Boot Inspired Maple Bowl
Today's project shows how you can dress up a piece of wood that might not have quite the figure as some other species of wood.
While I was traveling recently, I looked down at my boot and noticed the pattern around the stitchings. I liked the way it looked and this piece of maple immediately came to mind. I was trying to figure out how to mark the locations of the holes on a curved surface. I could use string, but it would stretch and not provide consistent spacing. Then I saw my edge banding material for plywood. It was perfect! I was able to mark the exact locations to drill the holes. When I made the Garlic Keeper and drilled the holes, I got a lot of tear out inside the container. I wanted to avoid that this time so I decided to drill the holes before I hollowed the inside. That worked like a charm. When I was drilling the holes, I noticed that the drill bit was getting really hot. I found another set of bits and changed it every few holes to keep the bits cooler and prevent them from getting dull.
One challenge when you either have a light and dark colored wood or you have light colored wood and a dark paint, you can stain the wood when you sand. To prevent that from happening, coat the surface with sanding sealer. I used this trick and there was no staining in the maple.
When I hollowed out the inside of the bowl, I did get a little bit of wood fiber sticking out of the holes. At first I tried to use a round wood file, but it was too coarse. Then I remembered that I recently purchased chainsaw files. These were perfect as they were more fine. I was able to clean up the wood fibers. It did file away the dark paint, but I was able to fix that with a Sharpie.
Please leave a comment if there are any questions you have or if you feel like I missed explaining a step.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
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