So this is the first piece from that tree that I've turned.
I thought that also as I was working it. The sides of this bowl are thin enough to allow light through and that looked pretty cool. Gave a nice "glow" under the right sunlight conditions. Of course, you can't see that in any of the pictures posted ...
This is one of those projects that the native form drives the finish form. There were two limb intersections on this that I was trying to highlight.
Many large forest areas in Colorado have been totally devastated by these beetles. We still have millions of still standing dead trees in mountain areas ... big fire risk. I live east of the front range area (Colorado Springs) so we were not affected as much as the higher altitudes. That said, I've had several trees on our lot that did get infected and I took them down and disposed of them during the really cold months when the beetles were not spreading. They do spread the fungus into the trees which is what creates the blue stained look.
My entire shop has been paneled with horizontally installed T&G blue stain pine. It was going cheap and was readily available when the infestation was high (about 2007). Go figure ...
Joe @shadetree_1 - I just saw this and somehow missed it. My pleasure and red heads are magical creatures and the closes I can get to your request is the Irish Creme coffee…….you would have to find a pen pal in the Emerald Isle for a red head unicorn and there is not red head that can take the place of your late wife Linda. Enjoy and much peace.
Steven, I didn't have to stabilize this wood although I did do a few CA "repairs" on cracks as I was turning it down. Fewer than I thought might be needed. I used carbide lathe tools and took lots of small/light/slow passes to work the thickness down. That way, I don't put any large forces in any direction on the thinning wood. Patience is learned ... wanna see my pile of broken/cracked bowls?
