White Cedar Burl Bowl

[Steve Schlumpf]

My brother-in-law gave me a very old and unknown burl this past weekend in the hopes that I could turn something out of it. This is the result. Once turning there was no mistaking the smell and texture of the wood, which is local to these parts: White Cedar. Very soft, extremely light weight and reminds me of handling drift wood.

I left the bottom of the bowl natural to show off all the worm holes and the remaining bark. The amazing thing about this burl is that each of the wings have a tight curl and yet the inside of the bowl is quilted! Never seen that before!

The bowl is 13 ¾” long x 10” wide x 3” high, sanded to 400 grit and has only one coat of Minwax Wipe-On Gloss Poly. Plan to apply additional coats and then buff.

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As always, your comments, critiques and opinions are welcomed!

Thanks for looking!

[Toney Robertson]

Cool Steve.

I like how you kept most of it natural. A LOT of people will not like that but it works for me.

Since the wood is so soft did you have problems with sanding it? It seems to me the softer the wood the more problems I have with lines and uneven sanding.

Good job.

Toney

[John Nowack]

never seen a burl like that before

[Christopher Fletcher]

Looks real nice Steve. Did you use a tenon for the foot and then cutoff with the BS?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it!

This was probably the hardest wood to work with that I've ever experienced. Sharp tools and a relatively high speed were the only way to get clean cuts. Sanding was a challenge as every grit left marks in the wood - including 400 grit! That was a first for me also.

Left the burl fairly intact because of all the worm tracks and holes on the outside. I am sure a lot of folks will look at this and find it 'unfinished' but hopefully there are those who will appreciate the 'rustic' and natural aspect of the piece.

Christopher - I use tenons on just about everything. Normally with a bowl I use a vacuum chuck system to reverse the piece and turn off the tenon. This time around I used a donut chuck because I was afraid that the vacuum chuck would compress the wood - it is that soft. As far as using a BS to cut off the tenon - doesn't sound like a very safe thing to do as there is no support under the tenon while cutting and I can just about promise that the BS will rip it out of your hands. DAMHIKT !

[Greg Just]

Nice job Steve - I like the natural look

[Christopher Fletcher]

Steve,
I originally thought that you turned away the tenon, using a jam chuck or what have you. The bottom of the bowl looks so flat I just assumed you had to of lopped of the base. Now I know better. BTW, did you start between centers or faceplate to form the tenon.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Christopher - I use a Oneway Talon chuck with a woodworm screw and also bring up the tailstock for support. Lot of folks like using faceplates but I have had good luck with the woodworm screw. I do use faceplates on big out-of-round pieces though - I like to feel secure if you know what I mean!

[Don Carter]

Steve:
I love it. I like anything that is unusual with a natural look. Thanks for showing it.
All the best.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve that is a great looking bowl. I really like how you left a lot of natural to it.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Steve looks like a "onion" burl as I call them, you know the ones you often find on Yellow Birch, where it looks almost like the layers in an onion, it sure looks good bare, I'm not to keen on the leftover bark, (just me) and yes there's nice figure in it, shows that good on the outside also.
I know what you mean about soft, I think that's the biggest challenge with turning wood, I done a few pieces of wester red cedar, also the Eastern red can be soft, but very careful tool handling and turning shapes with flowing lines is the best approach I found.
You sure did a nice job on it Steve, looks good :)

[Jim Becker]

Very interesting piece, Steve! I don't know that I've seen white cedar burl before, either. Neat!

[robert hainstock]

It looks good Steve. you need a special container to keep handling nicks off. Ouchy. Again try some minwax wood hardener on it. (scrap). :):)
Bob

[Curt Fuller]

That's a little different twist to a natural edged bowl, having the entire exterior natural while the interior is turned. I really like the way it turned out with the wings as handles too. And I think this is the first I've ever heard of white cedar. That's really a nice bowl!