Large Cherry Bowl

This cherry bowl is about ten and a half inches in diameter. It was a slow project that sat around the shop for over a month after being hollowed. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the ends, so I eventually did each differently. Nobody awaited this piece, so there was no pressure to hurry the deal. I have enough left from the plank for about four more similarly sized bowls.

The work proceeded from the rough hollowing, filing, and sanding to work with the scrapers and steel wool. I started using mineral oil when I got to the fine work with the scraper and wet sanding. It develops a mildly abrasive slurry that aids in smoothing it. The photo above shows the bowl with a first coat of oil, varnish, and beeswax with some thinner. This coat completely soaks in. Then I’ll wet sand again. I will apply either a finish coat of beeswax with mineral oil, or I may use a topcoat of food-safe varnish.

Since taking the photos, the bowl has darkened significantly; wood will always surprise you – that you can expect.