Pecan Salad Bowl

Dave Hoskins

Member
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5,252
Location
Parker County, Texas
Finished this up today. Mainly another stock piece for the inventory. Has a diameter of 12 1/2" with a height of 2 1/4" and a depth of about 1 1/2". Has a volume capacity of 1/2 gallon up to the brim. Did my usual after sanding to 600 by sealing it with walnut oil. Finished with a walnut oil/shellac mix at about 50/50. Gives the bowl a little bit of sheen but not outlandish and a more natural look. You all likes it me hopes! :D

 
That looks nice! I enjoy making bowls we can use. Sealing it with walnut oil and shellack is a good idea, do you use any wax?
 
Thanks, guys! Pecan is a great looking wood, isn't it? Rick, I do use wax sometimes. If the piece screams at me to wax it, I will. But if I think there is a slight chance of something warm put in the bowl or whatever I don't use wax. Nor if anything with alcohol or vinegar as some salad dressings do. Alcohol will dissolve the wax for sure and vinegar might. Remember vinegar is an acid of sorts. But the walnut oil is pretty tough in it's own right if allowed to cure as well as the shellac. I like shellac because it does really dry and cure out clear. Not all top coats do that.
 
Went to a sawmill in Rising Star, TX - SE of Abilene last week. The man who owns it was talking about some of the different woods he cut. Took us into his shop to show us one of the processes he uses making some mesquite jewelry boxes. The walls of his shop, except for an area about 6'x3', were covered with spalted pecan. Said he cut it about 10 years ago and couldn't give it away so he put it to good use. Shop was probably 30'x40'. One of the prettiest shop interiors you've ever seen.
 
If it's a salad bowl, why is it full of fruit? :D:D:D

Beautiful bowl... I've had very little pecan to turn. When my mother was still living at home in Teague, her house had a pecan standing on the front yard about 6' from the street... must have been close to 3' diameter at the base and was dying, losing limbs every time I went up there... they were too small to turn and mostly rotted anyway, but I wanted the trunk... she moved to a nursing home and sold the house before I could talk her into cutting the tree.

And we had an old guy that lived up on the mountain in Coker Creek, here in TN that has a 6' x 2' slab of pecan that was spalted to the point it looked like a road map... fabulous piece of wood. He brought it down to a local gallery and wanted it framed so he could use it as a picture on his wall. Bob Hardin was quite an artist in his own right... he made knives and did pyrography (not sure of spelling) on buckskin jackets... Coker Creek is a little community about 10 miles up the mountain from Tellico Plains, about 1/2 way between us and the Carolina border. Bob was in his early 80's and would walk down off the mountain... when he was in his 70's he would ride a bike down and back.
 
When I read what you said at first, Chuck I had to laugh! I guess the reason it's full of fruit is because I ain't go no artificial salad. :D Is there even such a thing? Probably. Don't ya just hate it when you miss out of some good wood? Anyway, thanks everybody!
 
You're welcome, Rick. Hope that helps. The methods of my sealing and finishing I can up with myself by trial and error. The wax vs. alcohol I learned by error. Luckily they were good friends. I never went to any classes. Just learned by doing and a couple of videos here and there. Most what I learned on You Tube is what not to do it seems. Saw some guys do some pretty dumb things. :bang:
 
Dave do you resize your images before posting?
I ask because the images come out blurred for me on my tablet so wondering how it can be fix. I thought forum was now resizing automatically when we upload. Can you try uploading full size as a test i would love to be able to see a clear decent size image of your work. Thanks.
 
Hi Rob. No I don't resize them before posting. The photos I download are the same size I use online generally 1070x800, or something along those lines. I just looked at them and they are crystal clear for me. Not sure what to do on that. But, I'll go back and try making them bigger and see if that helps you. Not sure, but I'll do it.
 
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