Ash Burr Bowl - WIP

[Kepis]

Back in January this year i was gifted a huge Ash Burr see this thread i made a bit of a start on working it back in March when i did nothing more than remove a slice from the base of the Burr to make it stand flat, since then the Burr has lived in a plastic bag in the shed.

So today, i looked at it and thought, about time i did something with that, so out it came and i attacked it with the Adze and thankfully just under the surface, the Burr was still moist - phew, but, this thing is a beast, the grain goes every which way and it's harder than concrete, i even managed to move the head on my Hans Karlsson adze up the shaft by a few mm when i was chopping away at the wood, gives an idea as to the gnarly wood involved here, i should had realised a bit sooner what i was up against, as normally with the adze, wood chips fly in all directions, with this Burr, it just held on and very few chips flew off.

In fear of damaging the adze, i put it away and grabbed an old Gouge and a mallet and tried to chip out the wood with that, it was marginally better, but still not great.

The picture below shows the result of an hours work with adze and then gouge

Im probably only down in the wood about two inches maximum and to be honest, i really cannot be bothered with it, well not at the moment, i might chuck it on Ebay and see what it goes for, there again, i might just persevere and see what happens

 

[Robbi]

keep going mate !! never thought of you as a quitter !!!

it should look cracking when it's finished

 

[bushwacker bob]

Your new gouge will be an old gouge by the time you hollow that one out Mark!
I look forward to seeing it finished.

 

[WULF]

As Robbi says,keep going or save it for a rainy day.
Looking good so far.

 

[Kepis]

Cheers chaps.

@ Sean - Think i'll just use the old gouges on this one for the time being, might hunt a few more out at a boot fair or even the Woodfair next month.

 

[Kepis]

Did some more on the Ash Burl Bowl today, id kept it stored in the shed since the last time i had worked on it and every time i went down there, the thing just kept catching my eye, so today i attacked it - big time.

The axe, adze and gouges all came out of the arsenal and with a combination of chopping and slicing, i eventually, got down to a decent depth, but it was seriously hard work going because of the twisted gnarly grain within the piece, still, when it 'eventually' gets finished the grain should look spectacular and all the problems that were faced in the bowls manufacture will just fade from memory.

Ive left the walls and base deliberately thick at the moment while it dries and will take the wall thickness down to the pencil line when it's dried out enough to allow me to continue with the final shaping and finishing, for now though, im quite happy to let this one dry out for a while

 

[Rockmonkey]

I love seeing your bowls coming into there own!
Great start there mate, can't wait to see the final push!

RM

 

[Kepis]

cheers RM, have to admit, i'll be glad when this one is done

 

[HillBill]

Coming on well Mark

Is it gonna be a keeper?

 

[Kepis]

Cheers Mark, yup, i think this one will be a keeper, should make a nice fruit bowl when it's done

 

[HillBill]

Yeah it'd look the part

 

[TallMikeM]

wow, absolutely stunning.

 

[Perrari]

That will be a beauty when finished. Nice one !

 

[squishy]

looking forward to seeing that when its finished

 

[Gray]

That's going to look ace when it's done, well done mate

 

[Still Waters]

Inspirational stuff im looking forward to the finished article

 

[fishfish]

i know the work involved mate,good luck.

 

[Kepis]

cheers chaps

 

[Hugo]

Looking good Kepis mate, as it's a keeper I can keep it for you if you like.

 

[Kepis]

Cheers Hugo, It will cost you a buttered bun, a blueberry muffin and lashings of tea & coffee on our bimble next week then