Cherry bowl

[Racers]

Hi Chaps

I found a freshly cut cherry log and was going to do a couple of spoons, but the pith was well over to one side.
I decided to rip it on the band saw and make a bowl leaving enough for a spoon.
So a couple of hours with a big gouge axe and spokeshaves and this is the result.

Cherry bowl by Racers, on Flickr

The sap is oxidising and turning it orange but once its dry I will go over it again to clean it up.
I wrapped it in newspaper to slow the drying down and the sheets where soaking this morning, so I replaced them.
Its the wrong time to cut with all the sap rising but the opportunity was there so I took it.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

Life really is just a bowl of cherries! Nice work, as ever.

=D> =D> =D>

 

[gregmcateer]

Nice. Be interesting to see how it settles once dry

 

[Racers]

Nice. Be interesting to see how it settles once dry

It should be o/k the walls are about 6-8mm thick and I am letting it dry slowly, and doing some finger crossing to b on the safe side.

Wet cherry cuts like hard cheese!

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I like the way you've got the heartwood running through the handles. How big is it ? 5" across the width ? It always seems a pity to me that with smaller pieces of wood, you usually can't help hollowing away the best of the heartwood and keeping the sapwood.

My experience of wet cherry is that it moves quite a lot. I turned a bowl from a small crotch, and it dried nearly triangular ! Didn't crack though. I'd expect the rim to end up quite high at the handles and low at the long sides. Looking at it, the centreline of the handles must be quite close to the pith, and the most likely place for a crack, if it happens. I wonder whether I might pre-emptively hollow slightly at the handles to get further away from the pith, and hope when it's dry it ends up nearly flat !

 

[Racers]

Hi Tony

Its about 3" across, hopefully with slow drying it should be o/k
I ripped it through the pith so it is on the surface of the handles, I have left the handles thicker than I want to leave a bit for finishing.
I might wrap it a bit thicker just to slow it down.
The heartwood is very nice, the spoon should have a nice handle.

Pete

No one commented on the white surprised ghost at the back?