Birdseye Maple bowl

Steve Ash

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Michigan
Thought I'd kick off this new forum with a picture/s of a birdseye maple bowl I turned on the lathe for my wife. some of you may have seen it before...sorry.

A friend gave me a hunk of birdseye that he was saving in a much longer length to make himself a gunstock out of. It sat in his barn and the powder post beetles took up residence. He cut it into pieces for bowls and gave me a chunk. I was almost ready to part the bowl from the bottom (as it turned out saucer) when my wife came in the shop and asked me not to part it but rather leave it this way to look like a saucer....I always do as she asks, so this is how it ended up, and she loves it. Happy wife, happy life I always say.:D
 

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Beautiful bowl and wood. I hope your friend has good luck making a gunstock from that. The gunstockers I know (including the one about to build my next gun) won't work with birdseye maple. The 'eyes' are just too delicate and can pop out when working. Of course, they do work other figured maples (mine will be tiger striped) but the 'eyes' don't have it for them.
 
Steve

That is nice stuff! If I keep looking at things like that I might slip into learning how to do spinny things too! -- but it seems I've got my hands full doing the flat stuff

Jay
 
If I keep looking at things like that I might slip into learning how to do spinny things too! -- but it seems I've got my hands full doing the flat stuff

Jay

Jay I mostly do flatwork in my shop but I find the lathe to be a nice break and you get that "instant gratification" you hear so often used by turners....go ahead and learn, enroll in a class if you'd like, it is really a lot of fun.
 
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