Hawthorne is an interesting wood - very hard, light and smooth color, and nice attractive strong bark. It's prized for firewood, among the hottest burning woods, and also prized for woodturning, because of its strength and smooth grain. Also known in celtic and witch circles as a fertility something or other - I don't go there...Natural Edge Bowls are cool - bark edges, irregular shaped rim, warping, bark intrusions, even checks - these irregularities are the name of the game for a bowl like this - turn it wet and then nuke it in the microwave to accelerate and accentuate the warping. And along with these imperfections comes a set of challenges for turning the bowl on the lathe, not otherwise part of bowl making - catches, chuck or faceplate tear-out, sanding problems, etc. Not an easy bowl to make, but therein lies the challenge...
OK enough drama - This bowl had me banging my head against the wall, and in the end I settled for about 3/8" thickness, where I would have liked to go to 1/4", but still a satisfying project when all is said and done. Thanks to Keith Tilley for the tree!
Due to the challenges in turning a natural edge bowl, I'll have to charge more than for a regular bowl, or even an enclosed form. Plus the availability of good, natural-edge wood is intermittent. $2.00 per square inch of profile, plus wood. This bowl would be $30.00 including wood.
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