Cedar Bowl

My dad had a big eastern red cedar damaged by a storm and gave me a piece of it.

I made this bowl last night (chainsaw, hand planar, and angle grinder are my poor man’s wood working tools).

I’m curious if anyone has any idea about drying.

I have it in a bag full of woodchips right now.  Its my first time with cedar and I’m not sure how prone it is to cracking , I’d like it to be dry before I finish the rest of the sanding

Gorgeous!

Mark, long ago I was a turner and used green wood often.  I would seal all the surfaces inside and out with some paste wax, reduced latex paint, I used water reduced white glue (it was on close out at the store) for a sealer.  Store your bowl in a paper bag to help slow the moisture loss, inside out of the sun, the key is slow!  Expect at least a year for the bowl to dry.

Your pics looked great, you've done a really good job using what tools you had!!! Best of luck to you.

Peace

How'd this piece dry for you, Mark?

Hey, thanks Beau,

I took it out of by paper bag with saw dust in it a couple weeks ago.

I let it sit out for about 24hrs and i could see some very fine cracks developing… so, I’ve put it back in my bag.

I think it needs more time.

I’ve had other pieces ive dried, and if they start to develop cracks, I’d input them back in the bags, the cracks will close back up as it dries.

I found my moisture meter and checked my bowl. Looked to be dry, so, I finished it up this past weekend.

Pic 2

That's gorgeous, Mark. Well done, and honours the life of the tree nicely.