Large Ambrosia Maple Salad Bowl

Pickings have been slim, but recently I have managed to pick up this beautiful ambrosia maple bowl for less than $3 at Goodwill. It's 4 inches tall and 11.5 inches in diameter and very well done.

I'm rather partial to wood objects (I guess you can tell by these posts) and while this isn't strictly modernists, it does have a simple profile that I like quite a bit.

The wonderful figure, ambrosia beetle staining and overall size makes it a keeper. It also has an unusual finish - the outside is smooth with a varnish or lacquer while the inside is simply oiled. Looks like it was intended to be used as a salad bowl but doesn't have any of the normal cuts or dings.

This one is marked "Mar 95 Maple" on the bottom.

And it also has a label for "Woods by Weiss" and a Gatlinburg address. I found one listing under "Craft Galleries" for RodsGuide in the Great Smoky Mountains so my guess is the person is still turning (or at least the gallery is still in business where it was sold).

To get an idea of the size, this is what it looks like holding my new iPhone 5.

Have a great Halloween everyone!

-- John

Restored Dansk Surfboard Tray

I thought you might like to see the Dansk Surfboard Tray after I worked on it. Original post: http://thrifting.blogspot.com/2012/03/dansk-teak-802-surfboard-tray.html

This is how it originally looked:

A few notes:
I originally thought that the staining was just wax - I now revise that as with most waxes, mineral spirits quickly dissolve paraffin and remove the staining and in this case it didn't work. It could be that these were candles that contained other additives and it's those compounds that resisted cleaning. Or it could be that the stains were actual bottles of some other products.

1. After trying a couple of solvents I first neutralized and then lightly sanded. The sanding took care of all the staining.
2. I finished up with a quick rub-down of Watco Danish Oil - Natural.

-- John