Yesterday I turned a Box Elder bowl, 9″ x 3″. I have written about Box Elder in the past and it remains one of my least favored favorite woods. It is too soft to cut cleanly although it does sand down easily enough.
Box Elder Interior
This piece had some checking, unfortunately, but only one crack really required repair which I made with thin cyanoacrylate glue. Because of these instabilities I had to cut the finished bowl a good deal thicker than I usually am able to achieve.
The blank does show a good degree of ambrosia figure as well as some of the “flame” for Box Elder is prized.
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system. 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.
I used a new finishing product on this bowl because my usual stand-by Shellwax looked horrible. The Shellawax went on splotchy, showing darker wherever the finish first touched the wood while leaving other areas appearing completely unfinished. I sanded off the Shellawax, fortunately only applied to the exterior, and used Odie’s Wax instead. Odie’s is food safe and easy to use. I rubbed it on with my fingers, and it is true to their advertising that a little bit went a long way. I allowed the wax to set for 30 minutes and then buffed it off with a clean cloth on the lathe. The result is a rather matte finish but I know the wood is protected, including from ultraviolet light damage, and safe for food use. I would use Odie’s on Maple in the future.