something from down under

[neil mackay]

Here we go a Blackwood bowl 9.5"x2.75" finished with Shellawax friction polish with a wall thickness of 3/16".
A very light bowl and the Blackwood turns well with minimal tear out.i was fortunate to have some spalting in the sap wood area as a counter balance to the highly featured area.

[Frank Van Atta]

Beautiful piece. The first time I turned Australian Blackwood I was confused because it wasn't black. :confused:

[John Keeton]

Neil, that is some beautiful wood!! Very nice form, and I like the contrast with the sapwood. The slight spalting makes a nice feature.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Neil - Beautiful bowl! Love the rich colors! Hope to see more of your work real soon!

[alex carey]

im a fan of this shape with a tiny foot, nice job, wood is great too.

[Toney Robertson]

Nice looking wood and a pleasing form.

Why do they call it Blackwood? Is some black?

Toney

[David E Keller]

Pretty stuff. Nice job.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice looking wood and a really pleasing bowl.

[Mark Hubl]

Nice bowl. Love the form, great curve and I like the top treatment. Wood looks nice.

[Roland Martin]

Very nice work Neil. Form is great & the wood is awesome.

[Baxter Smith]

Very pretty bowl with a nice shape and color!

[neil mackay]

Thanks for all the positive comments.
Blackwood is a very popular timber here for flooring, furniture and I think boat building. But most definitely turning it generally comes from South Australia.
As to how it got its name, no idea, but I will ask my supplier and get back to you.It belongs to the hard wood family although its not that hard.

Its an easy timber to turn and takes a very good polish and of course sands well if needs be. I used a home made inertia sander to around 320 and then polished with a product called EEE something akin to Tripoli powder but more effective. Followed up with Shellawax friction polish which hardens over time, about 3 weeks.At this point I will give one final polish and then present it to the owner.