Another Ailanthus bowl

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Here's another one of my Ailanthus tree bowls :D , it's about 10" X 6".
Comments and opinions all are appreciated :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Another winner Leo! Great looking wood and finish! I like the small detail ring at the lip and really like the way you undercut the rim on the inside of the bowl! Very nice size - outstanding form! Like I already said - 'Another Winner!" Thanks for posting!

[curtis rosche]

is the side spaulted or bark?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Another beauty Leo. Great wood, form and finish.

[robert hainstock]

Gee leo, you're starting to out produce Steve. We all admire you both so much and what you turn and the inovative ways you Inspire all of us.
Thank you so much for sharing.:D:D:D:D:D
Bob

[Jim Underwood]

Well done! I love the subtle bead at the rim, and the fine shape of this bowl. The wood's not bad either!;)

[Curt Fuller]

This is my favorite of your pieces I've seen. It's a great bowl form that goes well with the grain of the tree of paradise. And, I like the bark inclusion. Really a pretty bowl!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Curtis
The one side of the bowl has some spalting and I had to use a little CA on one line as it was soft, but the rest turned well, did you notice the yellow line ??, this is typical for the Ailanthus wood, the year the sapwood turns into heartwood it will have the yellow line, it moves over one ring year after year.

Thanks all for looking and taking the time to reply, appreciated :D

[John Nowack]

I have never heard of that wood before I think it looks differnt because one pic has the lines so uniform but the opposite side is random--I noticed the yellow line you are talking about but thought it was caused by the picture----now I have a little kmowledge for the next trivia game

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi John thanks for your reply, the randomness of the grain on the one side is because that's were a branch grew close by at one time, also the reason for the spalting, as the branch had broken off before and water had gotten into the tree and it was starting to rot.
There's a lot of special things about different woods, but very little is to be found written down anywhere, especially if there isn't any money behind it for the use of it, to find out the hows and whys certain things happen.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Curtis
The one side of the bowl has some spalting and I had to use a little CA on one line as it was soft, but the rest turned well, did you notice the yellow line ??, this is typical for the Ailanthus wood, the year the sapwood turns into heartwood it will have the yellow line, it moves over one ring year after year.

Thanks all for looking and taking the time to reply, appreciated :D


I learned something from this; usually, I'm thinking about what a PITA ailanthus is (and how bad it smells), as it is an exotic invasive. It is EVERYWHERE here. I've seen a couple bowls made from it that resembled ash in many respects. I honestly never really gave it a chance as a wood; as a kid, I just thought of it as trash, as it doesn't give off much for BTU's as firewood, and did I mention it stinks? I didn't know about the sapwood layer rings. Kinda similar to how walnut usually has a couple "blue" rings (at least they look bluish to me) between the younger sapwood & true heartwood. Thanks for sharing, Leo.

[Hilel Salomon]

Leo,

You could make ashes into something attractive!!! If anyone wants Ailanthus, he's welcome to come and cut every one he can find here in my VA place. They are a smelly invasive weed. Their odor has been likened to cat urine, and they contain toxins which are injurious to other plants. Before I knew it,a bunch of them killed my older peach. Until I saw Leo's work, I assumed that it was as painful to see as kudzu. Now....
Stay well, Hilel

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi Nathan and Hilel, both of you, thanks for your kind words, yes you are right about the odor, turning the Tulip wood the other day was much more enjoyable than the Ailanthus in that regard.
Though the end-result is more the other way around.
Just as you so did I disregard the Tulip wood as you did the Ailanthus, but I did turn it just to find out for myself, as for the Ailanthus smell it goes away entirely when dry, and the smell isn't really that bad, there are other that do have a similar perfume ;), like Willow and cottonwood Poplar, Elm also comes to mind, Manitoba Maple can also be like that, it has never stopped me from turning any of those woods, free wood is good wood :D:D