Black Locust Burl Bowl (pics)

[Bill Grumbine]

Greetings all

Between flat work and being a movie star, I haven't gotten a lot of real turning done, but I have done some. Here is one of my latest efforts.

<img src="http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/blacklocustburl01.jpg">

This is a black locust burl cap that was given to me by a local tree guy. I have not always been wild about the color of black locust, as a lot of times it is sort of a sickly greenish black with black streaks running through it. Even though that color often mellows to a nice tan, the fact that it is like turning concrete makes it good for the firewood pile. Burls are a different story though, and this one proved to be a very nice piece to turn indeed.

<img src="http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/blacklocustburl02.jpg">

Here is a shot looking down on it. I turned it while it was still wet, reasoning that if I waited until it was dry, it would be like the aforementioned concrete, and I would have a few years to wait, since it had been freshly cut when I got it. Iturned it down to 1/4" all the way around, and within a couple of days it was nice and dry.

The hardest part was picking the bark out of all those teeny tiny points. This thing has some truly miniscule points covering it, so I spent a few hours with a dental pick, a brass brush, and finally a dremel with a small wire wheel.

The bowl is 11 1/2" in diameter, and 2 3/4" high. The rim is 1/4" in diameter, with the wall thickness and the wing thickness both being 1/4" as well. It is finished with Watco Danish oil. I have not yet buffed it, and I do not know if I will. With all the points and the inclusions, I do not really want to spend several more hours picking lint like I did bark. I may oil it up a bit more to get some more shine, but then again I might leave it like it is.

Now I have two - not just one, but two - 18" great propeller cherry burls that are ready to go on the lathe. This one was the warmup. :D

Thanks for taking a look.

Bill

[Russell Svenningsen]

Stunning work Bill!(as usual) Beautiful wood!

Bad title though, trying saying "Black Locust Burl Bowl 3 times fast! I think I sprained my tongue :p


Russell

[Brad Schmid]

Wow, nice warmup! That's beautiful as usual Bill. Not only do I admire your skill, but your patience as well.

Couple curiosity questions if I may...

1) How much did the wings move after it dried? Did the bowl itself move at all?
2) Did you flood/saturate the wood with Danish oil, or did you wipe on light coats and let it dry between?

Thanks,
Brad

[Dick Parr]

Very nuce Bill.

[Jack Diemer]

Did you get sliced by those spinning thorns off that Black Locust. :p

Beautiful work.

[Jim Ketron]

Great job as usual Bill

Jim

[Jason Roehl]

"I'd buy that for a dollar!!" (Only because I can't afford more--I'd pay more if I had it.) :D

[Bill Grumbine]

Thanks guys! Brad, the wings have not moved at all yet, although they may move a bit eventually. The same goes for the bowl itself. It is hard to tell with burls, as they do not often warp like regular wood does. Sometimes a burl that is turned to finish while still wet will take on a wrinkly texture, as it ripples when it dries, but that is not an unplesant thing.

When I finish with Watco, I flood the thing as best I can with soaking wet rags, let it sit for a while, and then wipe it down. This works best in my experience. I usually do one coat only, and then buff it on the buffing wheel, but I do not think this one is going to be buffed. I hate picking lint even more than picking bark!

Bill

[Mark Singer]

Excellent! Really great work Bill!

[Jim Becker]

I'll echo Mark...Excellent! Burls are wonderful to turn because every one is SO interesting!

[Brad Schmid]

Thanks guys! Brad, the wings have not moved at all yet, although they may move a bit eventually. The same goes for the bowl itself. It is hard to tell with burls, as they do not often warp like regular wood does. Sometimes a burl that is turned to finish while still wet will take on a wrinkly texture, as it ripples when it dries, but that is not an unplesant thing.

When I finish with Watco, I flood the thing as best I can with soaking wet rags, let it sit for a while, and then wipe it down. This works best in my experience. I usually do one coat only, and then buff it on the buffing wheel, but I do not think this one is going to be buffed. I hate picking lint even more than picking bark!

Bill

Thanks for the info Bill. I'm still in the experimental stages of my personal finishing regiment trying to discover what works best for different situations. I've flooded the last several pieces I've turned that were wet with good results, so I'm glad to hear your confirmation that this is what you do. Makes me feel like I must be doing something right for a change :D

I sure wish I could get my hands on some nice burl like that, but it's hard to come by in South Texas for any reasonable price :(
Cheers,
Brad