African Blackwood Bowl. Another gift from my wildlife artist friend Ray Nelson was a chunk of African Blackwood. The wood was hand carried back from Africa by his wife, and the wood seasoned in Ray's garage for more than ten years before he offered it to me for turning. I turned two small forms; all had small cracks and voids that might have sent them to the scrap heap in other circumstances, but the wood was so precious I fought on. So precious, in fact, that I even ended up saving the sawdust for other projects!

NFS.