A big thank you to everyone who commented.
Pete - If I hadn't turned the walls as thin of as uniform then I'm sure this would have split. Once it was turned I left it unfinished sitting in the shed for a week before bringing it indoors. Pretty much all the movement happened whilst it was still in the shed.
Here are a few more recent items...
22cm diameter elm
Bought in a job lot box of of elm which hadn't been suitable for the original purchaser. This blank had a large inclusion which I strengthened with super glue and then levelled with used coffee grounds flooded with thin glue. There's a filled area opposite which is why there's a flat in the photo.
20cm diameter elm
This is from the same box as the previous one but quite lighter even with the same finish.
I tend to make these type of enclosed forms for highly figured wood as I think they allow the grain to be showed off the best. If I'd turned a bowl I could have used a corer to get more pieces out of it but if the bowls had been used to contain anything then the grain would be hidden.
22 cm diameter ash
My woodsman cousin saved this ash burr for me and I was quite excited to see what was inside. Disappointingly I didn't find the typical swirls that you get in elm or oak burr but these do have a pleasing highlights.
Cored with the Mcnaughton system.
All these were finished with
Fiddes hard wax oil designed for floors. It's similar to the Osmo oil (I think) demoed at our club by Tracey Owen, but cheaper.
