The detail that floored me is what the raw material cost: nothing at all. A friend passed the ambrosia maple log along just before it was headed for a burn pile, and Birdie Buster Golf turned that rescued chunk into a natural-edge bowl. Turning free timber into a finished showpiece is the sort of luck every shop dreams about.
The making reads as very deliberate. The bark-on log section had a circular faceplate screwed home with a cordless impact driver, then it went onto a Nova DVR lathe fitted with a digital control panel. Gouges and scrapers working against the tool rest roughed out the outside curve and a base tenon, and rotary sanding pads on a power sander smoothed the exterior before the blank was reversed and held by its base for hollowing.
Inside, both straight and curved tool rests came into play, and the bark was kept whole along the rim throughout. The interior was sanded up to 600 grit, a shellac-based sealer went onto the spinning bowl with a shop towel, and antique Danish oil was rubbed in at the bench, inside and out. The lathe wears a Willy Woodturning sticker too, which gives the shop a bit of character.
Two things linger for me. What became of the base tenon after hollowing is never addressed; whether it still sits under the foot stays an open question. And the maker notes that spalted stock always holds the surprise of a beautiful piece hiding in it, which this bowl seems to prove.
Project by Birdie Buster Golf . Watch it on their YouTube channel: