Massive Ironwood Bowl

Every now and then, I make something just for me.  Not for sale, nor a family gift, just something to appeal to an audience of one -- me.  This was my effort to make the most pleasing bowl I could with an off-the-tool finish.  No abrasives were used in creating this bowl.

Large (14.5") heavy bowl in Eastern Hophornbeam, a.k.a. Ironwood

I turned this heavy, thick-walled bowl from a massive chunk of Eastern Hophornbeam -- the heaviest and hardest wood that grows around here, earning the nickname "Ironwood*"  These trees usually grow very slowly, in the shade of larger Maples, Beech, and Pines, so a 10" diameter tree is fully grown, and a 12" specimen could easily be over 150 years old.

Slightly undercut and rolled rim, with two inset beads make this look like a typical Maple or Yellow Birch salad bowl -- till you look closely, and feel how heavy it is!

While I wouldn't want to mar its finish, you could probably drive flooring nails with this massive bowl!

Slight raised ring foot.  Boxelder spinning top has no relevance!

This tree grew in Fairlee, VT, and must have grown out in a meadow with plenty of sunlight and water.  It was nearly 18" in diameter at chest height, making it a huge example of its type.  Its also perhaps the heaviest bowl I've turned so far, and while its been dry for about 15 years, its as heavy as a fresh-turned, green bowl in most other dense hardwoods.

Close-up shows growth rings and slight spalting.

I like to bring this bowl whenever I do a bowl turning demonstration, and pass it around to see who can ID the wood species.  Very few get it right.  Its about twice the usual size for an Ironwood bowl, and faster growing that most examples (the growth rings are wider/thicker than usual), and to really fool people, it looks and feels a lot like Yellow Birch, unless you look close and know what to look for.


*wherever you go, the hardest local wood is typically known to locals as "Ironwood"