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The Process...
It is a little known fact that one cannot simply go to the local lumberyard to purchase wood of turning quality. The desired wood must be free from blemishes, have impeccable color quality, and be large enough to compensate for the size of the finished product: this could be anywhere from four to twelve inches thick and even larger around. Therefore, the wood must come from a large log and be processed by hand.
Living in Estes Park, Colorado, an area that produces mostly aspens and evergreens that are slender at best, makes finding adequate wood species a challenge. Consequently, John must go elsewhere to locate his favorite tree varieties. He makes many trips to the Midwest for hardwoods, and to the West Coast for burl woods such as big leaf maple. He also relies on the valley tree surgeons, whose quest to remove damaged, dead or unwanted trees often results in his procurement of unique and exceptional woods.
Once he has the raw materials, John heads home to begin the process of turning a full-size tree into an artful piece of fine craftsmanship:
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Steps 1-3: The logs are chain-sawed into large pieces and rough-sawn round. The hart, or pith, of the wood is removed to help eliminate cracking.
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Step 4: The pieces are hauled to the shop, ready for the lathe.
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Step 5: Once on the lathe the wood is rough-turned to different shapes. Then, by using a bowl saving tool – which removes the interior portion of the bowl – John is able to cut up to three concentric bowls from the same section of wood. However, the walls of each ‘blank,’ or rough-sawn bowl, are left thick to allow for movement within the wood while drying.
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Step 6: The yield from an eight-foot log is twenty to thirty bowl blanks, as shown in picture #6. Each blank is coated with wax, wrapped in paper, or buried in wood chips for six months to one year in order to dry. A roughed-out bowl weighing thirteen pounds will lose approximately four pounds, or eight cups of water, as it dries.
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| A blank is ready for final turning when the moisture content reaches 7%. It is then taken back to the lathe to be turned to its final shape and size and appropriately finished as either an art or utilitarian bowl. |
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