Cherry Burl Woodturned Bowls (Medium)
These bowls are Black cherry burls, growths on the trees that yield the most remarkable of all figure in wood. Phil harvests the trees, manages the burl to keep it from cracking, and turns it to the best advantage to show off its grain, color and figure. To best use the burl, Phil turns them in a “stack” or nest, with multiple bowls one inside the other, from smallest to biggest. This burl wood is rare and precious, so Phil uses the burl as a good steward of God’s creation.
Bowls are truly the most demanding and rewarding of the woodworker’s art. The bowl shape shows off the grain and color and allows good design to capture the uniqueness of each piece of wood. Phil can turn a bowl of any wood, but he searches out trees that show promise of unusual grain, burls (protruding growths on trees), color, spalting (“spoiling” in old English), or even from “trees with a story.”
Phil has been turning for 40 years and teaching for 35, yet each bowl still offers unique challenges. First, to cut cleanly and leave a flawless finish. But even more, to create a form that pleases the eye, does justice to the wood’s natural beauty, the “defects” and constraints of each piece of wood. A “Holtan bowl” tends to be translucently thin, with natural edges, often including the bark.
Your care of this bowl depends on the choice Phil has made for its purpose and therefore its finish. Most of his bowls his finishese with a Watco Teak Oil finish of oil and varnish or with Deft lacquer and are then buffed. These finishes keep the wood looking good but are not designed for wet or oily contents. You can renew this finish with furniture polish or wax. Buff by hand to the level of finish you want.
These bowls are Black cherry burls, growths on the trees that yield the most remarkable of all figure in wood. Phil harvests the trees, manages the burl to keep it from cracking, and turns it to the best advantage to show off its grain, color and figure. To best use the burl, Phil turns them in a “stack” or nest, with multiple bowls one inside the other, from smallest to biggest. This burl wood is rare and precious, so Phil uses the burl as a good steward of God’s creation.
Bowls are truly the most demanding and rewarding of the woodworker’s art. The bowl shape shows off the grain and color and allows good design to capture the uniqueness of each piece of wood. Phil can turn a bowl of any wood, but he searches out trees that show promise of unusual grain, burls (protruding growths on trees), color, spalting (“spoiling” in old English), or even from “trees with a story.”
Phil has been turning for 40 years and teaching for 35, yet each bowl still offers unique challenges. First, to cut cleanly and leave a flawless finish. But even more, to create a form that pleases the eye, does justice to the wood’s natural beauty, the “defects” and constraints of each piece of wood. A “Holtan bowl” tends to be translucently thin, with natural edges, often including the bark.
Your care of this bowl depends on the choice Phil has made for its purpose and therefore its finish. Most of his bowls his finishese with a Watco Teak Oil finish of oil and varnish or with Deft lacquer and are then buffed. These finishes keep the wood looking good but are not designed for wet or oily contents. You can renew this finish with furniture polish or wax. Buff by hand to the level of finish you want.
These bowls are Black cherry burls, growths on the trees that yield the most remarkable of all figure in wood. Phil harvests the trees, manages the burl to keep it from cracking, and turns it to the best advantage to show off its grain, color and figure. To best use the burl, Phil turns them in a “stack” or nest, with multiple bowls one inside the other, from smallest to biggest. This burl wood is rare and precious, so Phil uses the burl as a good steward of God’s creation.
Bowls are truly the most demanding and rewarding of the woodworker’s art. The bowl shape shows off the grain and color and allows good design to capture the uniqueness of each piece of wood. Phil can turn a bowl of any wood, but he searches out trees that show promise of unusual grain, burls (protruding growths on trees), color, spalting (“spoiling” in old English), or even from “trees with a story.”
Phil has been turning for 40 years and teaching for 35, yet each bowl still offers unique challenges. First, to cut cleanly and leave a flawless finish. But even more, to create a form that pleases the eye, does justice to the wood’s natural beauty, the “defects” and constraints of each piece of wood. A “Holtan bowl” tends to be translucently thin, with natural edges, often including the bark.
Your care of this bowl depends on the choice Phil has made for its purpose and therefore its finish. Most of his bowls his finishese with a Watco Teak Oil finish of oil and varnish or with Deft lacquer and are then buffed. These finishes keep the wood looking good but are not designed for wet or oily contents. You can renew this finish with furniture polish or wax. Buff by hand to the level of finish you want.