I have worked a fair amount with Cherry in the past and I have written a great deal about the wood in the past.
I had a random smaller piece of Cherry and decided to make this small cherry bowl. I find that most every piece of turning wood has something that makes it unique and also, hopefully, special and interesting. These unique attributes are an inherent part of the appeal, for me, of wood turning as a hobby and art form.
In this case, the bowl blank had a small bit of bark on the edge and I was quite pleased to be able to preserve a small part of that in the rim of this bowl. Bark edges, as opposed to the bark inclusions that commonly occur in woods like Cedar or bird-peck Hickory, are the result of some of the exterior bark remaining on the log as it is processed. In most cases, wood that is commercially processed is thoroughly de-barked but sometimes pieces that are processed for wood turning and for other crafts may have the bark left in place. This increases the value and interest in the piece for these specialty purposes.
Small Cherry Interior
However, bark often comes off quite easily and I was pleased that it was well adhered without my having to take steps to further stabilize it. Most commonly, wood turners will use a cyanoacrylate type glue to further adhere any bark pieces before attempting to turn a natural edge piece. Now, this isn’t technically a true natural edge bowl because there is only one small bit of bark on one side of the bowl whereas a true natural edge piece would bark completely around the rim, but it gives a small sense of what those truly wonderfully pieces look like.
Small Cherry Bottom
In addition there is a small amount of curly figure in the interior bottom of the bowl that adds some interest if you look closely. No one knows why figures such as curl or flame appear although they are more common in some woods than in others. Maple perhaps has the most widely recognized types and degrees of figure, although curl in cherry is certainly observed fairly often. The presence of any significant amount of curl, or other figure, will increase the value of any wood in which it appears. Ironically, some authorities believe that these figures are created in trees by stress or disease, so if so, the sickest trees may produce the most valuable timber. But that might be a good thing if it encourages the harvesting of less viable trees while allowing healthier trees to continue to grow. However, on the other hand, dead trees, known as snags, have a very valuable role to play in the natural world especially as habitat for birds and other wildlife that lives inside such trees. Wood turning is perhaps an odd choice of hobby for someone who usually prefers trees to remain standing…
Small Cherry Side View
Aside from these two aforementioned special characteristics, this was a fairly typical, or textbook, piece of Cherry but I still enjoyed working with it and I am pleased with the finished result.
For all my readers who are wood workers themselves, and especially for those who are wood turners, I wish you a good turn today.