Both of today’s bowls were Maple, about which I have written in the past, and both were soft species. I don’t know which soft species the quilted bowl belongs to and it isn’t really relevant since the high degree of quilting figure is what makes this piece of interest regardless of species designation. The Big Leaf bowl is identified more specifically but it is still a soft maple type.
Big Leaf Maple 8 x 3
Soft Maples are frankly a challenge. They are so soft that they don’t cut cleanly so a good deal of time is needed to sand them smooth, albeit less time than would be required for a harder wood but most hard woods cut fairly cleanly, so there is a trade off. And, soft Maples don’t take a finish easily at all. Either you practically can’t tell the finish is even applied or you get uneven spots in the final product. Either way, soft Maples are not my favorites but I have them so turn them I shall.
Quilted Maple 7 x 2
Tomorrow we will see a wood I do like a great deal plus another soft maple that I am less than thrilled with, but one of two isn’t bad!
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system on my Robust American Beauty lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. Final finish is Shellawax.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!