# Huge bowl



## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Hi,
I'm completely new to this forum and admittedly don't know much about woodworking, but I joined today in hopes that someone could help me with this awesome "salad" bowl I picked up this afternoon at a local thrift shop.
The bowl is 36" across, approximately 8" tall, and varies from about 3.5 to 4" in thickness. It weighs a ton! Well, more like a hundred pounds or so! The can shown in the picture is a standard 12 oz. soda can.
It has many imperfections and looks like some sort of burled wood. It is definitely wood of some sort, but beyond that, I am completely baffled!
If anyone out there can help me with the type of wood, use, age, or anything else related, I would be very grateful.
Thanks so much!


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## bond3737 (Nov 13, 2009)

it is definitely a burl to be sure... as to the type of burl I really couldnt say but if I had to venture a guess Id say maybe cherry with an oil finish of some kind? it was carved and im guessing it was done with power tools as opposed to gouge. But you can be sure it took someone a good chunk of time working on this if nothing else because there was an extreme amount of material being removed. Burls of that size are rare around here. Where are you from? It'll make the wood identification easier. Either way... Good find!


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

bond3737 said:


> it is definitely a burl to be sure... as to the type of burl I really couldnt say but if I had to venture a guess Id say maybe cherry with an oil finish of some kind? it was carved and im guessing it was done with power tools as opposed to gouge. But you can be sure it took someone a good chunk of time working on this if nothing else because there was an extreme amount of material being removed. Burls of that size are rare around here. Where are you from? It'll make the wood identification easier. Either way... Good find!


THANKS SO MUCH bond3737! I live in Central Virginia and the shop location is Charlottesville, Virginia. I guess the piece could have come from around here rather than being imported from another region, but I've roamed the woods of Central Va. for about 60 years and never seen anything like this!
The grain and color looks like walnut to me, but someone at the shop where I work says he thinks it's cypress. If so, how it got here is anybody's guess.
In any event, THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!


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## bond3737 (Nov 13, 2009)

no problem! if you dont mind my asking, how much did it go for at the thrift shop? Wish that was something I came across just hanging out at goodwill! haha. great find... would love to throw some stone inlay in all those bark inclusions and re sand it down to a smooooth 600 gritvery cool


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

bond3737 said:


> no problem! if you dont mind my asking, how much did it go for at the thrift shop? Wish that was something I came across just hanging out at goodwill! haha. great find... would love to throw some stone inlay in all those bark inclusions and re sand it down to a smooooth 600 gritvery cool


You must have E.S.P.--It WAS at a local Goodwill! Sticker price--$49.95
That's much higher than pieces I normally buy at Goodwill--hope I didn't overpay.

I would be interested in your suggestion about the stone inlay. Is this a difficult process? How would one go about doing this? Thanks!


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

jhamner said:


> You must have E.S.P.--It WAS at a local Goodwill! Sticker price--$49.95
> That's much higher than pieces I normally buy at Goodwill--hope I didn't overpay.
> 
> I would be interested in your suggestion about the stone inlay. Is this a difficult process? How would one go about doing this? Thanks!


A burl of that size is very expensive. Burl is normally sold by weight. $5 - $10 / lb. I think you got a great deal.

As stated earlier this looks to have been carved rather than turned. I can understand it would be much easier to carve this large burl than turn since the desire is to keep the outer shape.

Likely carved out at least 1/2 the original weight.

One method to fill the inclusions with a decorative stone like appearance is a resin call In-Lace. Not cheap, but can make a piece really stand out. Read the instructions about the amount of hardener and have a method to know the weight of the resin so you know how many drops of the hardener to use.

It needs 12 hours to cure, so overnight works well, and then can be sanded or turned. Need good dust collection, the sanding creates a LOT of dust. It is worth the effort though.

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...=packard&Category_Code=proj-supp-inlay-inlace

Some folks grind stones and mix with epoxy. If you choose this method, do a test with the stones and the epoxy. Sometimes the stone material can affect the curing of the epoxy.

Cuerodoc uses stone/epoxy to fill inclusions. Not sure if In-Lace or home mixture. One example.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/euro-nice-53626/


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Dave Paine said:


> A burl of that size is very expensive. Burl is normally sold by weight. $5 - $10 / lb. I think you got a great deal.
> 
> As stated earlier this looks to have been carved rather than turned. I can understand it would be much easier to carve this large burl than turn since the desire is to keep the outer shape.
> 
> ...


Thanks again for great info! I am definitely going to look into this!


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

Yep , thats a great burl bowl .
I'd just wash it with warm water and a soft bristle brush , air dry it , and oil it well with mineral oil .

As it stands , it is a fine artwork and fruit bowl , just as it is .
It needs no further embellishment.


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## Hwood (Oct 21, 2011)

Heck of a score


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Manuka Jock said:


> Yep , thats a great burl bowl .
> I'd just wash it with warm water and a soft bristle brush , air dry it , and oil it well with mineral oil .
> 
> As it stands , it is a fine artwork and fruit bowl , just as it is .
> It needs no further embellishment.


Thanks so much. After drying, should I oil both sides, or just the interior? 
(I'm assuming interior only--the exterior still has bark.


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Hwood said:


> Heck of a score


Thanks so much--any guess as to value?


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## bond3737 (Nov 13, 2009)

tough to say... as a work of art it could go for whatever someone wants to pay for it. As a burl if it were purchased in whole form I would imagine it would go for around 1000 bucks maybe a little less maybe more but in that area


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

jhamner said:


> Thanks so much. After drying, should I oil both sides, or just the interior?
> (I'm assuming interior only--the exterior still has bark.


 Post a photo or two of the outside . The bark may help to identify the wood , and to see if any oil could or should be applied to it .


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

bond3737 said:


> tough to say... as a work of art it could go for whatever someone wants to pay for it. As a burl if it were purchased in whole form I would imagine it would go for around 1000 bucks maybe a little less maybe more but in that area


WOW--I'm pleasantly surprised at that! Thanks!


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

*huge bowl*

I wasn't able to get but one good pic of the other side--camera malfunction. Will try and do some more later.


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

Thats great to see , the wood just under the bark by the looks of it .

Oil that too I reckon


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

Man, I'd have been all over that buy in a heart beat.
Clean and oil. Nothing else for my tastes.
Bill


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Manuka Jock said:


> Thats great to see , the wood just under the bark by the looks of it .
> 
> Oil that too I reckon


Yes--where they flattened off a spot for the bowl to rest on, you can see how thin the bark really is.

I don't have mineral oil. Where would you get that--hardware? drugstore? Are there any suitable alternatives, or is mineral oil best? Thanks!


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Bill White said:


> Man, I'd have been all over that buy in a heart beat.
> Clean and oil. Nothing else for my tastes.
> Bill


Yes, me too--but when I tried to pick it up to take to the cash register, it's like it was glued to the floor-I'd say 100 pounds easily! Had to get a clerk to come help.
As we were loading, one of the workers (who hadn't seen me) say UGH, somebody really bought that thing?


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

jhamner said:


> Yes--where they flattened off a spot for the bowl to rest on, you can see how thin the bark really is.
> 
> I don't have mineral oil. Where would you get that--hardware? drugstore? Are there any suitable alternatives, or is mineral oil best? Thanks!


The surface you see in that last photo does not look like bark to me .
It looks to be the outer surface wood of the burl itself .

Here is another example of the outer wood of a burl










When it comes to burls , think warts :thumbsup:


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Manuka Jock said:


> The surface you see in that last photo does not look like bark to me .
> It looks to be the outer surface wood of the burl itself .
> 
> Here is another example of the outer wood of a burl
> ...


WOW! What a beautiful piece! Thought my find was big until you showed me this!
I think you're right--outside burl...no bark on my piece. I guess what threw me off is that the inside has been polished and the outside has not. Thanks much, and BEAUTIFUL PIC you sent me! Did you find this in the wild?


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

jhamner said:


> Did you find this in the wild?


Nope, I found both photos on the internet :laughing:


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Manuka Jock said:


> Nope, I found both photos on the internet :laughing:


STILL very impressive!


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

Aye is is that . 
I'd loved to have seen the whole burl , and it's tree .


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

You got a beautiful piece of tree, even if we don't know exactly what it is :thumbsup:



jhamner said:


> I don't have mineral oil. Where would you get that--hardware? drugstore? Are there any suitable alternatives, or is mineral oil best? Thanks!


You can get mineral oil at stores like Walmart and Target, and at drugstores like Walgreens or CVS.

Mineral oil is completely "food safe", but I wouldn't recommend drinking it unless you have a good supply of toilet paper (it's sold as a laxative :laughing

Unlike vegetable oils, it doesn't go rancid -- but it doesn't "dry" to a hard finish like the oil finishes that many woodworkers use (Tung oil and boiled Linseed oil, for example.)

The beauty of mineral oil is that whenever the wood begins to look dull, you can just give it a rub with a rag that has a small amount of oil on it and everything looks sparkly again -- just before filling it up with salad for the guests is a great time to do this.


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

duncsuss said:


> You got a beautiful piece of tree, even if we don't know exactly what it is :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks very much for the info! That mineral oil sounds like good stuff, and we have a CVS right down the road here. Not quite sure what to do with the bowl yet--it's too large for the dinner table and too small to take a bath in! I guess we'll just set it in a corner and look at it! It truly is a beautiful piece of art and nature.
Thanks again for all your help!


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

jhamner said:


> I don't have mineral oil. Where would you get that--hardware? drugstore?....
> Thanks!


I get mineral/petroleum oil from Stock Feed Stores .
The farmers use it in for animal health .
City veterinarians here have it , but in very small quantities at a very high price.


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## jhamner (Sep 19, 2013)

Manuka Jock said:


> I get mineral/petroleum oil from Stock Feed Stores .
> The farmers use it in for animal health .
> City veterinarians here have it , but in very small quantities at a very high price.


Thank you, MJ----I found some in two pharmacies and a dollar store. Very interesting--all three places had the exact same bottle, just different labels but prices ranged anywhere from $10 and change down to just over $2!
As I'm sure everyone knows, mineral oil is used as a lubricant/laxative.
I couldn't help but have a little fun with each of the clerks--I asked them if I should take the whole bottle at once, or just half. In addition to the many perplexed looks I received, the last lady said that she wasn't sure, but she would ask the pharmacist!


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## cuerodoc (Jan 27, 2012)

Mineral oil- expensive??!
I just go to the drug store or drug dept. of Walmart,etc and visit the laxative section and there it is--- a bottle for $2-3. Plus it's safe for human "consumption"
Dave h


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

What size are the bottles ?
Here at the rural feed stores , it starts at $20 for 2 liters , and drops in price as the container size increases .


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## cuerodoc (Jan 27, 2012)

Manuka,
The bottles I get are about a liter at most. Don't have room for a lot of volume.
I'd say check the drug dept at whatever store you have--in the laxative section.
That's what I use when I want a mineral oil finish.

Apologies for the minor hijack.
Dave H


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I get mine here, use it on cutting boards.
http://store.steoil.com/crystal-plus-food-grade-mineral-oil-70fg-1-gal/


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

cuerodoc said:


> Manuka,
> The bottles I get are about a liter at most. Don't have room for a lot of volume.
> I'd say check the drug dept at whatever store you have--in the laxative section.
> That's what I use when I want a mineral oil finish.
> ...


Why would I need to do that ? 
I can get mineral oil in the places I have already spoken of for an excellent price .
Retail be damned , I get mine wholesale


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