Camphor trays and bowls, the wedding present, continued

Hi Everyone,

The weather here today is absolutely gorgeous--we had some storms last night but at the moment, it's a wonderful spring day in Minnesota.

Perfect weather for turning wood...

I went down to the wood shop to turn the last camphor wood turning blank and this will complete a series of three turned items out of this wood. This last blank really, really smells strongly of camphor, much more so than the first two items. I usually have insects flying into the shop but not today! I don't think there's a mosquito within a 100 miles.

This last blank is going to be turned into a tea tray. Here are several photos of the bottom, sides and top:

This wood has beautiful coloring and I'm betting it will have a natural chatoyance (shimmer) when it's finished. 

I'm only going to work on these three items as I'm unsure how strong the camphor smell will be when the trays and bowl are finished. Some people might find the scent a plus but I can see some people not being too keen about it. So we'll see. This last tray goes into the dry bag shortly with everything else and we'll take a look at it in 4-6 weeks.

The wedding present bowl: I hand sanded this bowl all yesterday afternoon by hand and I ended up with 600 grit paper. It has a satin smooth surface and so it was time to apply the first layer of salad bowl finish to it and that's what I did first today. Here are two photos:

The bowl will need several layers of finish and the finish will have to completely cure before it can be polished and given to the bride and groom. This will take several weeks so unfortunately I won't be able to get it done for the wedding. I will post finish photos after the happy couple have received it.

The coffee table is on hold-no transportation so I can't drive to get the lumber I need. And my son's plans are temporarily on hold, so the coffee table has been pushed back on the calendar. More about this when I know what his plans are.

Well, the shop smells like a camphor factory so it's time to go and clean it up. I have two blocks to laminate and we'll do that next week.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

See you soon,
VW