Yo, B.

And here's the first finished piece I've pulled from The Urner's maple tree (If you remember, a few posts back...) Many thanks guys. I hope you get as much pleasure knowing that old tree lives on and is making someone else happy, as I've gotten helping it along its journey.

This one's about 14 inches across and almost 5 deep. Finished in walnut oil, it's 100% food safe. I think it looks great on our dining room table, and I hope it looks even better on my neighbor's Brian and Christina's table for years to come.

You'll also notice I tried a slightly different signature for the bottom. Several months ago, we took the kids north for a weekend of poking around, and I discovered these green marble bits in a tiny sewing store. I knew they'd come in handy some day. I think I like them.

What do you think?

For Another Day.

Since moving from Atlanta, I think I've mentioned the incidences of my roughs cracking as they dry have gone up. Either I'm not paying enough attention to the circumference/thickness ratios, or the damp nature of my drying space ain't helpin'.

I got tired of throwing out nice, big cherry roughs, so I've decided to try something. Dye and epoxy. Maybe it'll make for a pretty neat design. Dunno. I do know I'll save another piece of wood and learn something in the process if nothing else. So, off we go.

First I got the rough back in round.

Then taped off the outside of the bowl; as it'll be easier to fill the crack full from the smaller side. Otherwise, I'll have a flat spot that won't be rounded.

After filling the crack, I taped up the inside and let it set for a couple of hours to dry. Had to repeat the process, as air bubbles worked their way up and out of the fill. Suppose a thinner epoxy mix might account for alleviating that, but we shall see as I do more of them.

For now, I'm looking forward to finishing this one, and seeing what comes of it. Stay tuned.

What's In Thar?—Part II

A while back, I got a few pieces of wood from my pal Lou Maxon. Lou's been building a 100% LEED certified modern home in Carnation, WA.

I thought this would be a nice little crotch piece to keep his spirits up while the LEED process dragged out. Consider it part of a greater work in progress. (Who knew it took sooooooooooo long to do it right and not cut any corners?)

In any event, Lou was pleased to get it. And even gave us a wee shout out on Dwell Magazine's blog; where he's a recent sanctioned contributor. How 'bout that?