Spalted Sugar Maple Woodturned Bowls (Large)
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These bowls are spalted Sugar maple. “Spalted means spoiled, or decayed, and they were on their way to their destruction when Phil found this wood, but by turning the wood and letting it dry, the decay process is stopped, the organisms are dead, and all that is left is the extraordinary figure the process has left behind.
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.
Scroll on mobile to see all photos
These bowls are spalted Sugar maple. “Spalted means spoiled, or decayed, and they were on their way to their destruction when Phil found this wood, but by turning the wood and letting it dry, the decay process is stopped, the organisms are dead, and all that is left is the extraordinary figure the process has left behind.
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.
Scroll on mobile to see all photos
These bowls are spalted Sugar maple. “Spalted means spoiled, or decayed, and they were on their way to their destruction when Phil found this wood, but by turning the wood and letting it dry, the decay process is stopped, the organisms are dead, and all that is left is the extraordinary figure the process has left behind.
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.