Chris Gunsolley
10-02-2016, 1:52 PM
This question is for those of you whom have experience in making the most out of burls when making bowls from them...
I just picked up this load of large boxelder burl:
345040 345041
My goal is to make large bowls out of it, and in the process incorporate as much of the red streaks as I can into the bowls. So, I'm contemplating how to take full advantage of them. I have my own ideas on the matter, which I will share below, but I'm playing tug-of-war with them. Of course one thing that's come to mind is to consult my fellow, experienced forum members and see what they have to say!
Basically, my question for you is, How do you generally approach making the most of burls?
Basically, the two questions I'm contemplating primarily are whether to orient the bowl so that the bark is at the base or at the rim. Ideally, I'd end up with natural edge burl bowls with maximal red in them. However, in examining the logs, it is clear that there may be tradeoffs in that, as most of the red seems to be toward the bark edge. So, if I were to let go of the idea of a natural edge and instead orient the base toward the bark, I may end up with more red in the bowl's surface area. In that case, I'd end up with more red in the bowl overall, and the deepest reds toward the bottom of the bowl, but the form of the bowl wouldn't be as intriguing as it would be had I incorporated a natural edge.
So, the dilemma I am in, it appears, is that I can have natural edge bowls with some red in them--perhaps a great amount in some cases... Or, I can have non-natural edge bowls with more and deeper red in them, especially toward the bottoms. Of course, I could do some of each, depending factors such as where the deepest red is located or the shape of the bark's surface, for example. However, all of this thinking on the topic has got me wondering if you'd share the lessons you've perhaps learned in taking full advantage of a burl. So, do you personally have a preferred method based on your experience?...
Do you orient the bowl in the burl so that the rim is toward the center, or the bark?
Or, do you instead orient the bowl in the burl so that the bowl's base is toward the bark edge?
If you have either of the above preferred approaches, why do you approach a burl that way?
If you have a different approach, would you please share that in this thread and explain why you do so?
I just picked up this load of large boxelder burl:
345040 345041
My goal is to make large bowls out of it, and in the process incorporate as much of the red streaks as I can into the bowls. So, I'm contemplating how to take full advantage of them. I have my own ideas on the matter, which I will share below, but I'm playing tug-of-war with them. Of course one thing that's come to mind is to consult my fellow, experienced forum members and see what they have to say!
Basically, my question for you is, How do you generally approach making the most of burls?
Basically, the two questions I'm contemplating primarily are whether to orient the bowl so that the bark is at the base or at the rim. Ideally, I'd end up with natural edge burl bowls with maximal red in them. However, in examining the logs, it is clear that there may be tradeoffs in that, as most of the red seems to be toward the bark edge. So, if I were to let go of the idea of a natural edge and instead orient the base toward the bark, I may end up with more red in the bowl's surface area. In that case, I'd end up with more red in the bowl overall, and the deepest reds toward the bottom of the bowl, but the form of the bowl wouldn't be as intriguing as it would be had I incorporated a natural edge.
So, the dilemma I am in, it appears, is that I can have natural edge bowls with some red in them--perhaps a great amount in some cases... Or, I can have non-natural edge bowls with more and deeper red in them, especially toward the bottoms. Of course, I could do some of each, depending factors such as where the deepest red is located or the shape of the bark's surface, for example. However, all of this thinking on the topic has got me wondering if you'd share the lessons you've perhaps learned in taking full advantage of a burl. So, do you personally have a preferred method based on your experience?...
Do you orient the bowl in the burl so that the rim is toward the center, or the bark?
Or, do you instead orient the bowl in the burl so that the bowl's base is toward the bark edge?
If you have either of the above preferred approaches, why do you approach a burl that way?
If you have a different approach, would you please share that in this thread and explain why you do so?