A Black Walnut sapwood & burl bowl

I wanted to make a family member something special for their home, to help give it some character. Plus, something hand crafted is much cooler than a gift card. The bowl started out as a chunk of Black Walnut burl, that contained a hefty amount of sapwood. Though the form is simple, this was my most challenging project to-date. Because the blank contained so much sapwood, and sapwood is a different density than heartwood, it was severely out of balance through most of the turning process. Additionally the difference in hardness between the two woods also made the blank hard to turn. Overall, I’m very happy with the final product.