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This piece of cherry is about 15" long
and 8" in diameter. The burl sort of
wraps around the central part of the tree.
I'm trying out a new heavy-duty tilting vise
sold for use by musical instrument makers.
March 1, 2007
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I've chipped off the bark
and have
begun creating an isle down the center
between the parts of the burl that wrap
up and around. I planed off a spot on
the bottom area and glued on a block
of wood to grip in the vise.
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There was a rather big jump
in time as the
hollowing out of the bowl area was slow
work. Slow but rewarding, as the burl
grain revealed itself as layer after layer was
removed. I have cut out some of the
upper rim to visually lighten the effect. That
block on the bottom has held on well in
spite of some pretty vigorous gouge and
mallet work.
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This goose-neck scraper is just the right
tool for this kind of hand work; smoothing
of the inside of the bowl area. It is a flat
piece of shaped steel on which a very
small cutting edge is burnished. You can
see the paper-thin shavings in the bottom
of the bowl. Slow work but when you
are done, you're done. No sanding needed.
It is also the only way I know to really
get all those bumps and hollows out of
the bottom. March 13, 2007
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Well, as you can see, this
bowl turned out just fine. Over the next few weeks
it will receive several more coats of varnish-oil so it will have a bit
glossier look
than in the photo. The burl was full of small surprise voids, especially
in the
bottom area. Some of these natural voids go all the way trough the bowl
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no grog in this one. The grain patterns are just amazing; like little
worlds unto
themselves. April 20, 2007
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