I recently made a set of four Bubinga platters that all turned out to be quite beautiful with exceptional character in the wood figure and grain patterns. These were made as part of a larger Bubinga project which aims to use all 12 pieces of Bubinga that I have accumulated over the years, but these four platters were so exceptional that I wanted to highlight them separately.
Platter One Interior
Platter One Reverse
Platter Two Interior
Platter Two Reverse
Platters One and Two were 12″ x 2″ round blanks from Got Wood? in South Carolina. Note that these blanks were not sold as highly figured or listed at an inflated price although I think it would have been fair to list both as highly figured for the flame chatoyancy so clearly visible in both and to charge for those features as well. Bubinga is commonly full of figure but some of the pieces I will show later in the Bubinga Project entry will show that these are above the run of the mill common Bubinga forms.
Platter Three Interior
Platter Three Reverse
Platter Three was also obtained from Got Wood? but it was slightly smaller at 11″ x 2″. By the way, if you are wondering why I photographed these pieces on the lathe it is because I have found that the positioning and the lighting I can achieve with the platters still mounted on the lathe is far superior in terms of highlighting figure especially that what can be done with a flat surface.
I’ve never inserted video in a post before but it really was the only true way to show the magnificence of this piece of Bubinga. This 12″ x 14″ x 1″ piece of Bubinga was sold as having “waterfall” figure and it most certainly does. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I obtained this piece some years ago and I don’t recall where I purchased it or what it cost, but I know that the seller knew the value of the piece as it was cut from the most expensive Bubinga log ever sold.
Bubinga is a very special and frequently uniquely beautiful wood. If you have an interest in working with it you need to move fast. At the last Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in South Africa, Bubinga (several species are sold as Bubinga) was placed under protection under Appendix II which means that the wood can no longer move across international boundaries if the piece is over 22 ounces. This will effectively eliminate the availability of Bubinga in the United States and it is already possible to see how stocks are rapidly dwindling among exotic wood retailers across the nation. Once common, Bubinga is rapidly becoming rare.
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using the Big Easy Jaws from Easy Wood Tools. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. Final finish is Shellawax.