Selkie Wood Works is open for 2012 and first big project

Hi Everyone,
Well, it's a very snowy, cold day today and since I've got my new bench tools on my new work table it's time to go down to the wood shop and make something.

I've mentioned in a previous post that a young friend of mine is getting married this spring. Her father is very ill and they understandably wanted to get married so her father could be apart of this.

I decided to make her a fruit bowl out of mineral stained poplar but the wood blank is too  large for me to rough cut into shape. Since time is of the essence, I decided to make her a bowl out of a hickory blank from a tree that came down in a storm. The wood blank is unseasoned wood and so we're going to have to cut it out and then dry it out before finishing it. Since it takes time for wooden bowls and plates that begin as unseasoned wood to dry out and for the whole process to be completed, I'm going to have to work quickly.

I've mounted the bowl blank on the lathe and begun cutting the exterior surface of the bowl:

Most woods have a scent of some sort and unseasoned wood tends to have a very sweet scent and this blank is no exception. The wood shop has a very sweet odor at the moment and if this were spring or summer time, my shop would be full of bees.

Here we are after about 45 minutes of cutting and shaping:

I've got the basic shape and the foot cut out. This blank is turning very nicely with no torn fibers and for wood that is full of water, it is finishing very smoothly too. Very nice.

I've flipped over the bowl blank and begun hollowing it out. You can see the large pile of wood shavings in from of the bowl. By the time I finish this turning today, I'll have enough shavings to fill a large pillow.

Check out the following photos:

I've left the bottom and the sides of the bowl thick and unfinished. The bowl will now go into the drying bag downstairs for the next 3-4 weeks. Hopefully it will dry out with a minimum of distortion to the sides and rim. We'll check back in three weeks and see how it looks. Keep your fingers crossed. 

My next project: two tea boxes for a friend and her daughter who lost her husband last year.

As it's cold and my joints are beginning to hurt, it's time to quit and go get some hot coffee. See you tomorrow.

VW