Projects From Our Readers
Cherry Burl Bowl
Mike Schwing, Baltimore
The wavy profile of this bowl was carved using a Foredom rotary carver after a rough turning with wet wood. The finished thickness of the bowl walls is 13/16" and the diameter is about 11". The pedestal is maple burl.
“Chapter House Fiddle”
Ronald Cook, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Based on a 14th-century wall painting in the Westminster Abbey Chapter House
in London, this fiddle is crafted in bird’s-eye maple, ebony, and recycled Douglas fir. The fir is first-growth wood that was milled over 100 years ago and used in columns in a Portland, Ore., warehouse. The hand-carved head is Cook’s version of the legendary British Green Man.
Chest on Stand
Skaggs’ design for this piece blends Asian influence with Arts & Crafts elements. The main wood is walnut, while the doors are curly maple with wenge inlay. Featuring dovetails and mortise-and-tenon joinery, the piece was finished with an aniline dye, sealed with shellac and topped with wipe-on polyurethane. It stands 5'10" high.
Snap-lid boxes
Each of these three boxes is about 2" in diameter. Lavine turned them from desert ironwood burl, left; holly and bloodwood, center; and Macassar and Gaboon ebony, right.
“Col. Jackson Rocker”
Friar made this walnut and bird’s-eye maple chair for a retired Air Force dentist who wanted a rocker with a writing surface. The surface is held in place with rare earth magnets and is removable.