Woodturning | The Walnut Lava Bowl!

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Today's video:

Hello, friends! Let me say right up front that I'm shocked this bowl even made it to completion; it was one thing after another from start to finish, and I considered giving up on it more than once. I'm glad I didn't, though! This bowl was made from "bricks" of black walnut and epoxy resin (Deep Pour Magic Resin) dyed with a transparent red alcohol pigment. As many people have mentioned on various past videos, particularly the Jade Brick Bowl which inspired this project, it's unfortunate that so much material has to be removed and ultimately discarded during the turning process. I completely agree with those feelings, and while wood/resin turning is an inherently wasteful wood working technique, I definitely am motivated to find new ways of reducing wasted material in my projects. So, for this bowl, rather than using a wooden waste core like I did for the Jade Bowl, I decided to use a plastic bowl that I picked up from the dollar store which would allow the center of the blank to be mostly hollow. This, unfortunately, led to my first problem with the project. I'm not sure if it was simply the smooth surface of the plastic, or plastic is just a bad material in general, but the hot glue used to adhere the bricks to the plastic bowl really didn't want to stick. As I was applying the final plastic cover to the blank before the pouring process, two bricks popped right off the center plastic bowl, which required me to cut open the plastic sheet and essentially perform an impromptu surgery to reattach those bricks. This, in turn, led to numerous leaks in the blank, which, because I was using a deep pour resin with a very long working time and a very low viscosity, became a nightmare to fix. After 2 full hours of trying to stop the leaks with additional hot glue and paper towel, I was finally able to put it into the pressure pot and leave it to cure. Once I removed it from the pot, though, I immediately noticed that some of the bricks on the top most layer appeared to have moved at some point. I have no idea how this could have happened, but my best guess is that the hot glue on the plastic bowl center was so weak that even just the buoyancy of the bricks themselves floating in the resin was enough the dislodge them. Regardless, I decided to press ahead and get the thing turned. The turning process, for the most part, was uneventful, but I did end up cracking the mortise on the bottom of the bowl at some point, which required a glue up onto a waste block to finish. I think my typical mortises just aren't deep enough, as this has happened to me once in the past. Lesson learned! After the turning, I wet sanded the bowl up to 1500 grit and finished it with Waterlox's Original Varnish.

All in all, this project was WAY more work than originally planned, and my attempt to save on wood/resin waste probably resulted in even more hot glue/paper towel waste, but I'm overall happy with the end result. What do you think?

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Key equipment/products I used:

[warpo]

The caressing of the stock at the start of the clips are why we are here.

[gratchets]

The thought and planning it takes for you to make these bowls is amazing and wonderful. They're gorgeous.

[LordRae]

I’m definitely a fan of this aesthetic. Can’t wait to see what else you make.

[cathylebouef]

This is so cool; the bricks floating is so unique and creative! You are a great woodworker with an imagination to boot! Absolutely stunning work! Bravo!

[curiousworld]

Pretty - pretty. :) I love the color combination, and the 'floating bricks' technique. Very, very nice! Thanks, as always. :)

[kc]

I have found a tenon has fewer problems than a mortise. Compression is more stable than pushing out when it comes ot holding a bowl in place.

[LadyKatJPhillips]

THANK YOU for using a clear color! The wood is floating! So fantastic!🎉

[davidgraham]

I like the way this looks like both a basket, and a well bucket for drawing water(very nice looking basket and bucket) Great choice on color choice too.
PS. The chatoyance in the wood is fantastic looking.

[marycatherinelebouef-ophf]

That’s a masterpiece! The floating bricks of that dark, gorgeous wood looks absolutely beautiful. Red is my favorite color, so this is right up my alley! Fantastic creativity and execution!

[ВикторНикитин-жс]

A good idea, a great embodiment! My thanks to the Master!

[kevdimo]

Looks terrific i really like how the wood looks like it’s floating!

[frann.]

A stunning piece, beautiful colors!👌👌😁😁…I also watched your video with the Jade bowl-another spectacular piece! Unbelievable creativity and craftsmanship!🌟🌟🌟

[jaysontwombly]

Wow! After reading about all the hassles that presented themselves, I even more appreciate this super cool bowl you produced! Love the wood and resin colors and together they really work nicely. Another great piece! Thanks!

[_zhawkeye_]

...what a cool effect!!!...very well done!...👍
Matt

[yvonnepagan]

Just gorgeous! And lovely colour scheme too!

[eileenjackson]

What a fantastic bowl. I especially love the translucent color with this wood. Thank you for sharing your work.

[kumiejoubert-vanniekerk]

What a clever and ingenious process, Wow! This is stunning...

[STMwoodturning]

I read your description and you asked for viewers opinions so… here goes. I think the bowl looks great! Good job battling through the setbacks. I think this design has lots of possibilities to explore. Different woods and resin colors as well as shapes. I saw a video by a guy from Florida who made a similar bowl but he made resin segment rings and alternated them with wood segmented rings. He used five minute epoxy (I think) to glue up the rings. Cheers! Stuart

[GinaMacArt]

Stunning piece. Shame about that one block moving. 😊❤️🙏🇦🇺

[joeysturgeon]

love the look great choice of wood and color