Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Color change in "orchard" pear wood

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Northern MN
    Posts
    388

    Color change in "orchard" pear wood

    In the thread below on turning Bradford pear, I mentioned that I'd turned regular orchard pear wood and it had turned pink with light exposure. The first bowl I finished from that stock went to the friend that gave me the wood. As I finished it, the bowl was a cream color, very light. A few months later, we were over at their house and they had a wood bowl displayed on a table, and it was a very unusual dark pink color. I went over to look at it and discovered, to my surprise, it was the bowl I'd made for them -- and I didn't even recognize it. Where they had it it gets some early morning sun, but most light it gets is indirect, though in a heavily windowed room. I contacted them and asked them to take a picture of the bowl upside down so the degree of color change was evident -- that's the first picture below, with the bottom of the bowl showing the color it was then freshly turned.

    A couple years later I finished another one of the roughs as SWMBO wanted one for her personal collection (she has something of a "life list" of bowls, liking to have one of every different type of wood I've turned). SWMBO's collection has grown pretty large, and she sometimes stacks them nested because she's run out of display space. My brain didn't make the connection up front, until one day I was dusting her collection in prep for some company arriving and un-nested the bowls and found the second picture. Only the rim of the pear bowl was sticking out of the pile and it got a rim tattoo. I've thought about taping that line and putting it in a spot with more light exposure to see if I can even it out. I guess I could glue a waste block to it and return it.

    Again, this was a fruit-producing pear tree from an orchard. No idea of the variety, and it's the only pear I've ever turned, so I don't know if this is more broadly what happens. Finish on both bowls was one coat of WATCO Danish Oil (natural), followed by tripoli/white diamond/carnuba buffing.

    I had no idea this color change was coming and was really surprised the first time I saw the bowl in their home.

    Best,

    Dave

    Capture.JPGCapture.JPG

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Kansas City
    Posts
    2,645
    Very interesting. I have some pear lumber that started out kind of pinkish. I'll take a scrap out of the bin and see what it does in direct sunlight. Its pretty rare around here to see any pear wide enough for a bowl like yours.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •