[Bryn-gwlad] woodturner sought

[Coblaith Mhuimhneach]

I wrote:
> I'd like to have a really, truly persona-correct drinking vessel for  
> feast.  My research indicates the appropriate choice would be a turned  
> wooden cup.

Gaston wrote:
> The cup sounds like an interesting project.  I have a lathe.  What  
> kind of wood were you thinking of using?

That's one of the questions I hoped to address with the assistance of  
the wood-worker.  I don't know enough about the properties of various  
woods to know what kind will work best and be easiest to work with.

Burl maple is apparently a common choice, and I've seen photos of  
reconstructions made of pear wood and, I think, willow.  There's a  
17th-century quote in a post archived in the Florilegium  
<http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/lea-bottles-msg.html> that  
mentions drinking cups made of elm, boxwood, maple, and holly.   My  
first impulse would be to use something native to or at least common in  
Munster (southern Ireland), whence my persona hails, but anything that  
won't poison me or make the water taste funny will work.  From an  
aesthetic standpoint, I prefer rich shades to blond wood.  For  
practical reasons, I won't be choosing any expensive exotics.

Wikipedia has a list of trees native to Great Britain and Ireland  
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
Trees_of_Britain_and_Ireland#Native_trees> that might provide a  
starting point.


Coblaith
<mailto:Coblaith at sbcglobal.net>