considering natural edge

[jared parson]

Im considering natural edge for a nice maple blank. I milled this wood probably 10 or 11 months ago, so its still fairly wet. The bark seems solid and intact. Having never turned a natural edge bowl, my question is: With the information given, is it a good candidate, are there other considerations/processes involved in keeping the bark intact throughout turning? Can/should they be twice turned? Ive often wondered if the bark will loosen up as the wood dries/warps. As always, any tips or insight is appreciated.

JP

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've had very good luck with maple natural edge, both once turned and twice turned. I'm not arborist, but I understand that much depends on when the tree was cut down. I forget which season is good and which is bad, but if cut in the Spring for example, the odds are not good. If in the Fall, they are better. That may be backwards, but you get the drift. If the bark seems to want to let go, generous amounts of thin CA will usually keep it on the bowl.

[Peter Dougenik]

Having recently turned my first natural edge bowl I'll offer what is probably a "duh" piece of advice but I overlooked it so....after you get the bowl roughly rounded out don't forget to rebalance it so that the high spots are even with each other and the low spots are even with each other. Then finish the shape and put your tenon on. Like I said I made that oversight in my rush to make progress during my limited turning time, had a piece that varied in wall thickness by almost 1/4" if I wanted bark all the way around :mad:

the piece I was working with was also maple and the bark has a pretty good hold even now that the piece is completely dry. Time will tell if it'll stay on there