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Family Tree

Two years ago a huge live oak in my mother’s back yard developed root rot. There was no way to save the tree, and it had to be cut down. I grew up climbing this tree and walking barefoot on its prickly, dropped leaves. My mother spent years painting pictures of this tree, and taking photos of it. It was a beauty, and is much missed. My mother turned the stump into a succulent bed, and I, of course, turned bowls. At this point the roughed-out bowls have been drying for 2 years, and they’ve changed quite a bit. This album is primarily to show why I rough out, rather than finish-turning green (fresh-cut and still-wet) wood. I’m thinking it’s about time to take these bowls to their finished shapes. Once they’re there, you’ll get to see how they came out.

The tree in its prime. This was the view from my mother’s studio porch.

Here are 4 of the 5 bowls I made from chunks of the tree. These are roughed out, which means I’ve removed the bulk of the wood, but they’re still heavy and thick-walled. At this point, I date the bowls, paint them with wax sealer, and set them aside for a long time to dry. Why do I rough out rather than simply finish-turning right away?Proceed to the next picture

This is why I rough out. The bowls have been drying for 2 years at this point. You can see how much the shapes have changed. Oak is a particularly active wood as it dries, and though I love to work with it it presents some challenges. For a bowl to stay more-or-less round after it’s finished, you need to let it get all this movement out of its system before you take it to its final shape.

The pith, that spot at the very center of a log, is a trouble spot for turners. When wood dries and shrinks, most of the shrinkage is circumferential (like tightening a belt around the tree). This means that if the pith is present in the piece, the wood is pulling itself in 2 directions, with the pith as the fulcrum. Pop! This bowl was cut from a crotch, a Y-shaped branch, so there were 3 piths. The other two did ok, so I may need to do something sculptural and stitchy with the side that split. It’s going to be sort of hairy turning past the split, but no worse than making bowls with handles.

Here’s the same bowl, rotated about 1/3.

And the other pith of that same bowl. I guess all the tension wound up in one spot.

Another view of the 4 roughed-out bowls.

Honest, it was round when I took it off the lathe..

One of the finished bowls.

This was my first attempt at bleaching, and I’m very pleased with the result.