXRO25   For more info see:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/537242298/decorative-spanish-oak-saltspice-box

Awesome Red Oak Candy/Nut Jar

I gotta say from the start that when I started turning this jar, it was intended to be bigger.  As I turned I found a crack that was hidden and kept going until it was a fine and fairly shallow crack that was easily filled with clear glue and natural red oak dust.  The big knot that you see on the bottom of the vessel area was a bit difficult to deal with.  I was unable to hollow out the vessel as much as I normally do because I did not want to take the chance of the knot disintegrating and causing massive problems and ruining the piece.  So on the inside of the vessel there is a bit more wood on the sides than I normally leave.  This wood does have a couple of spots that have burring that would not sand out.  Just adds rustic flavor to the piece.  The outside diameter is 5” with an inside lip diameter of 3 ½”.  The total height is 6” and the vessel depth is 2 ¾”.  The volume measures at 2 cups.  Of course this was not designed with holding liquids in mind.  With the natural coloration of red oak this piece is something that would look really great sitting on your desk or table full of goodies.  The wood was first sealed with food grade walnut oil and then finished with a walnut oil/shellac mix.  This combo gives the jar a nice hard long lasting natural finish.  10Aug17  BXRO24 For more info see: 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/536437012/awesome-red-oak-candynut-jar