Thank you all for your useful responses. Again, I am impressed with
the level of help one can get from this group. Some of you mentioned
the difficulty of Madrone (Arbutus) moving and checking. When we lived
on Saltspring Island in BC, I got to know a very good turner. He got
Madrone trees from foresters in the winter, rough turned them into
bowls, boiled them for 90 minutes in a 55 gallon drum, then slowly
dried them outside, then in his basement, and finally in his house. He
turns them a few at a time and sells them in the local market and in
galleries. Hardly ever checked on him. You can see his work at
bobmckaywoodturner.com.