Yellow Cedar Bowl

[Kathy Marshall]

This yellow cedar came all the way from Alaska along with some other pieces from a fellow turner that winters in AZ. I met him at the Desert Woodturners Roundup and sent him home with some olive and pecan and he sent me a couple boxes of wood as a thank you. I've been waiting to turn it, thought I'd give it some time to aclimate to the dry AZ climate. Pulled it out of the box and it looked good, just 1 itty bitty shallow crack on one face. Took it to the bandsaw to cut it round and by the time I got it to the lathe there was another itty bitty crack, but no matter it would get turned away when I trued up the blank.
Got it trued up (it cuts very nice with sharp tools), cut a tenon and started shaping the outside. A couple little cracks showed up in the end grain, then I started hearing the cracks http://www.woodturnersresource.com/yabb2files/Templates/Forum/woody/shocked.gif so I put the pedal to the metal to try and get it finished before the cracks got any worse. Got the outside turned, sanded and slathered with walnut oil.
Started on the inside and it was smooth sailing, at least until I started hearing the tick tick again. By the time I got to the inside bottom a couple of the outside cracks had gone all the way through to the inside and there were some shallow cracks on the inside surface. Got it finish turned, reversed it and finished the bottom and soaked the inside with walnut oil. Now it's time to play the waiting game and see if I got it thin enough that the cracks wont get any worse.
Forgot to measure it, but it's about 7 x 3 1/2" or so, walls are about 1/4" maybe a little less, finished with walnut oil and embellished with character lines http://www.woodturnersresource.com/yabb2files/Templates/Forum/woody/grin.gif
I'll wait on the next piece until next month when the humidity goes up.


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Thanks for looking!
As always comments and critiques are welcome.

[charlie knighton]

cedar means cracks, at least to me, very nice, thanks for sharing

[Bob Rotche]

Love the beautiful, simple form. The longer I turn and study the work of others, the more I realize that form trumps figure every time.

[Toney Robertson]

I guess it does not make a difference whether it is yellow or red, I have heard that cracking too.

It looks great and I hope it lasts.

[John Keeton]

Kathy, you did a beautiful job on this one!! Hate that it is cracking on you, but you should be proud of the form on this bowl.

[James Combs]

I guess it does not make a difference whether it is yellow or red, I have heard that cracking too.

It looks great and I hope it lasts.

Ditto Toney's comments.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Pretty bowl - sorry to hear that it was cracking on you ... but it is Cedar!

Just a thought... seeing as how the reason it is cracking is because it is drying out too fast - grab a small spray bottle filled with water and keep the wood wet until you are done turning it. Might be able to save it from cracking - at least while turning and once turned, it will have a fairly even wall thickness and may dry without all the checking.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a pretty bowl and I do like the simple form. Sorry to hear it is cracking.

[bob svoboda]

Really nice bowl. That yellow cedar sure smells good when you cut it.