Gnarly Log to Beautiful Bowl

This gnarly looking log is from a Sissoo (Indian rosewood) tree that was cut on 10-18-23. These trees are actually quite invasive in residential landscapes and their roots will destroy concrete in patios and pools. A friend was having 2 large trees taken out of his backyard so I "volunteered" to take the logs off of his hands. Lucky me! The heartwood is absolutely gorgeous and he sapwood is a creamy color. I decided to turn this one with a flat top rather than a natural edge, just to see how it would come out. The other half of the log I turned into a natural edge bowl. That video is coming in the future. I cut the pith out of the log and it serves as a display platform for this bowl, or it could be used as a small charcuterie board. I turned this bowl "green" meaning it was still full of moisture from when it was alive. Green wood is much easier and more fun to turn than dry wood. The trade-off is that as the bowls dry, they will distort from their perfectly circular shape as the wood shrinks different amounts in different directions. The top of this bowl measures 8-3/8" along the grain and 8-3/16" across the grain. That's 2.3% of distortion which is not too bad given I turned it soaking wet. The height varies from 3-1/4" to 3-3/8" which is almost unnoticeable unless you turn it over. So as this bowl continues to dry it might distort a bit here and there. These are not defects, it's just how wood behaves. I am very committed to being environmentally responsible and 65% of my shops electricity comes from my home solar panel system. I also transport all the raw logs in my electric vehicle. I rarely pay for wood for turning projects since there is plenty of local wood that I can use that would otherwise end up in the landfill. I enjoy making art from what would otherwise be trash. I am a relatively new wood turner, so I'm still working on my technique and make plenty of mistakes! All woodworking can be potentially dangerous, so you should not try anything you see me do without instruction. My videos are for entertainment purposes only. I do wear gloves when turning as I have very painful arthritis in my hands and the gloves support my joints. In general, it is not recommended to wear gloves around power tools like this, but this is how I do it. My lathe: Nova 3000 (it's old, I'm hoping to upgrade someday) Tools: Carter and Sons, Robert Sorby, Easy Wood Carbide, Etsy Shop: https://frbpwoodworking.etsy.com Instagram:   / frbp2023