Small Koa and Claro Walnut Dishes

I have started and stack of 67 bowl blanks and these are the first two from that batch, both small at 4.5″ x 2″, using two different woods, both of which are in my favorites list, Claro Walnut and Hawaiian Koa.  When working with a large batch, I always start with the smallest pieces and work my way up to the biggest.

I had a hard time with the Koa as it just didn’t seem to want to take a decent final finish.  I don’t recall having that problem with Koa before but there it is.

Koa 4.5 x 2

The Claro Walnut worked beautifully and to add interest it has a natural void present.

Claro Walnut 4.5 x 2

Next up we have Pecan and Black Walnut.

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.