Light-colored Hardwood

[Craig Malmrose]

I've been making bowls from hard maple, but there are often small, dark blemishes in the wood. Those range from dark grey to black. And when customers see the blemishes, they're not inclined to buy the bowls. Wood bleach has no effect on the dark colors. Could anyone recommend a light-colored hardwood that's not prone to having blemishes? I've never turned beech before, so I don't know if that would be an option. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Craig Malmrose
Ayden, NC

 

[Richard Coers]

box elder, basswood, large silver maples, willow are all good choices, but nature is not consistent and uniform in color.

 

[Brian Gustin]

It is the nature of most woods to have little inclusions, knots, blemishes, and more I can't think of a single light colored hardwood that you can consistently find blemish-free. Most of my customers like those little blemishes (as long as they aren't cracks or holes in the bowl) However, Ash , if you get some from a well grown tree (Meaning a 8 inch bowl out of a 24 inch plus diameter tree trunk) can often have some nice grain pattern and generally pretty good at not having what you call blemishes... Birch is another, though it tends to be relatively softer, then there's Holly, which is often a creamy white (I think a bowl in holly with no inclusions or other patterns , would look almost like white plastic)

One of my best sellers, though, has been spalted maple items, which is decidedly not "dark blemish" free.

 

[Odie]

It is the nature of most woods to have little inclusions, knots, blemishes, and more I can't think of a single light colored hardwood that you can consistently find blemish-free.

Brian is right....furthermore, a perfect blemish free piece of wood is not as interesting as a piece that has imperfections. Learn to describe your works so that what you are calling blemishes, actually become aesthetic generating enhancements that Mother Nature provides.

-----odie-----

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I've been making bowls from hard maple, but there are often small, dark blemishes in the wood. Those range from dark grey to black. And when customers see the blemishes, they're not inclined to buy the bowls. Wood bleach has no effect on the dark colors. Could anyone recommend a light-colored hardwood that's not prone to having blemishes? I've never turned beech before, so I don't know if that would be an option. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Craig Malmrose
Ayden, NC

Possibly, you need to "sell" wood. You are either in the wrong market area, with customers who want plastic or pottery, or there aren't enough real wood artisans nearby.
I hope I did not offend you.

 

[hockenbery]

I've been making bowls from hard maple, but there are often small, dark blemishes in the wood. Those range from dark grey to black. And when customers see the blemishes, they're not inclined to buy the bowls. Wood bleach has no effect on the dark colors. Could anyone recommend a light-colored hardwood that's not prone to having blemishes? I've never turned beech before, so I don't know if that would be an option. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Craig Malmrose
Ayden, NC

Could these blemishes be man made?
iron stains you added in the turning. I get them often with maples. Lemon juice takes them out.
I have ruined a few maple pieces putting on a heavy coat of finish that the endgrain soaks up and gets a darker blotch look.

Most natural dark features in wood are attractive to me. Yours sound like iron stains - Maybe from staples that were pulled or rusted away away but the iron stain remains. Bird pecks can be dark too.

This is an opportunity to add color, milkpaint, airbrush paint, dyes….

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I've been making bowls from hard maple, but there are often small, dark blemishes in the wood. Those range from dark grey to black. And when customers see the blemishes, they're not inclined to buy the bowls. Wood bleach has no effect on the dark colors. Could anyone recommend a light-colored hardwood that's not prone to having blemishes? I've never turned beech before, so I don't know if that would be an option. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Craig Malmrose
Ayden, NC

Picture of what you call blemishes would help us help you........... probably maybe

 

[robo hippy]

I only had a few pieces of sugar maple, since it is not native out here on the west coast. I turned one piece right away. Lovely white color. The other pieces sat out in the rain for a month or so. They were all a dingy grey color. Best guess is that the little things that like to turn wood into compost were feasting on the sugar in the maple. I noticed that once with silver maple also. The color was bright and shiny on the fresh cut pieces, but it lost the luster after a month or so. So, it is most likely mold or some thing similar. I do not use the stretch film on maple bowls as it tends to mold under the plastic.

robo hippy

 

[Mike Novak]

I have used aspen. It’s creamy white with little grain. Almost too plain for me. I have been cutting pieces to intentionally have knots so there is some character.

 

[Randy Anderson]

My experience with maple is if turned right away it will stay light in color and mostly clear of coloring or staining. If, as Robo says, you let it age it quite often develops dark staining. Not always so I think when cut down can have in impact. Two bowls in the attached pic from the same tree. Traditional turned right away. Natural edge after it had sat in storage for a short time. It doesn't take long. In my market character sells so it's not a problem. Ash does tend to remain clear of coloring and dark areas. With ash trees dying around my area I have more of it than I will ever get to.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

Sugar maple does stain easily when green, especially in warm weather. Lumber is highly subject to sticker stain. If used soon after felling it is a bright cream color, but like most woods can have mineral streaks and darker spots. It's wood.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Wood grows on trees as they say, and it is a natural product, not a uniform man-made product.

I don't know what all there grows in NC, but getting wood as it is cut and use within a day or two and you will get as uniform as there is.

Getting wood that has sat for a few weeks can give you all kinds of wood with stains and fungus in/on it plus splitting.

If you buy steamed European Beech you will get a very light colored wood with very few if any sponsor blemishes.

N.American Beech is a problem wood but still quite everyday colored, another light coloured wood would be Aspen also very plain wood, but trees do have dark areas or diseased parts if you get whole logs that is.
Manitoba maple is another plain light colored wood, but again often enough dark or reddish streaks in it, plus bug tracks.
Elm and Hackberry are light colored woods but not without blemishes.

Here are some of the light colored woods I have turned and yes they all can have inclusions or bugs etc.

Freshly cut Sugar Maple from my Neighbors lawn just a few hours before this picture, the tree people had cut the log already by the time I got out of bed and told them I wanted the wood

 

[Marvin Jones]

I have some sycamore that has been stored as large half log bowl blanks from very large trees. They lay outside on galvanized metal rails out of the rain. Cut them over ten years ago, maybe longer.

Just turned one to rough bowl size then measured it for movement to see how cured the wood was. The bowl is so clear and plain, just don't care to finish it. I guess I'm of the group that likes fantastic patterns of the darker woods. Black walnut, sweet gum. One of the lighter colored woods I like is sugarberry that is almost snow white until black walnut stain is applied, then magic happens...

Pecan shows the touch of about anything as dark spots, color changes that I love and apparently folks that get these bowls do to. I do like ash, it does make a pretty light colored bowl.

 

[hockenbery]

Just turned one to rough bowl size then measured it for movement to see how cured the wood was. The bowl is so clear and plain, just don't care to finish it. I guess I'm of the group that likes fantastic patterns of the darker woods.

I agree with you. one thing sycamore has going for it are ray flecks which can be spectacular.
They don’t show well until finished.

But the plain woods have inspired the use of color.

Look what Nick Agar did to that uninteresting English sycamore wood

https://nickagarstudios.com/budcms/includes/imageResize.php?image=../uploaded_files/gallery/IMG_3896_-10850076.jpg&width=800

 

[robo hippy]

The quarter sawn rays in Sycamore are spectacular. If not quarter sawn, it is quite bland. There is a good sized one by the front door of the pool where I go to swim, and it does not look healthy. Might get some before long. Hard to split. Had some rounds dropped off in my driveway once. They were too heavy for me to stand on edge and chainsaw through. So, I started a wedge. Pounded it in just over an inch deep, hit it one more time and it bounced up out of the wood. Had to set the wedges, wait an hour or two, come back and drive it in another inch or two, and repeat until it finally split. I would guess that most of what we have out here is London Plane, which is still a sycamore. I was used to the sycamore back in the mid west, white skeletons out in the forests in the winter. I did get one once that was blood red under the bark. Almost all the red was gone within a few hours after exposing to air. It stained my cloths, but it did have more color after drying than most of the sycamore I have turned. It soaks up finish like nothing I have seen.

robo hippy

 

[Marvin Jones]

I agree with you. one thing sycamore has going for it are ray flecks which can be spectacular.
They don’t show well until finished.

But the plain woods have inspired the use of color.

Look what Nick Agar did to that uninteresting English sycamore wood

https://nickagarstudios.com/budcms/includes/imageResize.php?image=../uploaded_files/gallery/IMG_3896_-10850076.jpg&width=800

WOW! Way beyond my skill level, back then would never thought of quarter sawing blanks. Beautiful!

Now you have me wondering if I could use the coloring he used on my bowl, realizing it is not quarter sawn but maybe the upper parts closer to the end grain would absorb more of the color at least on two sides inside and out, could possibly make an interesting bowl...what could I use to get that color?

I have about 8 or 9 of these large 1/2 log blanks, this one had a corner touching the ground so it had a bit of rot going on. The others are all square on the rails and would produce 20" bowls. Probably a small bowl and a large platter as folks tend to shy away from huge bowls. Now I'm thinking of all the different colors that could be used, well sycamore is fun to turn anyway

 

[hockenbery]

Now you have me wondering if I could use the coloring he used on my bowl, realizing it is not quarter sawn but maybe the upper parts closer to the end grain would absorb more of the color at least on two sides inside and out, could possibly make an interesting bowl...what could I use to get that color?

I met Nick a few years ago when he demoed at the AAW. got to chat with him quite a bit at the last Florida Symposium after he had moved to Georgia. He has a nice studio and classroom.

chroma craft has a kit to do the sunset bowls bowls. Several other companies like Kingsport and Craft Supplies sell it

Chroma Craft, LLC. - Viking Sunset Bowl™ Kit

Viking Sunset Bowl™ Kit

www.chroma-craft.com

The yellow, orange, and red dyes are what you would be interested in. Also the acrylic lacquer.
Dyes are alchohol based. Similar to the chestnut stains I use.

Hope this helps more than confuses.
I’m now on really thin ice - I’ve seen Nick do this. Never done the sunset. Like his.
He uses an Airbrush to apply the dyes.
Put on three rings yellow in the center, orange, and red. The dyes blend on the wood.
The circles don’t need any uniformity. Wider orange at the bottom can be more sunsettish.
(You may be able to find an on line video of the sunset bowl)

You could practice this on any wood disc or even paper.
If you don’t have an airbrush. You can apply the dyes with a makeup sponge then spritz with Alchohol using any small pump spray bottle to get them to run together.

Also chromacraft sells the dyes in aerosol cans. Never tried these- seems hard to control the spray but the description says useful for shading like an airbrush.

This 4” ball has a “sunset and vine” theme. Transparent green airbrush the ball - lets the wood grain show in the leaves. Put on the resist of vines. Sandblast. Airbrush a few read streaks the airbrush yellow.

 

[Marvin Jones]

Yes I have a couple of air brushes, always wanted to dig them out, now I will. Will also check out those dyes.

Thanks so much for all the info, and ideas.

Love how the sandblasting made the leaves and vines appear raised on your ball. Used to watch family who owned a headstone business blast writing and designs in granite by covering the face with an adhesive backed thin rubber sheet, draw the writing and designs on the white rubber, cut them out with an exacto knife then blast perfect v bottomed letters on the stone face. They would shoot some kind of dye or paint usually black on the letters and designs then remove the rubber, beautiful work.