Help! Wood ID and Salvage Project

[Doug Herzberg]

The Fetching Mrs. Herzberg returned from her mother's the other day with this bowl. Although my mother-in-law's memory is rapidly failing, we believe it was purchased in Japan in the early 1950's. She thinks it is either teak or monkey pod wood. I have seen many examples of "monkey wood" from the Philippines and it doesn't look like them. The grain is much tighter and the color more red. We also don't know if the missing piece fell out on its own or if the bowl was dropped. The bowl is pretty well soaked in gummy, dirty vegetable oil. The end grain is a little rough. I can't imagine it was sold like that, so I assume it has to do with water exposure in dish washing or something like that. On my monitor, the colors are fairly accurate - the inside is more red and darker because of the salad oils.

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There is a crack below the missing piece and another on the bottom, inside the foot, which doesn't go all the way through to the inside of the bowl. The foot is about 6-1/4" outside diameter and the inside is tapered out. The biggest jaws available for my SN2 are 5 inches. I thought about trying to leverage this project into a bigger chuck, but I just bought a new Stihl, so I'll be in the doghouse for awhile. I am thinking about forming a wooden faceplate to fit inside the foot and then using pressure between the headstock and tailstock to hold the bowl. This assumes I won't have to work inside the foot or at the very bottom of the bowl. There isn't much oil on the bottom, so I could glue a sacrificial faceplate on, then reverse the bowl and turn it off when I'm done.

My first thought was to cut off the sides of the bowl and make it into a platter. Since there is a crack started already, I'm a little worried it might continue when the tension is released as the sides are removed. I could fill the crack with CA before I start. Then I started wondering if there is any way it could be saved as a bowl, perhaps by turning off the damaged section and adding a new collar and turning it to match.

Any thoughts on wood species? Ideas on how to fix? Suggestions for a wood species to compliment or contrast with this wood if I try to add a new side? Techniques for gluing up, chucking or turning a new side? Would you try to turn a ring and attach it, then turn to finish, or just glue on a slab and hollow it out until it matches?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Jamie Donaldson]

It's certainly not teak, but I have no idea of what else it could be. Attempting to "restore" this original is a pointless exercise Doug, and will only result in leading you into more trouble! Replace this "original family heirloom" with a new bowl of similar specs for use, and sit this relic on a shelf where is can continue growing old!

[Jim Burr]

I'm a believer in the improbable! Maybe some redwood or rainbow poplar, both of which I happen to have, would make a suitable insert. Hand chisel the sides and flat the bottom, maybe add a couple three butterfly "stitches" just to add some visual appeal and age to the piece.

[Scott Hackler]

Doesn't look like Monkey Pod either. Monkey Pod has a distictive graining.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

It's probably not Monkey Pod. It could be Narra. Narra sapwood is on the grey side, and has that sort of grain. Narra is popular back in the homeland.

[Deane Allinson]

I would patch it in cherry with several butterflys if it was a keepsake. Or a looser fit patch covered over with thin copper and short brass brads can be interesting.
Deane

[Steven Green]

Second on the cherry. I'd dunk it in DNA for a while and cut the grease then go for the patch and butterflys

[Eric Gourieux]

Doug,
I don't have any brilliant suggestions, but I'm curious whether you've decided on a plan for this bowl. With it's history, it seems like it's worth the effort to salvage.

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. I've been busy trying to get my shop addition dry ahead of the snowstorm that blew in last night. Dean and Steven, I thought it might actually be cherry and wondered whether the wood of ornamental or other cherries in Japan looks like the cherry we see here. After Kyle's post, I looked up Narra in the wood database and I think he may be right. I see it's a relative of African Padauk. I have a 30 year old blank of Padauk I'll probably never use. I want to look at the colors together.

As far as technique, I'm thinking about a slide to hold the bowl steady and a big dado to square up the void and create a matching void on the opposite side of the bowl. Since it's end grain, I would glue in two pieces of end grain Padauk, then turn it smooth. The idea would be to try to make the patches look like handles which were intended all along. I've never done a butterfly, even in flat work, and I don't feel up to learning that technique on this project, especially in end grain.

I know there are issues with color bleeding when sanding Padauk and haven't figured out just how to deal with that. Maybe it's time to buy one of those carbide finishers. I would prefer to turn side grain, but I think that's just asking for trouble. If I can keep the rim as wide as the original, the side grain will show up there. I haven't checked the bowl for round, but given the stress crack, this whole project may be undoable. I can always try to convert it to a platter if I fail.

I think I'll try the DNA soak before I start. I'm hoping the crack will close up as the wood absorbs the DNA and I can glue it before it opens up again.

Jamie, even though it's old, this isn't an heirloom. My instructions were to burn it if I can't save it. Apparently, there were matching salad bowls which were discarded over the years. I see it as a learning opportunity. If I succeed, I make the LOML and her mother happy. If I fail, no great loss and I get points for trying.