I think the right hand bowl is especially attractive while the left side bowl is meh. Fortunately for me, it was the one I wasn’t wild about that came off the lathe, for about the 6th time, and broke off the sidewall to a point that the piece is beyond repair. Sometimes, no matter how careful we are these things happen to beginner and expert lathe operators alike.
As lovely as I think Zapote is, I wouldn’t chose to work with it again unless there is more already in my stock in which case I’ll try again. The problem I had with Zapote was not so much that it is hard, sharp cutters used with a good lathe tend to overcome, or even thrive on, extreme hardness, but rather that it was very “catchy” by which made up word I simply mean that the tools caught on the wood frequently, often came off the lathe despite a deep divot for expansion jaws, was often out of balance due to coming off the lathe, and became a generalized pain in the ass such that it just wasn’t worth fighting it given that I have hundreds, literally hundreds, more blanks that would like cooperate better than Zapote. That said, I have NEVER given up on a blank, no matter how difficult, except when catastrophic damage occurs. Small chips and breaks on the rim I can handle but a break that goes down 1.5 inches out of 2.5 inches to work with just doesn’t leave enough to hassle. I could fight it and end up with a saucer or let it go and move on to a better piece of material. I chose the later.
The second and more significant issue from my point of view regarding Zapote is that I am clearly sensitive to its dust. I had read that Zapote sometimes caused respiratory irritation but I have read those warnings about lots of woods and the vast majority of the time they don’t apply to my experiences. Not so this time. I was fine while cutting the Zapote with turning tools, but once I moved to sanding, the effects kicked in. I found myself with a burning nose and throat coupled with spasmodic coughing fits to the point that I actually ran outside to get fresh air. This prompted me to use my N95 mask, which I know I should use all the time but, well, I don’t, and that solved the issue although my nose continued to run which is very inconvenient when wearing a mask of any type.
If anyone reading this still wants to try working with Zapote I say good luck and good fortune. May you have a better experience than I did.
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.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!