As part of a larger project, which is the clearing of everything on one of many shelves in my wood storage area, I completed two cherry pieces, one bowl and one platter. Cherry is one of my favorite woods to work with since it cuts fairly clean (although not as clean as Claro Walnut which has to be my favorite wood to turn) smells nice, and finishes beautifully with a rosy color.
The bowl measures 7.5″ x 3″. It is very standard no-frills cherry which is somewhat plain although perfectly nice. The bowl presented no real challenges in the making and I am pleased with the results.
Cherry Bowl April 2020
The platter measures 10.5″ x 2″. This piece of cherry has a lot more going for it when compared to the bowl. There is a very nice bit of curly and wavy grain figure in this piece which is fairly uncommon in cherry. I think it adds a great deal of interest. And, the color is better as well when compared to the bowl. The bowl color is very uniform and a bit dark whereas in the platter there is a play between very pink and some brown areas.
Cherry Platter April 2020
If you haven’t guessed yet, I like the platter more.
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 for the bowl and an Easy Wood Tool Easy Chuck with Big Easy Jaws for the platter. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. Final finish is Cherry Watco Danish Oil. The platter received a top coat of Odie’s Wax for added shine and protection.