About Good Wolf Bowls
A Little About Me
Hi! I'm Mike Denney and I live in rural southeast Minnesota with my wife and family. I've been woodworking as a hobby for almost 35 years, doing mostly cabinetry work such as dressers, tables, kitchen cabinets and such.
In 2015 I discovered a new passion, and that is wood-turning. I bought myself a good lathe and used it so much I had to replace it with a much better (and bigger) lathe. My goal in turning is simple, which is to bring out the beauty in the wood as best I can. I like to use wood with 'character', such as knots, inclusions, burls, cracks, and even a bit of rot.
How Are They Made?
All of the wood I use is from already downed trees. I get quite a bit of wood from the leftovers of logging activity, and have a logger friend who brings me 'interesting' pieces such as burls and crotches. There's also a brush dump down the road that has let me dig through their pile of stumps. And finally, friends and neighbors keep me well supplied with storm-damaged trees.
I've used walnut, box elder, white/bur/red oak, black/green/white ash, sugar/silver maple, American/red elm, honey/black locust, white/river birch, apple, Osage Orange(from Iowa), hackberry, cherry, hickory, red cedar, willow, basswood, ironwood, and even buckthorn (nasty invasive, but pretty wood). With all this local wood available, I never purchase or work with exotics.
Here's my bowl making process:
- I turn all of this wood while it's green, meaning it has not dried out yet.
- After turning the bowl, I set it aside to dry for a few weeks.
- Once it's dry, I sand it smooth so no toolmarks or sanding marks can be seen.
- For cracks or designs in the bowl that I've made, I inlay with turquoise, malachite, lappis lazuli, metal shavings, coffee grounds, bark pieces/dust or whatever material that complements the wood grain and color.
- I then seal the bowl with shellac using a French Polishing method. This finish can be washed with mild soap and water and re-treated with an oil of your choosing (or no oil at all if you like the bare shellac finish, which many people do).
- If bark is left attached to the bowl, I reinforce it with glue so it won't chip off.
Shellac is a food-grade finish that I'm sure you've consumed at one time or another because it's used in the food industry as well. It's a natural finish made from cocoons of the Laq bug, and this nature-nut loves it!
Our Guarantee
If you're not satisfied with your purchase for any reason, please contact us for a refund or replacement. Our only goal is to make you happy.
About Us
Why are we called 'Good Wolf Bowls'?
First off, Good Wolf Bowls makes more than bowls. We also make vases, kitchen utensil holders, covered containers, ring holders and more. So why 'Good Wolf'? This originates from the story about the Native American boy struggling with good and bad thoughts, which were eventually personified as wolves. The boy's grandfather said his inner conflict arose from the fighting of the good wolf and the bad wolf, and the one that wins is the one that you feed, or devote time to. Making bowls and such feeds my good wolf, thus the name.