Natural edge ash crotch bowl

[Bob Bergstrom]

This is the other half of a similar bowl I posted some time ago. It was turned green, left in a paper bag for a week, then left out in the air for another week. It was dyed with brownish red dye and sealed with lacquer. That was followed by rubbing black wax into the pores of the ash. I let the wax cure and buffed it off the surface with #0000 steel wool. I used India ink to darken the bark edge. This was followed withtwo coats of lacquer. It is about 15" across and about 1/4" thick. C And C or questions always welcome.

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[Brian Kent]

Oooooh. Aaaaaaaah.

[Michelle Rich]

what Brian said! :-)

[Paul Engle]

Yea baby , dats da one , nice work indeed !

[Doug W Swanson]

Beautiful!

[Rob Boesem]

That's a beautiful piece!

I'm having one of those, "Why didn't I think of that" moments. :)

[Jessica Gothie]

Looks beautiful! I have a friend who needs an xmas present and a hunk of y-trunk red oak. (Yeah, I know. It's her favorite and I don't mind the smell. It cuts easier than black locust, which is most of what i have to play with.) When I go to make it into a bowl-like thing, is the split crotch face the foot or the "this side up" part? (I'm going to have to split it in half with my hydraulic splitter so that it will fit in my bandsaw subsequent to fitting on my lathe. But it's a sound y-trunk and green and should have pretty grain inside, I hope. If not, I have a woodstove. Y trunks split well making 2 skinnier y's (and not like down the middle of the crotch) so I don't expect any issue there.) Not going to keep the bark, so that's not a design consideration, but which way is up? Any advice you have will be appreciated.

[Bob Bergstrom]

The section nearest the pith should always be the bottom. If the bark side were the bottom, you would only see what's left of the feather in the upper wall of the bowl. Also, both limbs of the crotch should be close to equal size. When turned the bowl will be no higher than the smaller branch. You will turn away the excess of the larger branch. Hope this helps. Splitting a crotch log with a hydralic splitter seems like a challenge to me. Three or four wedges would gives lot more control of the split in my opinion. T

[Jessica Gothie]

That's just what I needed, thanks! :)

[Harry Robinette]

Bob
You done good,real good.

[Dave Fritz]

Thanks for the information, I've always wondered what side to put the tenon on.

Dave F.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Splitting a crotch by hand with wedges will often yield firewood, much easier and better results with a chainsaw. Crotch feather and the surrounding wood grain runs in all directions, and cutting reduces the splitting and yields a better surface for mounting to turn.

[Joe Kieve]

Beautiful!! I love ash and it's great to turn.

[Richard Madden]

Very nice, Bob. you should be proud of this. I like everything about it. Beautiful!!

[Thomas Canfield]

Great looking bowl with the extra dye and darkening wax. I notice that the ends were cut off. Was that the way you got the blank or lathe limitation? Great bowl.

[Curt Fuller]

Bob, I always like seeing your bowls. This is a little different than your normal style. I love it and that grain is out of this world. It's a beauty!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Bob, I always like seeing your bowls. This is a little different than your normal style. I love it and that grain is out of this world. It's a beauty!
Thanks Curt. The wood has been enhanced quite a bit. The feather and grain started to pop when a brown dye was applied. The black wax make the open pores become much more evident and the black painted rim helps frame it all. If you notice a couple of the small inclusions and a crack (upper portion on the bottom pic) in the knot became filled with black wax and result more of a feature than imperfections in the wood.
Bob, I always like seeing your bowls. This is a little different than your normal style. I love it and that grain is out of this world. It's a beauty!Thanks Curt. The wood has been enhanced quite a bit. The feather and grain started to pop when a brown dye was applied. The black wax make the open pores become much more evident and the black painted rim helps frame it all. If you notice a couple of the small inclusions and a crack (on the upper portion of the picture of the bottom) in the knot became filled with black wax and result more of a feature than imperfections in the wood.

[Bill White]

I'd be proud to have that in a place of honor in my home.
Well done sir.
Bill

[Bob Bergstrom]

Great looking bowl with the extra dye and darkening wax. I notice that the ends were cut off. Was that the way you got the blank or lathe limitation? Great bowl.
The limbs were just cut that way. Swing was not a problem on my 3520.

[Gus Dundon]

What a beautiful wood! And that's a stunning bowl!

[Wells Jacobson]

Bob,
The finish is intriguing. Lacquer to seal and then wax to fill the pores and add contrast and then remove the wax with 0000 wool and then lacquer. Does the wax in the pores not hinder lacquer adhesion?

[Bob Bergstrom]

Bob,
The finish is intriguing. Lacquer to seal and then wax to fill the pores and add contrast and then remove the wax with 0000 wool and then lacquer. Does the wax in the pores not hinder lacquer adhesion?
I've used lacquer over wax on over 25 bowls with no failures. The lacquer seems to melt into the wax. Shellac also works well over thin coatings of wax. I would not advice it over a heavy coating. I do let it cure for a day or so.