Cedar Resin Bowl

I started this project by pulling a random block of wood off of my turning blanks shelf, not knowing what species it was. After a few seconds, the distinct smell of cedar was filling the workshop.

Voids appeared as I turned the outside of the bowl into its final shape. I was initially disappointed thinking that this piece was going to shatter if I kept going. Most of it seemed pretty stable though. I filled in the small cracks with CA glue and kept going.

This piece generated a ton of really nice cedar shavings!

To ensure the piece was stable, I decided to fill the voids with resin. I picked a copper color, but it turned out to be more red than I had thought. With a mess of hot glue to form dams, I did my best to fill the voids and let it harden.

Closeup of the resin area. It didn't pop as much as I had hoped. A brighter copper color would probably have looked better.

Final version after sanding with Yorkshire grit, and then two coats of Osmo Polyx Satin.

Cedar is a really fun wood to turn. You have to be prepared for the unexpected defects and voids you might find inside of it. I like trying to find ways to incorporate those defects into the final piece.