Here is a pleasant surprise and conversation piece. It was the only solid piece of a large hollowed Black Cherry burl that started about three times this size. Although this is a Cherry burl it oddly doesn't have any of the telltale little "eyes" or cysts that Cherry is distinguished by. Rather it has wild swirls of grain, scar areas, live edges,deep bark inclusions,borer holes and decay. After removing much of the inside wood it revealed a large mass of bark. The bark was loose and upon removal it left a beautiful natural void in the bottom that nearly penetrated through. It is quite heavy and weighs 6 lbs. 14.2 oz. all alone. It is 11" in diameter by 6" tall, and the inside depth varies up to 5-1/2" deep. It has been sealed with two coats of oil based polyurethane that makes the Cherry color pop right out.
An old, dead standing Black Cherry in this region will dry rock hard as long as the bark falls off first. The wood gets incredibly hard to tool...and this one snapped a beloved roughing gouge from the inconsistent masses.
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