Very Busy weekend
I was asked to make a maple bowl. After searching both locally and on the internet, I ended up at McFarlands mill in Winchester. They had maple from a tree cut down at Handley High School. (It is of historical significance, but I haven’t found a source of the details as of yet.) I needed something 4″ thick and at least 12″ in diameter — McFarlands had just what I needed. I picked up two blocks of spalted maple each almost 18″ across.
From there I cut out cylinders and turned rough bowls. The wood was still wet, so the bowls had to be rough turned so they could dry evenly. At this point, the walls are about 1″ thick and the end-grain is sealed so it doesn’t crack and split (a bad thing).
Now these will sit on a shelf for 4-6 months while they finish drying. At that time the final turning will take place.
It was a busy weekend with 8-10 hours of turning over two days.