The huge burr sycamore bowl

Back in 2014, I was offered a giant burr sycamore trunk, which had been felled by a local tree surgeon. Over the last two years I’ve been slowly working my way through this amazing wood, with the largest piece now ready to finish…

I removed this blank from the kiln last week and placed it on the lathe – I’ve been looking forward to completing this one for ages! The grain appeared to be solid burr and the bark was fully intact, I just hope there are no disasters on the lathe…

Mounted on the lathe, it does look a little imposing!

The blank certainly proved difficult to turn, especially towards the edges. However, with a combination of hand and power sanding, I managed to achieve the finish I wanted. I prefer to use shellac as a sanding sealer, especially between the finest grades of sandpaper. As the top image shows, the finished results are well worth the extra effort.

Watch out for this appearing soon in my gallery...