A Cherry Bowl that I really, really do not like very much.....

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
......... I know, looks good in the pics, but this wood was so hard, it made the Keyaki seem soft, dunno why :dunno: I've done a few other blanks from the same pile, but this piece was stupid hard, I could not even sand the darn thing, the #80 gouge bounced off the surface. I was sanding slow, low gear on the drill, and only 150 rpm on the lathe, no go, speed things up, and the surface would glaze over so hard. I ended up using a #60 flap sander wheel on the 4" angle grinder :doh:

Oh well, I finished it with straight mineral oil, my wife will use it for a salad bowl :dunno:

About 13" in diameter, and 5" deep........

dec_cherry_bowl_1.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_2.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_3.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_4.jpg

dec_cherry_bowl_5.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_6.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_8.jpg dec_cherry_bowl_7.jpg

Lots of pics, trying different lighting and camera settings....

On a better note, what do you think of my pics, any better? :D
 
I like the bowl! Great looking grain and I also like the size of it! I have no idea why it would be so hard - but you survived it! As far as photos - hopefully Vaughn and Neal will chime in as they are the resident experts. To me - and remember I am just starting out - the photos look like they could use just a little more contrast as the color looks slightly washed out. Nice looking bowl!
 
Stuart, that is a good looking bowl, nothing wrong with it from my point of view. Your picture quality is good, and the correct size, considering the picture restrictions on FWW.

Is Uma Thurmon still trying to kill Bill over there.;):wave: I didn't know where Vonage internet phone service got their dopey music until I saw the movie.
 
Oh the final result is passable, but making is was really work, no fun at all, I'd have much rather gone to the dentist :doh:

I hope my wife will like it, she should, but I really, REALLY do not want to have to sand a stupid bowl for 3 hours again :bang:

Really takes the fun out of this spinny stuff :rolleyes: :wave:
 
Hey Stuart, it's just a simple bowl, and not so bad at all. Anyway he got a nice destination as a salad bowl, what do you want more !!
I can tell you that I like that bowl. Good pictures too.

Cheers. Ad :D
 
Stu,

I'd be thrilled if I could make a bowl that nice! How'd you chuck it to turn the bottom?

I don't know enough to comment on the picture imperatives. But I do wish we could start putting some everyday object into our pictures, to give a sense of size. Can't imagine what it would be, a quarter wouldn't do, since they don't have them everywhere. But something! ;) The reason I say this is I was on some other site lately, with an image of a "large hollow form". I was duly impressed, the piece was gorgeous, amazing. Turned out it was all of 5 inches tall...

I guess the term "large" is variable by viewer... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
I think it looks great, Stu. There's nothing in the lathe rulebook that says every piece has to be easy to sand. :D And wood that pretty is worth the extra effort, IMHO.

Photo-wise, I agree that perhaps the contrast could be bumped up a bit, but
they look pretty good as-is, too.

And Bill, why would you want reference items in a picture? Scale? We don' need no steenking scale! :p

Mini-Vase 1-02 - 600.jpg Mini-Vase 1-01 - 600.jpg
 
PM me for my address. It is Christmas time you know ;-) I like it, I'll bet others will too. We are our own worst critics but that is what keeps us pushing the envelope.
 
Hi Stu :wave:,
Not being a round man I cannot comment on the quality of the round work, but consider this if in fact you are not pleased with this rather nice bowl.:rolleyes:
Just awhile back a man introduced gold leaf to a project which took it to a different level.
Granted these turnings are jewels in themselves, however, sometimes the addition of a different medium to the piece ( like a frame around a painting ) can add the punch to really make the entire piece a "work of art". I have ideas for this bowl, but it is more important for me to have you understand the concept. :D Try using the other side of your brain.:rofl:
Shaz
 
Well thanks guys, I guess I'm being too hard on myself, but on the bottom, might be hard to see in the pics, I have three curves, and one "bump" :doh:I know, I know, no one else will see it, but I DO, so it bugs me :dunno:

The inside is worse, kind of "Wavy" but, the boss likes it very much and I'm sure will put it to good use.

I guess as you get a bit better at this, you raise your standards, while raising your awareness of what is possible.

Robert, I'd love to hear your suggestions on adding to a bowl, being a Non-turner (hey, no one is perfect :D) your take would be very interesting, as you would be thinking outside of the bowl! :thumb: :wave:

Bill, I cheated and used my Vacuum chuck, of course :headbang:

Cheers!
 
Robert, I'd love to hear your suggestions on adding to a bowl, being a Non-turner (hey, no one is perfect :D) your take would be very interesting, as you would be thinking outside of the bowl! :thumb: :wave:

:headbang:

Cheers!

In this case Stu I think your bowl is already a finished item, however, if it were set into a circle, made of bar stock or round steel, about 1/2" stock about 1/3rd of the way up on the bowl, then take 4 or maybe 3 - 3" pieces of 1/2" x 1/2" solid steel, weld a 1/2" diameter ball bearing on each end of the 3" piece then weld those to the circle to serve as legs. What you have is a cradle that "Presents the Bowl" to the admirer.
Shaz:)
That's one idea
 
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Stu, 60 grit sanding works well for some things neh. Good thing your getting used to the finished product cause it's a nice bowl. Grain is pretty too.
 
Bill, I cheated and used my Vacuum chuck, of course :headbang:

Cheers!
I'm not much of a turner but if you will allow me to poke my nose in, I have a question.

First, Stu - the bowl looks good to me (a non-expert turner).

Now my question - How do you center something like a bowl on a vacuum chuck? Every time I've tried to re-mount something I turned - when I lost the center mark - I have a heck of a time getting it centered and most of the time I don't get it exactly centered.

Is there some turning secret I don't know?

Mike

[added note] I went and did some research on vacuum chucks. From what I found, it looks like bowls are re-chucked by placing them over a fixture that provides the vacuum. So the bowl sort of centers on that fixture. Of course, you then have to align it so it doesn't wobble.

I was thinking that a vacuum chuck was a flat disk with rubber or something else to provide the air seal and you mounted your bowl with the rim against the disk. Getting that centered would be a challenge to me.
 
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Thanks Alex, and yeah, a #60 grit FLAP SANDER ON TH 4" ANGLE GRINDER can be a life saver :eek:

Mike, what I do is hold the bowl in place, no vacuum on, and rotate it with the tool rest close to the edge of the bowl, then you can see what part come closest to the tool rest, adjust, rotate, adjust, rotate, adjust, rotate, pinch your finger between the bowl and tool rest, say bad words, start over.......... you get the picture. In the end, I've never got it 100% perfect, but, sandpaper does a great job of "blending" stuff together, so with a little work and some sanding, things usually come out fine.

Now if any of the real turners have a method that works better, I'm all ears :D
 
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