Earlier this year I was given several logs from which to make bowls. This includes several varieties: cherry; walnut; bradford pear; honey locust; and others.

I don’t have a sophisticated setup, and have never processed logs on my own so it was a learning experience.

I ended up with far too much waste, but I did also end up with a good set of bowl blanks which I then took the time to rough turn on the lathe to cut down some of the weight and help the drying process.

After the initial roughing out, I weighed each blank and placed them into a paper bag with some of their shavings. Every 4-6 weeks I re-weighed and recorded the info on the bag. Once I see the weight loss has stabilized, I know they’re ready to be finally turned into bowls.

Now I have a good stash to make it through the winter.