Small Box Elder Bowl

I have written about Box Elder as a wood elsewhere, so this post is specific to this small project.

I am not a huge fan of Box Elder because it is so soft and therefore while “easy” to cut it doesn’t cut cleanly and it doesn’t hold and edge or a chuck easily.  This bowl is small at 5 inches diameter and 2.5 inches tall.  The blank shows extensive voiding along the endgrain sections but that can actually add appeal to an otherwise fairly plain piece of material.  There is also some moderate red fungal staining which further serves to enhance the material.

Box Elder Interior 2

I confess that I rescued this piece from the garbage.  I had turned it round and mounted it in the Nova Chuck to hollow the face and the reverse divot broke.  I was already frustrated with the voids and the softness of the material and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, so instead I chose a piece of Honey Locust to work with, see yesterday’s post, that was much harder and ultimately easier to work with.  But I have to throw material away so today I remounted on the face plate, cut a VERY deep divot and tried again.

The wood cuts quickly but not smoothly so expect to really get to know your sandpaper supplies.  It sands quickly though but be very careful in how you handle a piece of Box Elder as it will dent under the slightest of knocks.

Box Elder Interior

All cuts were made with Easy Wood Tools on my American Beauty Lathe from Robust.  I used Nova Chucks to hold the piece, sandpaper discs from Packard Woodworks, and finally ShellaWax from Australia for the final finish.

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  1. Dad