Bleached and Dyed Ash

Vaughn McMillan

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This pair of bowls was an experiment in contrasts. They were turned from the same chunk of ash. I turned a "capsule" shape between centers, parted it in half, then hollowed each half into matching bowls. Each bowl is 5 3/4" wide and 3 1/2" tall.

The dark bowl was dyed black with liquid TransTint dye, then I used white liming wax to highlight the grain on the outside only. It was finished with clear gloss spray lacquer, wet sanded with 600 grit, buffed and waxed. I'll probably strip the wax off and add some more lacquer and do some more wet sanding...it's not quite to the "bowling ball smooth" finish I'm wanting.

The light bowl was soaked in Clorox bleach for a few days, then rinsed thoroughly with water. When it came out of the bleach, it was slippery and slimy as a snail's belly. As I rinsed the bleach off, some of the wood washed away too. Even though both bowls started out about 5/32" thick, the bleached one ended up about half that thick when all was said and done. It has a rough surface that feels like it was sandblasted. I finished it with satin spray lacquer.

I turned these a few months ago, and wasn't happy with the photos I was able to get. Then over time, the finish on the black bowl got a little dinged up, so I re-did the lacquer on it. The photos I did get still aren't perfect, but I'm tired of trying for now.

This view shows the colors pretty accurately...

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In this one, I darkened the white bowl with Photoshop a bit to show the texture better...

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C&C welcomed and appreciated, as usual.
 

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Very Nice Vaughn! :thumb: I had something similar in mind for the beauty and the beast contest...turned the "capsule" and hollowed out one of the sides...then I blew up the other. :doh:
 
Juts love both of them. Color, Shape, wall thickness, depth.

Man you got it down pat with design and all. Those would make such great cereal bowls. :thumb::thumb: The form is the cool thing. Well done Vaugn. :thumb:
 
I prefer the shape of the lighter finished bowl, but both show good tool control and method to achieve the thickness, 'Sunday Best China' quality in design and finish.
 
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