# Crotchety Silver Maple Bowl



## Karl_TN (May 5, 2020)

This Silver Maple bowl was a neighbor's a tree back in April. Returning bowl as a gift for letting my cows graze on their pasture when my grass was running low this winter. Finished with Arm-R-Seal which I'm not fond of using due to of sags, but wanted a finish that could be easily wiped out with a wet washcloth.

18" by 4" bowl. Wood looks like a burl, but it's really just a 3 way crotch with cool figure.

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 15 | Way Cool 11


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## trc65 (May 5, 2020)

Fantastic looking bowl! Love how you were able to capture parts of all three branches.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## TimR (May 5, 2020)

That’s a real looker! Great job in capturing all the crotchety grain too!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (May 5, 2020)

Man there's a lot going on in that piece, well done

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nature Man (May 5, 2020)

Gorgeous! They will love it! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Maverick (May 5, 2020)

Beautiful bowl. Well done.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## DKMD (May 6, 2020)

That’s awesome! What a great looking bowl!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson (May 6, 2020)

That's a big beautiful bowl Karl! Love it

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## T. Ben (May 6, 2020)

Wow,very nice bowl. Great job!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike Hill (May 6, 2020)

Gorgeous bowl Karl. Is that from the tree next door?


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## Karl_TN (May 6, 2020)

Mike Hill said:


> Gorgeous bowl Karl. Is that from the tree next door?


Yes, it was the next door that needed to come down. I was surprised how quickly this bowl dried after turning it for the third time. Sometimes I will turn a green bowl a few times while drying in order to remove cracks or to have less warpage issues to deal with. This bowl stop warping after the third turning so I decided to finish it.


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## Mr. Peet (May 6, 2020)

Karl, looks great. Why did you omit the word "Silver" in your labeling?


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## Eric Rorabaugh (May 6, 2020)

Nice work!


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## William Tanner (May 6, 2020)

A really nice bowl Karl and a nice jester. I have not used this brand of finish before. I looked it up briefly and will read up on it tonight.


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## Karl_TN (May 6, 2020)

William Tanner said:


> A really nice bowl Karl and a nice jester. I have not used this brand of finish before. I looked it up briefly and will read up on it tonight.



It's made by General Finish, but mine is a bit old and thicker than normal which might have caused some of sag issues that needed to be buffed out. Next time I might try adding some thinner to see if that helps any. I'd really like to use this finish on more bowls since it's supposed to provide a good layer of protection. Read or heard a lot of great things about General Finish products and would no concern about recommending them to other woodworkers.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Karl_TN (May 6, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> Karl, looks great. Why did you omit the word "Silver" in your labeling?



Ask my wife mark the bottom up before identifying the specific soft maple species. To be honest I didn't know it was Silver Maple until I went back to my neighbor's burn pile recently to examine the leaves. I was thrown off initially because the leaves were the right shape for silver maple, but they were not silvery underneath like I'm used to seeing. Finally decided it was either due to the tree just budding out, or it was a silver maple hybrid.


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## Mr. Peet (May 7, 2020)

Karl_TN said:


> Ask my wife mark the bottom up before identifying the specific soft maple species. To be honest I didn't know it was Silver Maple until I went back to my neighbor's burn pile recently to examine the leaves. I was thrown off initially because the leaves were the right shape for silver maple, but they were not silvery underneath like I'm used to seeing. Finally decided it was either due to the tree just budding out, or it was a silver maple hybrid.



Don't know of any hybrids, but sure it can happen. Still, a great looking bowl.


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## Steve in VA (May 7, 2020)

Great looking bowl Karl and very kind of you to turn it for your neighbors!


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## Karl_TN (May 7, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> Don't know of any hybrids, but sure it can happen. Still, a great looking bowl.



Here's some info on a red & silver maple hybrid:
https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/freemans-maple


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## phinds (May 7, 2020)

Beautiful bowl Karl. Really love that combination of crotch/knot and multitudinous cluster burls.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Mr. Peet (May 7, 2020)

Karl_TN said:


> Here's some info on a red & silver maple hybrid:
> https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/freemans-maple



Thank you, 30 years in the trade and never used one in the landscape. I'll have to see if anyone in our area carries it. Thank you.


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## Karl_TN (May 8, 2020)

phinds said:


> Beautiful bowl Karl. Really love that combination of crotch/knot and multitudinous cluster burls.


 
I didn't consider this a burl because the crotch looked like a normal crotch on the outside. Now you given me a new term 'multitudinous cluster burls' to go learn about. Really glad your here to share your knowledge with us. Thanks.


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## barry richardson (May 8, 2020)

Ya know, I was thinking when I first saw your bowl that the wood looked a little different color than all silver maple I have seen. Usually has a little more gray tone ...


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## Karl_TN (May 8, 2020)

barry richardson said:


> Ya know, I was thinking when I first saw your bowl that the wood looked a little different color than all silver maple I have seen. Usually has a little more gray tone ...



I suspect that the gray tones are due to an older tree or wood not drying fast enough. This tree was cut down, bowls cored and then rough turned on the same day so I could get them drying quickly. Young silver maple tree have light colored wood and grow like weeds around here. I think this tree was than 30 years old.

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Barb (May 26, 2020)

Love the crotchety piece!


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