Michael A. Sooley,
Woodturner |
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WELCOME to Mike's Bowls!
THE DROUGHT IS OVER! We may experience more dry years, but for this rain season we are in great shape. All of the rain this season soaked the soil and caused two large trees to fall. We lost an old black oak in our back yard and a very tall black acacia in the green space behind our yard. Now the hard work of cutting up the trees and hauling up a steep and soft hill to my shop awaits me. All-in-all, we still love living in Santa Rosa and Wine Country. I now have over 250 rough turned blanks waxed and drying in my shop. New opportunities for harvesting green wood have to involve special rare woods for me to go get anymore. My latest harvest was a 1060 pound stump from a black walnut orchard that was cleared 5-6 years ago. I have turned two other root ball/stumps and the wood is exquisite. You can see some of the ones finished over the past years under "Walnut Bowls". So far I have cut two of the five large pieces into turning blanks and rough turned them. See the photos here to view the log in process. My one retail client, New West KnifeWorks in St. Helena in the Napa Valley has been keeping me busy making pizza cutters, bottle openers, and other items they like to stock in their store. Please go visit them if you are in the area: (https://www.newwestknifeworks.com/). Their knives are amazing! WE NOW ACCEPT PAYMENT THROUGH VENMO OR ZELLE. Take a look at all of my new creations! 
A bowl rough turned from the black walnut showing the graft line where the fruiting tree is grafted to a disease resistant root stock.
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The 1060 pound black walnut stump in the process of being cut into pieces that can be transported to my shop.
One piece of the black walnut rough turned and almost ready to wax and set aside for a year to dry.
Another Manzanita root burl. This is the natural color.
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I have been bouncing between finishing some large bowls that have been drying for several years and making small bowls from the many left over wood scraps on interesting woods. No two bowls are even similar! In addition to bowls we are now doing lidded boxes and other useful kitchen items. The expanded GIFT section will continue to grow as we have obtained some amazing rare hardwoods. Look for monthly additions to the GIFTS section! We have PENS; BOTTLE OPENERS; PIZZA CUTTERS; BOTTLE STOPPERS; and BBQ FLIPPERS.
Artwork by niece Emily Nix : her interpretation of one of Mike's bowls. Click the image to see the artwork and the original bowl, now in a private collection.
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Small bowls and pizza cutters made from more exotic woods. The bowls range in size from 2 1/2" in diameter up to 4 1/2". Some of the pizza cutter handles are made from Madrone, Mahogany, Black Acacia, and Walnut.
When cutting the wood for turning large bowls you end up with many smaller pieces of interesting wood. I have been having fun making smaller items from the pieces that have dried over the past few years or exotic wood I have purchased. Wood for making pens must be interesting and DRY. I purchase most of my pen blanks to ensure these qualities are present. Lidded boxes are another project where fully dried wood is critical. Even then, I have found that the wood moves a bit after you finish the box. I try to keep the wood around for a while to ensure a reasonably tight and consistent fit. |
A recent custom design made for a friend's "fishing cottage".
This bowl is one turned from another black walnut root ball a few years ago.
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