# Lilac and Alumilite Bowl



## MarkD (Sep 26, 2014)

I had a bunch of Lilac that cracked to the point that it wasn't much good for pen blanks so I decided to make a bowl from it.  
This is the result.  It's made from the cracked Lilac scraps and Alumilite. It was sanded to 600, waxed and buffed. 
The dimensions are 8" x 3".


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## MikeL (Sep 26, 2014)

Very nice!  I wish people would stop doing this awesome work. Makes me add another thing to my list I want to try and I can't afford it. Great looking bowl!


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## NittanyLion (Sep 26, 2014)

Very creative Mark.  I can see why you wanted to use that lilac....looks great!


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## triw51 (Sep 26, 2014)

Beautiful workman ship and the colors go togeather so well.  Question did you cast this in a bowl shaped mold to save resin?  Thanks William


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## Jim15 (Sep 26, 2014)

That's awesome.


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## MarkD (Sep 26, 2014)

triw51 said:


> Beautiful workman ship and the colors go togeather so well.  Question did you cast this in a bowl shaped mold to save resin?  Thanks William


I tried to save as much resin as possible so I glued up some 1x12" pine and turned a bowl shape on the inside to create the mold. I also turned a plug to take up space in the center of the bowl.  I had hoped to be able reuse the mold but that didn't work out this time...I ened up turning the mold off the bowl.


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## mtassie (Sep 26, 2014)

Unbelievable!! That looks amazing! Nice job !


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## wwneko (Sep 26, 2014)

I've been thinking to do something very similar, your execution is flawless. Nicely done!


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## Tom T (Sep 26, 2014)

That is very cool.  What a beautiful thing to think to make.  Great job turning also.


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## Bobostro61 (Sep 27, 2014)

Wow, that's spectacular!  For the mold you made, did you cut rings from the pine and glue them stacked?  I'd love to try that some time.  I use polyester resin to make pen blanks though.  Would that work as well as aluminite?


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## Dai Sensei (Sep 27, 2014)

Looks great well done


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## thewishman (Sep 27, 2014)

That is gorgeous! Worth the extra work (easy for me to say) it's a real winner.


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## MarkD (Sep 27, 2014)

Bobostro61 said:


> Wow, that's spectacular!  For the mold you made, did you cut rings from the pine and glue them stacked?  I'd love to try that some time.  I use polyester resin to make pen blanks though.  Would that work as well as aluminite?



Actually, I cut the 1x12" pine into 11 1/2" circles and glued 6 of them together. I then mounted a faceplate and turned the bowl shape on the inside of the round mold. It could probably have been done with rings as well.
From what I understand, polyester resin tends to shrink a bit and pull away from the wood as it cures. Alumilite works better when your casting wood and resin.


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## MarkD (Sep 27, 2014)

Thanks for all the complements, they are greatly appreciated.


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