Ash & Catalpa bowls

[Mark Cothren]

A couple of recently finished bowls.

Spalted Ash - 13" wide, 4-1/2" tall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/AshSaladBowl02-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/AshSaladBowl01-1.jpg

Catalpa - 16-1/2" wide, 7-1/2" tall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/CatalpaBowl02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/CatalpaBowl01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/CatalpaBowl.jpg

[bob svoboda]

I really like both, but what a nice grain pattern in the catalpa!! Good Job.

[John Keeton]

Mark, how interesting!! I was just looking at my stash the other day, and I have a piece of spalted ash, and a chunk of catalpa!! These pieces make me want to dig them out and do something with them.

Very nice work! Love the form and the rim. Nice and large - they will hold lots of stuff!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Excellent work as always Mark! Beautiful woods, forms and photos!

[Frank Van Atta]

A couple of really beautiful bowls.

[Tim Rinehart]

I like the bowls, the spalting in the ash is very nice, but the cleanness of the catalpa is great too.
How's the catalpa to turn/finish? Your's looks great.
I suspect someday I'll get a chance at a piece of catalpa burl about 5 feet in diameter growing on the base of a catalpa tree at my sister's home.
It's still managing to put a few leaves out each year, so they don't take it down....maybe because it would make their hammock fall down on one side...:rolleyes:

What did you use to finish these pieces? Not too shiny, which is nice for more utilitarian pieces (I suspect anyway that's their use for you).

[George Morris]

Very nice I love the Catalpa nice to work with!

[Mark Cothren]

How's the catalpa to turn/finish?


This is the first piece I've turned. I don't expect I'll be turning any more. It smells awful, for one thing. The other thing I learned about this wood is that every piece of metal that these shavings got on blistered and rusted like it had acid poured on it. When finish turning, the wood required several light finishing cuts with a sharp gouge to lessen the tearout of the soft fibers in the end grain. All in all it was a major pain in the neck. Part of me wants to give this bowl away just to be rid of the bad memories. The other part of me wants to price it for a fortune to make up for all the grief I've suffered because of it.



What did you use to finish these pieces? Not too shiny, which is nice for more utilitarian pieces (I suspect anyway that's their use for you).

Both of these bowls have Mahoney's oil on them.

[John Hart]

Mark Cothren. Nice to see your name again. :)

Great looking ice cream bowls sir!! You need a couple ice cream shovels to go with them! ;)

[Mark Cothren]

Hey John, good to see you around, too. Those would almost hold enough ice cream for me...:)

[Roland Martin]

Those are both great looking bowls. The Catalpa could pass as ash, but apparently it doesn't turn near as good as ash.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Both of those are great looking bowls. Love the grain of the second.

[charlie knighton]

very nice....

[Jim Underwood]

Gotta love the grain on that Catalpa.

It's also a very stable wood. I once cut two green blanks for a demonstrator, one from Aspen and one from Catalpa. The Aspen was selected over the Catalpa because the Catalpa blank overlapped the pith a bit. Having turned both, I suspected that the Catalpa would be more stable than the Aspen-even with the pith. So after the demo, the demonstrator asked if someone would finish out the platter, and I took the platter demo home to let it dry. I also took the Catalpa home, and turned it almost to a finish that same day.

A few months later, both were fairly dry. The Aspen was warped and cracked past doing anything with. The Catalpa had barely moved...:cool:

[David E Keller]

Nice looking bowls. The catalpa is really pretty, but it sounds like a 'last resort' wood. Both look like substantial, utilitarian forms.

[Paul Douglass]

Just thinking of catalpa wood, maybe because it is in bloom here now (I think that is what those trees are). It is beautiful wood and you certainly did it justice.

[Curt Fuller]

Your bowls are the best!

[Allen Neighbors]

Wonderful job!! The spalted wood is outstanding...
That Catalpa is worth every pain you had while turning it. Spectacular!! Price it high!!

[Jim Underwood]

The catalpa is really pretty, but it sounds like a 'last resort' wood.

Nope, not at all. In fact, interestingly enough, this evening while perusing back issues of Fine Woodworking I ran across an article on this wood. (Issue No. 72 Sept/Oct 1988) Jon Arno, the author writes:

"Ask any 10 woodworkers you know, even those who pride themselves on their experience with rare woods, what they think about catalpa. [..........]
If any of them have used catalpa wood, there is a good chance they liked it so much they have been reluctant to spread the word. Catalpa, given the supply situation, is a secret they would just as soon see kept. Why? Because catalpa is a very fine cabinet wood, and at least at present, it isn't that expensive. It is, however, hard to find."

He goes on to say that it's resembles Chestnut, it's easy to work, very stable, and has a 'very bold figure on the flatsawn surface'. It also tends to weather well, so for outdoor stuff it's not too bad either.

If you run across any, give it a turn...

Nice bowls by the way. I like the form and the figure on that Spalted Ash bowl.

***Ooops. missed Mark's comments on this wood. Wow. I didn't have the same experience turning it that you did...***

[Mark Cothren]

***Ooops. missed Mark's comments on this wood. Wow. I didn't have the same experience turning it that you did...***

Well my experience with the wood is limited to one. The tree was a large, older tree that a tornado blew down. I know another turner (on this board) who had a similar unpleasant experience with catalpa. I do have some smaller pieces from a different tree. That wood is completely dry, so I may give it another turn and see if it does any better for me.

If you're anywhere close to central Arkansas you are welcome to come by here and pick up a few large chunks...:)

[Jim Underwood]

I still have a few chunks of a large one that got cut down because it was encroaching on the neighboring lot, and the owner wanted to build on it. This tree was almost 3 foot in diameter. It was pretty wet, but I don't remember any distinctive smell. I think I'd remember it if it did. The author of the article I mentioned said it did have a smell, but he couldn't decide if it was bad or good...

I DO remember what Sweet Gum smells like... I had three of them cut down in my yard a year or so back. I roughed out a ton of green bowl blanks and got that sap ALL OVER me...:eek:

I'll have to turn some more of this Catalpa to see if it has a distinctive smell...

[Sean Nagle]

Catalpas grow very well in our semi-arid climate. I have one in my backyard shading the deck. It's quite a site, looks very tropical with its enormous leaves. However, the bean pods suck.

[John Hart]

With all this catalpa-talk...I went a huntin'.
I thought this was a pretty cool article The can't-win catalpa (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1016/is_n1-2_v97/ai_9348322/)