Massive sycamore washbasin

This was my very first serious woodworking project. It all began as a personal challenge to transform a big sycamore log into something useful as well as beautiful. I wanted to see if I could do it and if I was capable of finishing what I had in mind.

Having a quick look back at my past, I was not a stranger to the axe or chisel, the chainsaw, or the angle grinder. I had done a bit of sculpture and woodwork, but they were not stand-alone projects; they were more like experiments or pieces meant to somehow help a painting, such as a handmade frame (Arte Povera), or just add some aesthetic value to an art piece. Anyways, I was definitely fascinated by ronde-bosse or 3D objects, but doing a piece that had to have a dedicated role was something I hadn't done before… and it was all from massive wood ☺. So that was the challenge, it was me, in front of a big log that was meant to become a washbasin… damn ☺… it looked so scary until, all of a sudden, my cute daughter made it part of the playground.

So I started drawing. What I had in mind was simple, as I realized a very complicated design would be too hard for me. But at the same time, I knew a simple design is not necessarily easier to build. I had to start from somewhere and make decisions along the way. So the design is simple, massive, I wanted a natural/organic look, to be somehow prehistoric and modern at the same time, an ancestral contemporary design. So, with those tangled thoughts, I grabbed my chainsaw ☺, I pushed the button, and began the shaping process. I tried the best I could do to follow the marks outside the line.

The first cuts were straight, and I had to create a kind of a backbone/spine or a T shape. At the same time, I needed to get rid of the material to make the whole thing a bit lighter; otherwise, it would've been way too hard to move it. So two big chunks went off.

Once it could stand, I moved on to work on the hole… I did not want it to be too deep; the opening being large, I wanted to carve just a bit to create a nice smooth angle.

From a technical point of view and the tools, I wanted to try the adze, and I was amazed at how efficient it is in chopping. If the blade is sharp, it will cut and get the job done pretty quickly. I can’t stop imagining how skilled the carpenters and woodworkers were in the past. If I can do it, how fast and precise could've been a Viking boatbuilder? What knowledge should've had an Inca native regarding wood and its properties and characteristics? With those in mind, I keep chopping and feeling I'm connecting with nature and the past.

For me, woodwork has always been the pathway to the past, an ancient time, a forgotten world in which the tool was just a simple intermediary between man and idea. The process is not too fast, not too slow; the rhythm is given by the sound of the wood-biting blade. After a while, the power tools support landed… but still, the sanding was not fast. I was lost in the colors and patterns of the wood for a few days. A large crack gave me the opportunity to cut my first butterfly key, so I decided to do a few of them.

Then I have sanded everything up to 800 grit, just for a smooth/ivory-sh finish. The first snow came that year as I just fished sanded and was ready to take the piece inside for the final step. Coated with oil and a resin topcoat for strength.

This is how it turned out.