This is a smaller chokecherry bowl, turned from the other half of the trunk that made the larger bowl.
Rough turned in early January, I finished it the second week in February 2024. Bowls seem to go very quickly, but then I think of the time I spent fussing over the finish on this one, and suddenly they’re not so quick any more.
The bowl is about 5 inches in diameter, and just over an inch deep inside. It’s finished with a hand-rubbed shellac and tung oil finish similar to French polish.
Since the bigger bowl post I have been looking into Prunus virginiana, or Choke Cherry. Seeing pics of the plants, bushes. I had some of this growing at the old place. It was bought at a tree auction, and marked simply as Cherry. It became quite bushy, and didn't look like it was going to grow into anything usable in my lifetime, so I pulled it out. Bummer....
Seeing this wonderful looking wood, and that monster pith, I am looking for some that got itself large enough to be considered a board or 4. I would like to make a box, or some kind of smallish cabinet.
I have enough land to plant another sampling, not sure how fast it would grow, but I am probably going to find out. :-) Getting to be the time of year to order it for shipping this Spring.
George, I’m not sure how much of that is due to the tree, and how much is due to the dry climate, but growing next to a stream… But I was surprised at how big of a chunk it actually was. The chokecherry I was used to from Minnesota was all bushy, rather than tree… maybe it was just outcompeted there.
I agree the plants I pulled out were very bushlike, and spindly, surely not something that would yield slabs like above. I gotta say if someone just posted this pic, and said what its it I would never guess ChokeCherry. The size of your bowls seems to say it can become kinda chunky. I just need to run into someone ripping out a fencerow of some of this.
That stock in the lower part of the pic looks to me like Quarter sawn Sycamore that someone died with a red brown mix. The upper could be straight Black Cherry, but they are saying ChokeCherry? Who knows?
Well, there it is! I’ve got this bowl sitting on the dining room table at the moment, watching how the reddish streaks are turning brown with exposure to air and light. It’s happening fairly quickly.
