Small tray

Small tray made of cherry.  More an experiment than a dedicated workpiece.  A piece of cherry was hollowed using an Arobortech woodplane (that's the new piece of equipment I wanted to try out).  Then I burned the inside using a gas torch. This technique originated in Japan (shou sugi ban or yakisugi ) as a way to weatherproof outdoor wood by carbonizing, but can also be for ebonizing (blackening) wood.  

I then used a gouge to further sculpture the wood, revealing the unburned wood underneath, providing nice contrasting patterns. The sides were also gouged, but here the contrast is less because the sides weren't burned. I ended by giving a few coats of Danish oil and wax. 

Contact

Bernard Delaey bernard@delaeywood.be