Wet Shaving Soap Bowl Scuttle

In working with spalted wood there are times we get voids.  Voids are usually places where the wood has broken down to eat into the wood. Many time it is a branch which the fungus and bacteria follow into the tree.

One of the challenges we face is how to approach the problem.  Bowls with holes make you no friends.

We decided to try filling the hole with a combination of clear epoxy and mother of pearl flakes. 

Here is the custom bowl we did for a customer in Maple with mother of pearl.

                                        

 

Here you can see the mother of pearl which has filled in to match the top and the bottom.  First we turn the bowl and them add the filler after the shape is finished and before the finishing coats go on.

 



 

Here it is from a little bit of a different angle.

Here is what the mother of pearl fill looks like inside the bowl.  

 

 

 

Our customer liked the Lilac Wood handle so he had some choices.  The lilac handles are on the left,  the two on the are maple.  They are dry fit (not anchored into the top yet).

 

Here's the maple handle on the top.



      Here is a lilac handle on the top.

 

 

This is the bowl after the handle is secured and the rest finished with the marine quality varnish.  Ahh the varnish...it is my love/hate relationship.  It is simply the best.  It is imported from Holland and is used on luxury yachts and boats.  It however, takes its time to dry and sometimes in cool weather it takes a couple of days.  But it can also move from a liquid to a gel form overnight for no reason. 

Here is a close up of the customers name in ruins.  It is a straight one-to-one translation in the major futhark. 

 

Here is the finished bowl with engraving.



 

 

 

 

 



Spalting in the buff

We use a lot of spalted wood. Wood that goes through a biological process once it has fallen or has been cut. Hurricane Sandy did a lot of natural re-decoration even up the hills of PA. So, you have wood and you have some wood that has been "maturing", readying itself to return to the soil. To break down the cellulose in wood, we rely on fungi, bacteria and insects to help move a tree into entropy. The come in and eat and feed and breakdown those tough cell walls. The fungi also grow in very different shapes and have of different types all up and down the genus. . and bless these natural processes in their infinite combination that can recycle lumber and create such beauty. Thanks Mother Nature - good job, we rely on you!

Shave Bowl

Here is a Shave Bowl in Spalted Maple.  Spalting is a biological process that effects wood.  But what does that mean?  It means that the wood is felled and sits around.  For furniture making and use of structural wood it is not a good idea.  It changes the density and strength of the wood.  For small objects and decorative purposes it is fine to use.

To get down to the nitty gritty, spalting is created from fungi that start to decompose the wood.  The particular species of fungi create different effects.  One type will set up boundary lines and others in conjunction will change the colors within the lines. 

This log has several types of fungi and insects working on the wood.  Before finding uses for these woods they were considered waste wood. Not even good for burning. Such incredible beauty lies within a log or branch, you just need to know where to look for it.

 
This shaving bowl has dramatic lines and beautiful coloring.  It is one of a kind.  Each bowl is one of a kind. Each piece of wood has a different set of lines, areas of dramatic color and natural rarity.  This particular bowl went to his new home today.  I will miss him.

As crazy as it sounds, I am in love with these woods.  They are extraordinary gifts.  

Filling the Void and Finish

One of favorite types of wood to work with is a hardwood that has spalted.  Through the natural processes of breaking down the tree, fungi create lines and different textures with the wood.

One of the challenges is when a piece comes out due to the fragile nature of this wood.  Once the finish layers have been added, they are stable.  We of course, if there is a problem would replace a pen that had trouble later.

The section highlighted in the oval is where some of the wood came out.  In order to make a stable repair, we need to fill the void.  I prefer a water based filler like Wunderfill which you can get through Rockler's catalog.

This fill like many others comes in predetermined wood colors.  I have never had one that really matched well with whatever I was working on and end up modifying them in some way.  With this fill material, one can add water to make a slurry or a consistency like really thick gravy.  Once it is sloppy I had pigments to adjust the color to most closely resemble the area adjacent to it.

I work in the pigment and then press into the area that needs it.  Pigments are available from many different sources.  I get mine through a fine art supply company that way you have the most control over the color.

You can see on the right is a color called "Vine Black"  and on the left is an "Ivory Black".  Some where in the middle of these two blacks is the color with which to fill.  I am balancing the darkest color of the spalt lines with the color of the surrounding wood which is a nice brown beige. 

Now comes the waiting for the fill to dry.  You can figure on 24 hours before being ready to sand down.  It the patch feels cool in your hand then get it some more time. If you sand too early you will make mud on the sandpaper and have to re-do it.  The patch also will dry faster in a low humidity environment.  During a hot and humid summer it may take longer. 

In the end, I enjoy working on having a great finish.  A lot of people find it tedious and boring and try to get through it as quickly as possible.  There are even those who finish their pens with CA glue as the finish.  Which is fine for them but I prefer to finish  like a piece of fine furniture one that will both wear well and last long.