Cherry for the Holidays

[Baxter Smith]

A couple days before Christmas, a fellow club member asked if I was interested in getting some cherry from a wood dump he had recently come across. Although I hardly need more wood to rough out, I don’t seem to find much cherry in this area.
1 Big Cherry Split.jpg
Especially the kind that can make an 18” bar look small.

The next morning it was time to unload. Being Christmas Eve, it was almost like unloading Santa’s sleigh.
2 Cherry Bowl Blank.jpg

3 Ready to hose off.jpg
According to an old bathroom scale, an E 150 can hold ¾’s of a ton of cherry.

Hosed it off and hauled it behind the shop.
4 Christmas Eve.jpg
Anchorsealed it, then covered with a tarp.

On the last day of 2012, I turned the first two pieces down to a bit over 20”.
5 Bowl Blank 1 B.jpg
6 Bowl Blank 1 C.jpg
7 First Core.jpg

[Baxter Smith]

Then it was on to number two.
8 Bowl Blank 2.jpg

There was some rot along one edge, so I cored out the center,and then turned the top of the bigger bowl off.
9 Bowl Blank 2 Cored.jpg

The following day I wanted to try and turn something I could use for a tilt top table in the future.
10 Bowl Blank 3.jpg

Stood it on edge
11 Bowl Blank 3A.jpg
and slabbed it.

Mounted it on the lathe
12 Bowl Blank 3 B.jpg
and made it an even thickness just under 25” wide. It is now stickered with several cinderblocks on top. Maybe it will stay flat enough to return in a couple of years.

The same process was repeated two more times.

13 First 3 Bowl Blanks.jpg

The three little blanks on the right are done.
14 4 Cherry Bowl Blanks.jpg
I have yet to figure out what to do with the one on the left. 27” wide x 30” long and according to the old bathroom scale
15 Cherry Bowl Blank.jpg

Any suggestions on trying something different?

If I go with something over 20” I can’t core it.

Is turning one big bowl to finish even an option? How thick? Would anything over ½” survive drying without cracking if bagged?

Rough out one big bowl? Would a 2 ½” thick roughout survive? How would I remount it to true the recess or tenon for returning. Sounds like an excuse for bigger lathe downthe road!

Slab it to 12/4 since I only have a chainsaw and leave the ends square for future flatwork. I can resaw12” and plane 15”. Ripping, resawing, planing, jointing, and regluing might be an option.

Take a slab off the top then try a once turned cored thin set?

Turn a big bowl or cored set with the pith at the bottom?

Someday my New Years Resolution is going to be to finish more things than I rough out. Someday…

Any and all thoughts are welcome!

[Roger Chandler]

Hey Baxter........that is a pretty nice haul! Cherry is about as good as it gets for turning wood. Nice lookin' rough-outs there, and one question.....why don't you go large?! You are in keeping with your normal pattern here!

Man.......that second post.........that is some pretty stuff there! Don't know if it were mine that I might not have a piece or two of that slabbed off for a table top!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Wow Baxter that is a gloat. Really nice looking cherry. Out here if a cherry tree gets to 8" in diameter that is a big tree. lol

[Jim Burr]

Well aren't you the wood hoarder!! Nice haul Baxter...should keep you busy for a week or two!

[Ted Calver]

What? No giant natural edge?? This is about as good as it gets for cherry Baxter. What a great haul.

[Scott Hackler]

Wow that's a whopper.!

[Kathy Marshall]

Now that's a heck of a gloat Baxter! And it looks you've been very busy!

[Reed Gray]

Baxter,
Well, I did core a 22 inch madrone bowl once. Had to break off about a 2 1/2 inch tenon/stub in the center. I REALLY S T R E T C H E D out a lot of plastic on the rim. Don't know if you have ever seen the You Tube clip from the New Holland bowl mills, but they steam their big cherry bowls. That or boil it. For steaming, probably under a cover of some sort, and as long as over night maybe. I am jealous. No cherry like that at all out here.

robo hippy

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Bax,
Don't leave sapwood near the bottom of the bowl. Every time I do so the rough out cracks. In fact, with that big a chunk I would remove all sapwood. Big bowls are fun to make but hard to get rid of. They beat the crap out of you and sanding takes forever. Don't let the blank determine the bowl size. Make a size you like and can sell. That looks like it was a fabulous piece of cherry. No matter how much wood I have around I never refuse a chance for cherry. For every day bowls I think it is the prettiest wood.
faust

[Steve Schlumpf]

Baxter - WOW - what a gloat! I love it! Cherry sure is a great wood to turn! I wish I could offer some suggestions as to how best to use the large chunks - and was trying to think of something to go with the bathtub you already roughed out - but no luck! Have fun with it all and watch your back! Man - that stuff is heavy!!

[Sean Hughto]

Baxter, I would make the biggest bowl I could, just to have one under my belt that was finished at around 24" diameter. My guess is that it will oval a full inch, so make it thick enough to still have a round bowl with a near 3/4" wall. I love pith at the bottom as it makes for pretty grain patterns and more stability as the wood "breathes" moisture during it's life. I'd coat the whole thing in anchor seal and let it dry slow over 6 to 12 months. As far as truing the tenon for re-turning, that sould be no problem - just mount a plywood disk (perhaps covered with some sheet rubber/foam/shelf lining) on a face plate, use the tail stock (mark the center o fhte tenon with dimple while you're turning the blank) to push the rim of the blank into the disk and run at a slowish rotation - like 300 rpm while you retrue the tenon - then put it in a stronghold chuck and finish it!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Great gloat Baxter & some really nice wood. But Where's the big end grain hollow vessels ??? With that new boring bar you have, it looks like there would have been some nice vessel's in it too.

[Michael Gibson]

Baxter,

l bet you are glad you did not turn down that offer, it certainly is some beautiful Cherry. l would bag them in one of those giant paper bags like you have to buy at Ace hardware and seal them as well for added insurance. Michael

[Bob Bergstrom]

Beautiful wood. Hard to find it that big without wind shanks or rotten middle. I cored a 25" maple sometime back, but was limited by the largest coring blade. The remaining largest bowl was still 3" thick. Thinned it down to 2" and rounded the rim. Then I plastic wraped and duct taped the rim. I sealed the ends with anchor seal before the wrap. Waited two years and finished off. No crackers!!