Eastern Red Cedar bowl

[Robert Hayward]

A small ERC bowl turned from a tree in my front yard. Took the tree down last September and got a bunch of wood out of it. I milled most of the wood into turning blanks because I did not have the time to rough turn 30 or forty bowls. I did rough turn 12 or so bowls, some of them in the 12" ~ 16" range. This little one was a test to see how the wood worked on the lathe. Soft, I am more used to my favorite Live Oak and Laurel Oak. Nice colors though. The other blanks are colored similar to this bowl.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Beautiful colour.

[Rich Colvin]

I really like turning cedar.

[John K Jordan]

I really like turning cedar.

Me too. I've probably made hundreds of things from cedar, and a few bowls as well (but not as nearly big as 16".)

I really like to get cedar that has the white "marbled" with the red like this bowl. (very nice wood there!) One thing I learned early: too much heat from sanding will sometimes cause tiny checks in the wood. Ceder is where I started using scrapers instead of sandpaper for all but the finest grits. Also, my favorite finish for ERC is beeswax, either applied by spinning or rubbed on and melted into the wood with warm air from a heat gun. I like the soft luster.

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

Robert, what is the finish on these? I like the beeswax suggestion, but looking for something more durable.

[Robert Hayward]

John, I have never tried beeswax as a stand alone finish. I have another cedar rough the same size as this one but a more traditional bowl shape on the lathe right now waiting to be finish turned. I might try your beeswax finish.


I have been using Mirka Abranet paper lately and have not had a heating problem... yet. The Abranet paper is an open "cloth" like backing. Cuts fast and lasts and lasts for me.


Stan, the finish on this bowl is my normal finish. Shellac and Johnson's Paste Wax. This shellac is Super Golden Kusmi button from Shellac.net. A 2 1/2 pound cut. Four coats and sanded between each and after the final coat. After each coat I sand with a finer grit. I think I sanded the final coat with 1000 then 0000 steel wool. I can do four coats of shellac in one afternoon in my air conditioned shop. The low humidity level and moving air evaporates the alcohol fast.

[John K Jordan]

John, I have never tried beeswax as a stand alone finish. I have another cedar rough the same size as this one but a more traditional bowl shape on the lathe right now waiting to be finish turned. I might try your beeswax finish.


I found the look changed a lot depending on how I applied the beeswax. Here are some of my experiences, if you are interested.

This was the bowl I got checking from too much heat from sanding. Admittedly, I was a beginner and learning how to turn and sand so I may have had a heavy hand. (I think this was the second bowl I ever made, or maybe the third - I remember really puzzling over how to do the bottom!) I applied beeswax directly from a chunk while spinning on the lathe, melting it a bit from the friction, buffed with a cotton cloth while spinning, then applied a bit of micro-crystalline wax. This was my first try with beeswax at that and I liked the look. It still looks the same today after about 15 years but it doesn't get used.

363615

Beeswax is certainly not as durable as some other finishes, but I've been surprised at how it has held up on some pieces. For example, the top left of the three squarish platters/plates in this picture (and at the very top) is ERC with beeswax and we've used it for years on the table, mostly with crackers or cookies. I put some softened wax on a cloth and rubbed in into the wood by hand. (applying it while spinning wasn't an option because of the shape) The color didn't change much this way.

363614

This one was beeswax melted into the wood with a heat gun, no wax. I kept applying and melting wax until the wood couldn't take any more. This was more of a satin finish with no wax but melting it made the wood darker. I loved the

363616

JKJ

[Robert Hayward]

Nice work John, especially for a "beginner" at bowls. The beeswax has produced a nice pleasing glow to your work.


To think I was in Woodcraft Clearwater last weekend buying DC fittings and had a block of beeswax in my hand. Put it down at the register and told him to not ring it up. It was all of two or three bucks. Now I can make the 50 mile round trip again. In the battlefield style traffic of Pinellas county Florida.


On another note, Woodcraft had just that morning put out a truckload of 4/4 skip planed birdseye maple on sale for $8.99 or was it $7.99 ? The pile was almost virgin, picked over maybe twice I was told. I got a few boards about nine feet long and 7 or so inches wide with serious heavy birdeyes.