Carved Keyaki Burl Tray

The wood for this tray came from a small board that I got from a local wood dealer here in Tokyo.  The owner graciously took the time to dig out and show me a variety of boards that he thought I would find interesting, all the while patiently chatting with me in my broken Japanese.  Then he pulled out a board full of natural splits, holes and some really gnarly grain.  The wood likely came from the base of a tree, and is incredibly dense.  It was perfect.

The color of this keyaki is particularly rich and warm and the porous grain is really striking.  After turning on the lathe, I used a thin, narrow gouge to add a fine texture to the bottom surface of the tray.

Raw tung oil finish

The tray is finished with a generous coat of tung oil.  Tung oil is slow curing, but will harden over time producing a protective, slightly matte finish.  Included is a small tin of a beeswax and linseed oil mix.  After repeated use, I recommend periodically rubbing a small amount of the beeswax/oil mix to further protect the wood.