Green wood directly from the log of a felled tree contains more than 50% water. This “free water” is eliminated during the turning process, often giving the operator a cool shower. Bound water is what remains in the cells after the wood is turned. The outside surface dries first and becomes hard while the inner cells are still releasing water. This is what causes movement or cracking in the wood and is predominately tangential or diagonal to the direction of the grain thus causing the wood to twist. You can even find this in kiln dried building lumber at big box stores.

​One blank I had to discard because it was too soft to safely turn. The other I mounted up and took a chance that it wouldn’t disintegrate. What emerged was a fascinating bowl with a blend of decay interspersed with sound wood. In some spots it was very spongy with colorful decay. Other spots completely rotted through; indicating hours of work to come.

I stabilized the piece with wood hardener, which petrified the decay, making it stable enough to work through the sanding and finishing stages. The blue inlay is where the wood was rotted through; the golden tones are various stages of decay while the rust areas are sound wood, unaffected by decay bacteria.

After twenty sanding and finishing cycles, I was rewarded with a finish like glass, interesting spalting and grains enhanced by pools and veins of our proprietary inlay. This bowl was so much fun to work with, I'm saving it to my personal collection as inspiration for future wood Wabi-Sabi.
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