Smallish White Oak Bowl

Dave Hoskins

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5,252
Location
Parker County, Texas
Been kinda busy turning some stock items. This is another white oak bowl that has a nice rustic appeal. Has a knot in the lip that came apart and I thought it made it look really nice so I left things as they were with it. This bowl is 8 3/4" in diameter, 2 1/2" high, and about 1 3/4" deep. It has a capacity of about 4 cups. Not a bad amount of M&M's or nuts. Or both. As my usual way I sealed the wood with walnut oil and then mixed up a bit of walnut oil and shellac, heavy on shellac. Hopes ya like it. :D

 
I'm not sure whether the bowl got the most compliments or the M&M's and nuts! :rofl: But, even though I am in a slight mystification on that, I appreciate all that was said! Now I will go eat some M&M's and contemplate it some more.
 
Looks good to me but I know nothing :(

Although I personally like the knot on the lip, to me it adds character to the bowl, I am never sure what other peoples reactions are going to be which makes it a bit difficult if you are selling things you make.
I recently did a vcarve for a customer with his Logo & house number, he wanted an Oak board with live (waney edges) at approx 2' in length & 1' in height. It took a bit of looking about at the local sawmill to find a suitable piece. Job completed & the customer complained because there was a knot in the wood which he felt spoiled it.
 
Martin, you know about as much as the rest of us I think when it comes to understanding the public and it's thinking. There have been times I finished a piece and figgered it was just an average looking stock piece and it would last online for about an hour and then was sold. Then I finish something that is what I think is really really nice and it sits there forever. Just never know it seems. I happen to like knots and anything else that makes the piece rustic in appearance. But, without a doubt there are many who don't. Oh, well.
 
If you are selling online Dave I don't see it as a problem, you make a piece & post pictures of it with a price. People look at the pictures & then decide if they like it enough to buy & if they do then it sells :)
Problem with this particular job was that I was making something to order which the customer didn't see until it was completed. Despite having the usual conversation with them about wood being live & knot's & cracks being a part of it's make up (all of which he agreed with) he still complained lol. I have just opened an etsy account so will give the online selling a go & see what happens.
 
The point I was trying to make is that whether you are dealing with them in person or online, you never know what the public is thinking. The project you are talking about is a case in point. You told them all about it and they still complained. Good luck with the online sales. Might end up being what you are needing.
 
That's a very niceish smallish bowl. I like little flaws in the wood, except for the one I found in the middle of a baseball bat blank, which can't be turned out, and will cause the bat to break no matter what I do.
 
Don't ya hate that when it happens, Roger? Sometimes you can take advantage of the little defects and other times you can't. I have quite the burn pile out behind the shop that I am getting ready to burn off here in a few days. I keep what will work good in my wood burning stove in the house and what works good in the smokers. The rest goes to the pile. I usually take a day twice a year to burn it off.
 
Looks to me like you already have a solution, Roger! Good going. I try to mainly keep the pecan scraps for the smokers. Haven't had any useful mesquite for a while but I do have a secret stash of it for smoking wood. Keep at it. You're doing alright as far as I am concerned!
 
If you are selling online Dave I don't see it as a problem, you make a piece & post pictures of it with a price. People look at the pictures & then decide if they like it enough to buy & if they do then it sells :)
Problem with this particular job was that I was making something to order which the customer didn't see until it was completed. Despite having the usual conversation with them about wood being live & knot's & cracks being a part of it's make up (all of which he agreed with) he still complained lol. I have just opened an etsy account so will give the online selling a go & see what happens.

Exactly why I refuse ALL custom orders... I turn what I like, if the customer likes it too we can make a deal, if not the next guy might.

Good luck with the ETSY account. I've had mine up since 2011 and sales have been passable.... but they just changed a bunch of thing on how they handle the shop, stats, visits and views... not sure I like the changes.
 
Yeah, Etsy did give cause for a nice headache again. I can navigate with the new layout but I don't like it. The old way was better. When I switch from the new system to the old the stats are not the same. Interesting. I sent an email complaining but I doubt it does any good unless lots of folks do it. I don't mind custom orders and have done a fair amount of them over the years. But if they request something I don't do or don't feel comfortable doing I let them know and they can go pick on someone else. :D
 
Thanks people, the etsy thing is just something I would like to try as it may work out better for me. I work mainly as a signmaker, just vinyl really, don't do dimensional signage because to be frank I am just not good enough at it, it's also a difficult market to get into in the UK as a small business since it mainly seems to be larger Companies that use it & most of those go through design agencies.
Health problems sometimes make it difficult for me to be at a certain place at a certain time which is obviously important if you have arranged to put livery on a customers van :)
The woodworking & either selling online or doing custom orders would allow me to work when I was able to rather than when I had to time wise.
 
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