# Leaving some bark on a bowl advice



## LemonadeJay (Oct 9, 2013)

Turning a bowl tonight from a piece of salvaged wood. On another WB thread people identified it as mulberry. It is a pretty cool crotch piece that also had 3 other branches coming off in the areas.

I am still roughing it out. The question I have is, has anyone ever left bark on the sides of a bowl? If so, how does it look?

There are a couple of spots where the bark is remaining and goes an inch or more into the wood. I could easily remove it but the bowl will be quite a bit smaller.

[attachment=32458]
[attachment=32459]


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## DavidDobbs (Oct 11, 2013)

LemonadeJay said:


> Turning a bowl tonight from a piece of salvaged wood. On another WB thread people identified it as mulberry. It is a pretty cool crotch piece that also had 3 other branches coming off in the areas.
> 
> I am still roughing it out. The question I have is, has anyone ever left bark on the sides of a bowl? If so, how does it look?
> 
> There are a couple of spots where the bark is remaining and goes an inch or more into the wood. I could easily remove it but the bowl will be quite a bit smaller.


You can leave it on mulberry the outer bark may come off
But the other will stay it will be fine.

Dave


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## DKMD (Oct 11, 2013)

Never had much luck with mulberry sapwood... Seems to crack every time. I've left bark on bowls before without trouble, and other times it's fallen off. I don't like it on a utility piece, but if it's just for show, I can be a cool feature.


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## Dane Fuller (Oct 11, 2013)

I've had the best luck, leaving the bark on a rough out, if it came from a tree that was cut in the winter. (Something about the sap having dropped???)
I've turned a lot of mulberry. DKMD and I live in similar climate zones and I've had pretty much the same result with sap wood. However, if it doesn't split, standby for major warpage. *YMMV*

Here's a mulberry piece with a patch of sap wood and bark that somehow stuck together. I lost a lot of it due to warping....


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## ghost1066 (Oct 11, 2013)

I wish I could help with mulberry but have never turned a bowl from it. I do turn other woods and leave bark on all the time. Like everything with wood it does what it wants a lot of times and some stay on some don't. 

I have bark inclusions on probably 1/3 of the bowls I turn and they are fine. 

Doesn't surprise me about checks or cracks since it is related to Osage Orange which loves to split on me.


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## DavidDobbs (Oct 11, 2013)

I have had good luck with mulberry. Maybe it is where the wood is from.

I have turned a lot of it love the way it sands out how the grain waves.

I rough turn them DNA/ Methanol them a day or two. Then weigh them and put them in a brown bag and forget them. Start weighing them in 6mos. till they are the same weight a couple times.


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## Gdurfey (Oct 11, 2013)

Wish I could find it, but I just saw an example of this type of turning on another forum. Believe it was AAW. Stunning piece, best wishes on the bowl!

Garry


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## WoodLove (Oct 12, 2013)

I turn live edge bowls as often as I can..... I love the way they combine the rugged raw tree look with the refined nicely finished turned part of the bowl. I have posted a few of my pics and you can see how they end up..... you would be fine with leaving bark on the sides I think...... if it comes off then its another design opportunity for ya...

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[attachment=32581]


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