Ambrosia Maple Goblet

These hand-turned solid hardwood goblets are made from ambrosia maple. Ambrosia refers to the fungus that causes the black streaks. It's introduced by beetles that cary the spores with them. They burrow in to dead maple trees, lay eggs, and leave, and the spores they leave behind begin to break down the walls of the hole into food the larvae can eat. When they grow up and leave, they take the spores with them. The fungus only exists in symbiosis with the beetles, and the beetles can't live without the fungus. Cool stuff. The resulting staining pattern in the maple is distinct, dramatic, and beautiful.

Turning these goblets was exciting and challenging - the hollowing technique for endgrain is completely different from that used for sidegrain like in bowls. It was also a challenge to make the two goblets look the same. There are subtle differences that are a mark of hand-turned work. These were made as a set for a gift for a bridal shower.

This second set was made much later for a different customer - same kind of wood, but different shape.

Goblets this size (3" diameter x 8" height, approximate) start at $55 each from ambrosia maple. Other woods are available but may be priced differently. Order more than one and get $10 off your order.

Quantity

Single Goblet $55.00 Two Goblets $100.00 Four Goblets $200.00

By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Spalted Maple Wood Bowl - 8"

This wood bowl is 8" wide and 2.5" deep. It's made from Spalted maple, which is maple that was kept moist while the decay process started, and then cut, dried, and now hand-turned into a traditional form wood bowl. Food-safe, hand-washable, ready to use or display.

Price = $1" per square inch of profile, plus wood, or in this case, $42.50 (the wood was kind of pricey, sorry).

Spalted Maple Bowl - Enclosed Form

Spalted maple is similar to ambrosia maple in that both are colored from fungus that is allowed to attack the wood while it's kept moist and near room temperature. The difference is that spalted maple is just randomly attacked by fungus however it is introduced, whereas ambrosia maple is attacked from the fungus introduced by the ambrosia beetle into the holes it bores. You get completely different coloration patterns. This Spalted Maple Bowl has dark spots throughout, and a large stain on the bottom of the piece. Maple is a popular wood for woodturning because it is smooth and closed grained and hard. And it smells great when you cut and sand it - faintly of maple syrup.

Really thought it's the enclosed form of this bowl that gets interest. People keep asking if it was hard. Of course it's hard...but not terribly. Still, each project has its own challenges. With this one, one challene was how to hollow it out without specialized hollowing equipment. In the end it went quite well. The other challenge was sanding the inside - sticking your fingers in through a 3" opening with a sharp edge on a lathe spinning at 1200 RPM is a little troublesome - the sandpaper would catch and my fingers would get bounced around inside the rim like a marble in a bowl that you're shaking - ouch. So I didn't spend as much time sanding the inside as I would like. They make specialized tools for both jobs, but unless someone orders enough of these to cover the cost, I'm doing it the old hard way - hence the extra charge for enclosed forms.
Still, a fun project.


Enclosed bowls are the price of the wood plus $1.50 per square inch of profile. This bowl would be about $28 plus shipping.