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California (Wild)Firewood Bowl

Vaughn McMillan

Vaughn McMillan

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Back in June at the show I did in Malibu, some guy came up to me in the booth and gave me a piece of wood. He said it was a Manzanita burl that had been burned in one of the Malibu wildfires. Sure enough it looked like a half-burned log out of a campfire. I told him I'd see what was inside, but I didn't have a lot of hope for it. It's been sitting wrapped in plastic bags in the driveway until recently. I figured since I'm doing the same show again this weekend, I should try to make something out of it in case the guy comes back by the booth.

Here's what I started with...

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So I lopped off the horns a bit...

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Mounted it between centers...

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And spun it up...

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Turned a tenon on the bottom. This is showing some promise...

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Hollowed the inside. Even more promising...

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(Continued in the next post...)
 
California (Wild)Firewood Bowl (continued)

I put a few coats of shellac on the charcoal parts to seal them, then a coat of Formby's Tung Oil Finish on the exposed wood. After letting that sit a few days, I hit it with multiple coats of spray lacquer...satin on the burned parts and gloss on the exposed parts. Here's what I ended up with...

Bowl 095 - 15 800.jpg Bowl 095 - 13 800.jpg Bowl 095 - 09 800.jpg Bowl 095 - 10 800.jpg Bowl 095 - 11 800.jpg Bowl 095 - 12 800.jpg

I guess you could say that I'll do just about anything to avoid having to sand the outside of a bowl. :p

Comments, critiques and questions are welcome and appreciated.
 
OK, that has to be one of the more original pieces I've ever seen, how cool it that! :clap:

I hope the guy that gave you the wood shows up, and it blows him away! :thumb:
 
What a unique and meaningful piece for the area Vaughn. Taking a piece of wood that was ruined due to a local fire and making a great piece of art:eek::clap::clap::clap: Just kool:thumb: and the "smoke ring" created by the fire creates such feeling for the piece. That is a winner Vaughn, I just love your talent to make a silk purse out of a sows ear:thumb:
 
That is very striking - in every essence of that word. If you offer that for sale, crank it into four figures. It would be worth every cent to someone!
 
Very cool Vaughn.

I like the 'burnt edges' effect and the red insides.

I hope the guy who gave it to you shows up to see what you did to it!
 
Very original and turned out beautiful. I would have never seen that in that hunk of burned wood. There is probably a lot of that laying out there in the burned areas.

Very nice work.
 
Very cool and attractive. looks like the fire is still burning in the bowl.:thumb:

I would imagine someone that lost a property in those fires might like something like this to remeber it by. Would be a great talking piece for a place like a good restaurant to display or art gallery.

Wish you all the best with the show, hope you make a killing.
 
Oh my, this piece brings out he psychological side of me, sorry. But does it reflect something about humans? Something like, no matter how chard, scorched or beat up the outside there can be real beauty on the inside. Maybe I'd better go back to bed.
 
Paul Douglass said:
Oh my, this piece brings out he psychological side of me, sorry. But does it reflect something about humans? Something like, no matter how chard, scorched or beat up the outside there can be real beauty on the inside. Maybe I'd better go back to bed.
Click to expand...
Paul i really like how you see this piece:thumb:
Vaughn i can't see how ya do it, but man o man that's one really sweet piece.Maybe i'll have to find a nice piece of wood and throw it in the fire myself. :D If i was sure it would turn out half as good i really would.:thumb::thumb::thumb:
Steve
 
Ha!! That's so cool!!:thumb::thumb: The only thing I would like to have seen...not knowing the structure of the bark...is a deeper cut on the top, I guess more of a platter shape. Maybe for some Red Hots! :rofl::rofl:. Really is a great "somethin'-outa-nuthin" work! :clap::clap:
 
Well Vaughn, what can I say, you did find some of get looking wood in that thing yet yet it's history intact. You should call it beauty and the beast. I have always wanted to turn Manazanita. How was it to turn. I have heard it a very hard wood due to it density and slow growth. I may have to take a journey a little further nor toward Flagstaff and get some of that stuff to try.
 
Don, it turned nice and clean, but it dulled my tools faster than just about any other wood I've turned. I might typically sharpen my gouges twice or three times making a bowl out of a 14" to 16" dry ash blank, doing the outside and the inside to finished size. In this bowl, I had to sharpen four times to do the bottom and inside, and the bowl itself is only about 4" or 5" across. And this stuff wasn't completely dry, believe it or not.

Thanks for the comments, all. This bowl sparked a lot of interest and conversations at the show today. :)
 
well i am late to the show vaughn but i can see alot good vibes in this as well i would have taken it of your hands had it been at your home last spring.. that color and the charred out side has many avenues of conversation or interpretation of form.. i can see it representing the volcanoes of Hawaii very easily and if there had been some small depressions just deep enough to get the red to show on the outer ares would be real striking i my eyes as well well done vaughn:D:thumb::thumb:
 
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