Fourth in a series...

Roger Tulk

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St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Another pine practice piece. I tried for an ogee shape, first named by the Greeks after its invention, when they said, "Oh, gee, Croesus, that sure is a nice shape!"

I think I still need to take a course. This should not have come out even as well as it did.

ogee2.jpg ogee1.jpg ogee3.jpg ogee4.jpg
 
Ah it looks pretty good from here. I'd say you're doing fine, practice practice practice.

Seriously the shape is pretty good. You got the hard part with the curve on the lip looking nice. The base under it could perhaps be a bit smoother transition but it's well into acceptable. Your finish is really quite good, especially with pine! My only real critique would be that you're still being a bit conservative with the depth of your recess on the bottom (and it could maybe have but a smidge smaller which would have brought the bottom curve under nicer as well). But overall.. Bravo sir! Don't be so hard on yourself :)
 
Every new piece gives you a chance to refine your technique. What are the dimensions? It's hard to tell the scale from the pictures. As Ryan said, the finish is very good...I don't see any tool marks inside the bowl and the top curve looks pretty good too. I concur on the depth and size of the recess, but you can work on that as you gain confidence in your chuck and tools. It looks a heck of a lot better than my fourth. Maybe you are ready for some hardwood. Keep your eye peeled for some curbside freewood:thumb::thumb:
 
Great job, Roger, especially for your fourth bowl. :thumb:

Every new piece gives you a chance to refine your technique. What are the dimensions? It's hard to tell the scale from the pictures. As Ryan said, the finish is very good...I don't see any tool marks inside the bowl and the top curve looks pretty good too. I concur on the depth and size of the recess, but you can work on that as you gain confidence in your chuck and tools. It looks a heck of a lot better than my fourth. Maybe you are ready for some hardwood. Keep your eye peeled for some curbside freewood:thumb::thumb:

I'll echo pretty much all of what Ted said. The shape is nicely done, with smooth, graceful curves on the outside profile. I'd like to see a smaller foot and the sides a bit less vertical, but that's just a personal preference. (And not knowing the size, I'm guessing that's about as small of a foot as your chuck would allow.) I'll admit I do see a few residual sanding scratches (or perhaps tool marks) on the inside, but pine is pretty unforgiving and more prone to show things like that. And still, it's nothing that couldn't be fixed with a patient application of sandpaper. (And I'd save the sandpaper for when you get your hands on some better wood.) ;)

Keep em' coming!
 
Thanks very much for your helpful comments. All the bowls I have made are 8" in diameter, and about 2" deep. I have some thicker bowl blanks I will start on soon.

That's a bigger diameter than I was thinking it was. At that size, you can get away with a smaller diameter recess if you want. Something in the 3" range should be fine. Roughly 1/3 of the overall diameter is a fairly common rule of thumb for the size of the foot. Personally, I usually go smaller than that.

Again, you did a fine job on this one. Ogee shapes are not easy. :thumb:
 
. Roughly 1/3 of the overall diameter is a fairly common rule of thumb for the size of the foot. Personally, I usually go smaller than that.

Although with pine I'd be more inclined to be conservative and not go a lot below 1/3..

Ogee shapes are not easy. :thumb:

You ain't kidding there! I'd have been plumb tickled to have had my first Ogee come out anywhere close to this good (and generally still am, but I'm only a few dozen of those in.. Maybe after a few hundred it'll start getting easier, that's a hope anyway ;))
 
If you want to experiment with this one and try another technique you could remount it, refine that bottom curve and reduce the depth of the recess at the same time. I have a disc of MDF mounted on a faceplate, trued flat and covered with thin cork that I occasionally use to help finish the bottom of bowls. If you don't use the cork and want to feel more secure you can just cut a shallow groove in the disc to match the rim of your bowl. Mount the disc in the headstock. The groove in the disc can help you find the exact center in the recess. If you don't use a groove, locate the exact center of the bowl in the recess and mark the spot. Place the bowl against the disc facing the headstock and bring up the tailstock with the live center on the mark. Use the tailstock to press the bowl against the disc with enough pressure to keep it from moving. This gives you access to the the bottom curve and the entire area of the recess. You have plenty of wood left in this area, so you can play with refining the curve and soften the look of the recess by taking some more off the bottom. You can also eliminate the marks left on the inside of the recess by the chuck. You could even make a ridge to use for making feet. After you have everything to your liking, the only thing left you have to deal with is the small mark left in the center by the live center....easy to sand off.
 
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Roger, I don't see where there's anything to really complain about. I never had any luck at all with pine, so you are many steps ahead of me. Everybody has preferences on the bottom or foot. I tend to ignore the rules of thumb and go with a broader beam in the foot. So, hang in there. You are doing well in my opinion. I like the overall shape of the bowl. Keep on turning, and turning, and turn some more. All will come and you will develop your own style that you like and are completely comfortable with. To me, that's what counts more than anything else.
 
Looks mighty good to me, Roger. Listen to the advice of these experts. I can not give any I've only made a few bowls in my life time, so I know nothing, John Snow.. You have to watch "Game of Thrones" to get that.
 
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