A neighbor cut down a cedar tree and let me take some. I had to go back with a chainsaw to get the bigger logs, but while I was waiting I made this hollow form to give him as thanks for the wood.
Here’s a little photo story about how this piece was made, starting with a small log cut from the crotch of the tree. My friend had cut this out and threw it in the discard pile because he wanted split logs for the fireplace and this one had a weird shape. His loss, my luck!
Next I needed to find the center of the log and to do that I used the clear acrylic disc you see in the photo with concentric circles. It is important to get close to center in order to minimize the amount of wood cut off, but also to balance the piece as much as possible. If it is going to spin at 600rpm or 1000rpm it needs to be mostly in balance to start.
After finding center I use a large Forstner bit on the drill press to make a flat spot for the lathe headstock to engage. The bark is loose and stringy and it is necessary to drill past it and get to solid wood to keep the piece from slipping – or worse, flying off the lathe.
Finally, mount the log on the lathe, spin it really fast, and shove sharp pointy tools into it. That’s the fun part and I’ll make another post just about that. Meanwhile, here is the finished bowl.
Pretty easy to see why I LOVE turning cedar. The colors and figure in this piece are spectacular! It is about 4.5″ wide and 3.5″ tall. The hole at top is 2″ wide. I sanded it to 1500 grit and applied Danish oil. Except for the bark inclusions, it feels like fine silk. You just want to run your hands over it, and when you do it warms to the touch.
