Prepairing Green Bowl Blanks
Rodney LehrBass demonstrated his technique for preparing a green bowl blank. First,
he started with a piece of Silver Maple in log form, about 15” in length and 13” diameter. He showed us from both
ends a very distinct stress fracture that occurs when timber is cut down. This fracture is from a release in tension built
up in the tree and releases when the grain is severed. He laid the log on its side with the fracture running vertically. He
then ripped the wood with his chain saw, in 3 places, each side creating a flat faces about ¾” into the log and then
right down the fracture. This fracture always runs right through the heart or the pith of the log. “Always remove the
heart wood if you want a crack resistant bowl. The heart will crack and it will go right through the bowl”. Effective
and simple.
Green Turning
Harry Newman turned a large Silver Maple turning block. The wood is green and was cut from a log
during another demonstration earlier. The earlier demonstration focused on how to properly analyze and cut a log to
get the most usable wood and eliminate checks and cracks.
Turning green wood can be alot of fun and here in the mountains of West Virginia, it is usaully easy to locate.
Show and Tell
Harry Newman had located some impressive cedar along side the I64 in Virginia, The wood was cut, stacked and left in the
median to begin it decay process.
He and James carried a few trailer loads of it home and set to work turning. Harry brought
a rough turned piece for show and tell. James Cox also brought a few items for show and tell. This cedar was cut across the
log and full bark was left around the entire bowl. It has a wonderful flower pedal look around the bowl.
"There are several ways
to perform the same task. My way might be a little different and your way isn’t necessarily wrong. When we
adopt new thing into our tool box, you give yourself new ability. is your tool box empty? .WVWA is a great place to build
up your tool box, your talent, and your confidence. When it’s full, well we’ll just add another level. I hope
you never stop collecting these tools”.
