Leftover from my last turning, the Oak Candle Dish, a small block of Oak was still in my chuck in endgrain orientation. That endgrain looked quite nice in the candle dish, so I decided to try a small bowl from the leftovers instead of tossing them. The result is visually quite interesting, though I do not like the spalting in the sap wood all that much.
Sanded through 600 grid and finished with bees wax. Approximately 4” in diameter.
In order to try out my new 1/2” Sorby Bowl Gouge I chucked up a piece of Oak from a wood score in the neighborhood. Initially I intended to make a bowl, but as the first cuts were made, as so often happens, the project went along different lines. Result was this Natural Edged Oak Candle Dish. The bark needed some help in one spot, but a quick application of super glue fixed that. The result is intentionally left quite coarse, with just a bit of sanding and a light application of some bees wax to bring out the grain.
Buckthorn is an extremely invasive European species that is slowly taking over here in Minnesota. When cutting down some Buckthorn I wondered wether it is at least suitable for turning small items, so I sealed some of the thicker branches and dried them. Interestingly the wood seemed to oxidize while drying and took on a reddish color throughout.
The grain is tight and it turns easy enough. Short of areas around knots it has not much figure to it. So it is not spectacular, and given the thickness of the branches is probably of limited use.