# Eucalyptus salt bowl



## gketell (Jan 7, 2013)

Mostly following a tutorial by Jim Burr, I just finished this Tazmanian Eucalyptus Burl salt bowl for my wife today.






















About 3-3/8" diameter/tall. My wife picked the shape, I would have gone with a wider base but she is the one who will be using it the most.
Finished with lots of coats of Deft Lacquer and then buffed out with red and then white rouge. 
Cracks filled with Epoxy+Coffee.
I used a piece of 1/8" stainless as the hinge pin with a brass bushing in the lid. Both bought at a local hardware store.
A pair of 3/16" x 1/16" magnets hold it closed. Tiny magnets ordered from K&J Magnetics.

Lessons learned:
find out before finishing that your wife disagrees with your taste for leaving the voids unfilled to show off the wood.
Instant coffee, not grounds work best for coloring epoxy.
drill the hinge holes before making the lid nice and rounded.
actually: rough turn, drill the hinge holes, drill a small-diameter set of temp-holes where the magnet will be, then pin the lid in place and finish turn it. Makes it MUCH easier to have everything line up after turning. When you are ready, the temp-holes are your drill guides for the magnets.
hand sanding coffee-filled epoxy sucks.
Make sure your lid is LIGHT or it will tip the bowl over when opened. And returning a nicely rounded and finished lid sucks.
Small feet to have the bowl "float" don't work on something that is an off-balance turning (like a bowl with a pivoting lid). And trying to remove a foot on a nicely finished, rounded turning sucks.

Comments and Critiques appreciated!

Thanks, Jim, for showing me how to make this!


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## Jeannius (Jan 8, 2013)

Ha! Tell your wife she should use it for something else then, and you will make her another for the salt!

Eucalyptus is a beautiful wood.  That is a lovely pot.  Nicely done.


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## PaulDoug (Jan 8, 2013)

Nice looking bowl.  Never see that method for holding the lid before.  Good idea.


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## Hendu3270 (Jan 8, 2013)

Nice little bowl. I've made a few pens from the Euca. Burl and really like how it turns out. Good job.


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## gketell (Jan 8, 2013)

PaulDoug said:


> Nice looking bowl.  Never see that method for holding the lid before.  Good idea.



Thanks!  But I can't take credit for the hinge mechanism... That came from Jim Burr's tutorial.

GK


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## booney0717 (Jan 8, 2013)

Beautiful.


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