It's a shame when a tree has to be cut down, but sometimes it's essential. When Redditor 'captianinsano's' parents cut down a gorgeous old walnut tree in their yard, he hoped that he could put some parts of it to good use. However, it wasn't until a few years later, when he pulled a chunk of it out of a brush pile that he decided to create something beautiful.
Here's the section of tree trunk, freshly pulled out of the brush pile.
He started by sawing the log in half. This isn't really the best saw for the job. It took a long time!
Once halved it went on the lathe to be shaped. Do you wonder what it's going to be?
Ah, a salad bowl! Captianinsano noticed that there were a few cracks, but before the next step the bowl has to sit for 8 months to dry.
After the 8 months, the cracks were even more visible. Something had to be done.
So, he took to the band saw and simply cut out the cracked area.
But, something had to replace the missing piece so he cut some thin strips of cherry wood.
And a larger piece of curly maple.
Next the maple and cherry had to be glued together.
And then had to be glued into place in the bowl.
Looking good, but not quite there.
Needs some sanding!
It's all sanded into shape now.
So, for the finishing touch; four coats of a salad bowl finish. Isn't it gorgeous?
The shiny bits are a mixture of glue and crushed malachite stone, which was used to fill a few voids.
An impressive way to reuse an old bit of tree trunk!