Ash Bowls

Mark Cothren

Member
Messages
271
Location
Pickles Gap, Arkansas
Slightly spalted... the smaller one has antique oil on it and the bigger one has lacquer. Not enough difference in color to make much difference, so will probably use AO on any more of this wood that I turn.


AshBowl1_01.jpg


AshBowl1_02.jpg


AshBowl2_01.jpg


AshBowl2_02.jpg
 
Nice looking bowls Mark. I realy like the shape of the smaller one. How hard is it to turn? How thick are the walls of the bowls? How many coats of finish are on them? did you buff them out or is this just a rubbed on or paint on finish?
 
Great pair of bowls, Mark. :thumb: Those should sell well. I'm sort of surprised the one you finished with Antique Oil didn't come out a bit darker than the lacquered one. Sure can't see much difference in the pics.
 
Those are sure super Mark, I normally find Ash fairly plain, good wood, but plain for turning, but those are very nice, and the form is spot on :thumb:
 
I really like the ogee form for bowls because it dresses up a plain utility bowl and gives it a classy appearance.

I prefer the form of the 12" diameter bowl best but I like the grain and spalting patterns on the larger bowl best. Both bowls are winners.
 
How hard is it to turn? How thick are the walls of the bowls? How many coats of finish are on them? did you buff them out or is this just a rubbed on or paint on finish?

Ash is easy to turn. There are a couple of things I like about it and the main one is that the wood barely moves as it dries. In fact, it actually sands pretty good when green. The walls are probably 3/16" thick - especially on the bigger bowl. They are not buffed - the finish was applied with a rag and then wiped off almost immediately. No buffing.

I'm sort of surprised the one you finished with Antique Oil didn't come out a bit darker than the lacquered one. Sure can't see much difference in the pics.

Same here... I was surprised at how close they ended up in color. A casual observer would likely not even notice the difference unless they were side by side.

I really like the ogee form for bowls...

I prefer the form of the 12" diameter bowl best but I like the grain and spalting patterns on the larger bowl best.

Me, too. I actually intended to put an upright, sloped rim on the 13" bowl, but for some reason ended up flaring it like the smaller one. I like it okay, but think the deeper bowl doesn't look as good with that rim as the shallower one.
 
Mark,
Great pieces... I like the shape of both of them and the wood is beautiful...
frankly the shapes were so close I had to take second look to distinguish them... I took the liberty of copying them to my go-by picture file (with credit to the artist) for someday trying to do a similar piece.... probably won't be ash as I don't have any.

I don't care for the effects of lacquer myself.. most probably because I'm not good with the spray cans.... and I've never used the antique oil... I like the effects of that.
I just picked up a gallon of mineral oil from a local wood artist I met in Chattanooga... he buys it in 55 gal drums and repackages to give away or sell with his bowls, rolling pins and cutting boards. Just beginning to try to use it.
 
...I don't care for the effects of lacquer myself.. most probably because I'm not good with the spray cans...

For me, the trick to getting a good lacquer finish is light coats, and lightly rubbing each coat after it dries with a fine abrasive like white Scotch Brite or 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper. I'll slowly build up a bunch of coats that way, then after hand rubbing the last coat, I'll go through the standard Beall-style buffing steps. If you don't rush things, you can get a grand piano-quality finish. The rubbing and buffing are key components for me.

The mineral oil is good for utility pieces like bowls intended for food and treenware, but it does need to be replenished from time to time as the wood dries out.
 
I spray lacquer from cans sometimes, and like Vaughn I put on light coats. This piece, however, I used a quart can and applied it with a rag and then rubbed it in and wiped it off almost immediately. This wood really soaked it up fast. My only purpose for using it was to try and maintain the light color of the wood... but it darkened it up almost as much as the antique oil.
 
Hey Mark, have you ever tried any of the waterborne finishes? They don't seem to darken the wood much, if any. I've used Ultima Spray Lacquer (USL) from Target Finishes on a few pieces, and it didn't darken the woods I've used it on. (I don't know if they still make it, though. I can't find it on Target Finishing's site anymore.) Minwax PolyCrylic would also probably work about the same.
 
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