Big maple bowl

[Curt Fuller]

In the Beauty and Beast contest at WTA I won a $100 gift certificate to "Got Wood". I got what looks to be some pretty good wood. It's the first time I've ever bought wood online and I wasn't sure what I would get. This is the first piece of it I've done anything with. This was a 14" x 6" "Select Maple" blank. They didn't have actual photos of the piece of wood you're buying so I was curious what select maple would be. It was a true 14", maybe a hair bigger. I know you PM3520 jockeys and Steve with his new American Beauty say "pfffft, that ain't nuthin" but on a 14" Oliver a 14" blank fits so close that it if it didn't have a space between the ways it wouldn't fit. I had to take a hand plane and knock off a few spots before it would spin.
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Anyway, I roughed it to a little under 1" thick about 4 or 5 weeks ago and soaked it with some Pentacryl (that I also won in the contest) which is supposed to stabilize the wood. I wrapped it in paper, per instructions, let it sit a month and then finish turned it. It ended up 13 3/4" x 5 7/8" with 5/8" thick walls. It's a solid bowl. The maple is much different than I thought I would get. This has a lot of different colors from what is probably spalting of some kind. It has reds, pinks, grays, and even some blueish parts. It's different but kind of pretty. It's a heavy, solid bowl for sure. The Pentacryl seemed to do it's thing too. After sitting for a month, there was almost no warping in the roughed blank as you can tell by the fact that I was able to get a 13.75" bowl from a 14" blank. I know that's not a lot of time and it could still move some more but my experience is that most of the warping takes place in the first month of drying. The finish is Howard's Feed and Wax, a combination of orange oil and beeswax.
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[Donny Lawson]

Nice bowl. I have to say I have never bought wood but thats a good piece. I guess I collect to much of it to buy it. Maple can give you some great and wild designs, since you can find it at so many different stages.

[Allan Ferguson]

I would not have guessed that it is maple. Really nice colors.

[Bill Bolen]

Now that is a healthy looking bowl Curt. Getting that size finished bowl from a 14" blank is quite the feat. I always loose an inch or better! Is that the natural coloring or did the Pentacryl add to it?

[Marc Himes]

That's a beautiful bowl Curt. I like the rim detail and the variation in the color of the wood.

[Jim Burr]

I get a lot of stuff from them Curt and it looks like you scored big time!! I love the classic/rustic look...beautiful meaty bowl!

[Baxter Smith]

Beastly Bowl Curt! I like the shape and it even looks aged already!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a really nice bowl Curt. That is some awful dark maple from any I have turned. Nice shape.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curt - love the coloring! Never would have expected that from Maple!! Good looking bowl! Glad you were able to use some of your winnings!!

[David DeCristoforo]

That's a great looking bowl, Curt! One of these days, I'm going to have to get over my phobia and try another one of those things. I only hope it turns out half as nice as this one!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Would have been a great candidate for coring. Still just a great piece of wood and a very nice turning. Did Pentacryl turn it darker? Thanks for sharing and hope you win some more.

[Curt Fuller]

Thanks everyone!

Now that is a healthy looking bowl Curt. Getting that size finished bowl from a 14" blank is quite the feat. I always loose an inch or better! Is that the natural coloring or did the Pentacryl add to it?
Bill I've never turned a bowl this size, especially this deep, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. But this hasn't shown hardly any movement yet. It could be just some stable wood but I'm inclined to think the Pentacryl was a factor. The wood soaked up the Pentacryl like a sponge. When I finish turned it, it still had a little of the smell, sort of like latex paint, of the Pentacryl. As for the color, the Pentacryl didn't seem to change the wood color any more than any wetting would. It's only my first experience but so far I'm impressed with the results.


Would have been a great candidate for coring. Still just a great piece of wood and a very nice turning. Did Pentacryl turn it darker? Thanks for sharing and hope you win some more.
Bob, the whole time I was watching most of this piece of wood fall to the floor as shavings I was thinking about how I need to get a coring setup someday. Again, as you can see in the pic of the original blank, it's about the same color with the wax sealer as it is in the finished bowl. The Pentacryl didn't darken it anymore than the oil and wax finish. The maple I get around here is usually blond, sometimes with a few dark streaks in it. But wood doesn't spalt much here in our 15% humidity so I have to guess this wood has some good old southern humidity doing the coloring job on it.

[Michelle Rich]

that wood is super. lovely color variations. looks antique! good turning!

[Richard Jones]

Great looking bowl. Perfect popcorn bowl with that raised portion, so you can hold on to it better when someone tries to steal it.

Rich

[steven carter]

Very nice bowl. I had some Red Maple that was similar to this one in the coloring.