I don’t know how “large” the voids are and the extent of the bark inclusions, so I will discuss the problem in general terms. It is quite common to have voids in burl wood, particularly if the burl comes from the base or root of the tree. During the drying process, the wood may open up in a few areas due to shrinkage of the wood fibers. However, there usually are enough wood fibers on either side of the void, either above or below, to provide sound wood areas to prevent the blank from coming apart. I would suggest the piece be turned at slower speeds than normal, and stand aside when the lathe is turned on, in case a piece comes loose. Turn the piece to near final shape, and sand as much as you can before starting to hollow out the interior.

If it is still questionable as to whether the piece will hold together and you want to continue, wrap the outside of the turning with nylon strapping tape, being sure to pull the tape tight and that it is covering the whole surface, particularly covering the void areas. Remove any loose pieces if you encounter them when the work is being wrapped. As you remove the interior of the bowl, the centrifugal force of the spinning bowl will be supported by the tightly wrapped tape, and you should be able to finish the turning. However, if at any time you feel the process is unsafe and that the piece may come apart, stop the lathe, and discard the piece. It is not worth having a
serious accident.

I don’t know of any jig for turning lattices on the lathe. The purpose of the lattice, in this instance, is to expose the fragrant contents of the pomander to the air, and allow the fragrance to slowly dissipate into the air, creating a scented atmosphere. Keith Rowley made pomanders basically as a lidded goblet with a series of vertical saw cuts about 1/4" apart, each cut starting about 3/8" from the top of the goblet and ending about 3/4" from the bottom. The 24 cuts were laid out using the indexing unit on the lathe. The pomander was turned, sanded, and finished before any cuts were made. The same technique could be used to lay out spacing for a series of holes around the pomander, or a series of holes could be drilled in the lid of the pomander to allow air movement through the interior contents of the unit. An example is shown at right.

“Ebonizing” is the process of taking an inexpensive wood and making it look like ebony. This can be done in several ways: the wood can be made black with chemicals, dyes, burning, painting, or combinations of these processes.

The most common chemical method is to soak rusty nails, screws, steel wool, or other pieces of rusty iron in common household vinegar. The rusty iron will slowly be dissolved in the solution, and the solution will burn black after several days. At this point, the solution can be used to stain wood. It is particularly useful in staining oak or other woods which contain tannic acid, because the tannic acid in these woods contributes to the effectiveness of the stain. The stain will only penetrate 1/32" or so, but this is true of other stains also. This method works, but is messy and takes too long for me to use on small pieces.

Finials are small pieces and I find that if they are turned from a dark close-grained wood, such as English walnut heartwood, the finial can be darkened with a permanent felt-tipped marker. The marker is easy to use, can get into tight places and will not obscure the grain of the wood. Touch up any places that are light in color. You now have “poor man’s ebony.” Other products which can also be used to produce an ebony-like finish are black dye, pigmented stains, and black shoe polish.