A couple of new things for me

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Location
Goodyear AZ
I got back on the lathe here lately. Had some rough blanks lying around that I decided to finish. I roughed them out a long time ago so they were both hard as nails. Sorry the pictures are mixed up; don't know how to rearrange them:eek:. The first is red gum eucalyptus 8.5"wide x 6.5" high. Left the natural edge, sans the bark. That was about as hollow as I could get it with standard tools. I found a neat trick for smoothing the inside though. I used a goosneck scraper with the bowl turning at very low speed (about 10 rpm) saved me a ton of time sanding. Another first was that I rubbed out the laquer finish with 4F pumice and oil. It gave it a nice semi-gloss sheen rather quickly.

The second bowl is carob 9" wide x 4.5" high. decided to add a ring to it for kicks. The ring is Peruvian walnut. I started by cutting the bowl in half on the bandsaw using a makeshift jig to steady it. Then sanded the mating surface of each side flat using first the belt sander, then I attached a sheet of sandpaper to the cast iron tablesaw wing and rubbed the surfaces on it they they were perfectly flat. Then cut the ring to rough size out of the walnut. I glued the top and bottom to the ring separatly to minimize the slipping and sliding thing that wet glue does. Then turned it to final finish. Another first on this was using Mylands friction polish. Worked great, although I hear its not that durable:( As far as the design, I'm not that crazy about it, but I plan to play with the concept more in the future and come up with something more to my liking. BTW The Eucalyptus is from the same chunk that George Conklin made his recent posting from, notice the bee's wing figure; quite common in this wood. Cheers, Barry
 

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Barry, outstanding work on both pieces. The carob with the added Peruvian ring is special, even you did it as a trick. I like your story about using a scraper with a very low speed, yes I believe this saved you a lot of sanding time, have to try that.
Keep up your good work :thumb:
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Hmm

I am assuming you mean a hand scraper, like what instrument makers use? If so, I have been wondering about this type of thing recently. In my mind it seemed to be a good way to smooth the inside of bowls, but hadn't heard about anyone using it before.

Hutch
 
Guess I should be more specific. I was refering to a gooseneck 'card' scraper. A small handheld piece of spring steel with varying radi around it. They are used most often for smoothing contours on flatwork. Rockler, and about everyone else, sells them.
 
Cool stuff, Barry. The eucalyptus looks a lot like the stuff I got from my office. I like the striped piece, too. :thumb:
 
AHA!!

I was right. I thought it could be done. Nice ingenuity, man.

I was an apprentice for a luthier in high school, and I used hand scrapers to smooth everything. This is so cool, I am going to break out the ole' curved scrapers and try it out.

Hutch

P.S. I have wrecked pieces trying to use heavy duty scrapers. I always seem to get a catch, no matter how sharp the tool or how careful I am. Nothing against this technique, but I find it not worth the risk. This provides a good alternative for smoothing the inside of bowls.
 
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Barry - very nice work on both items! Your 'hollow form' really stands out for me - love the form, thickness - or rather the lack of and the wood is outstanding! Really like the way the light makes it sort of glow! Very nice!
 
Beautiful bowls all. Love the finishes.
Gotta ask, 10 rpm? What kind of lathe do you have? Mine, an EVS, theoretically goes from 0 rpm up but, in actuality, has about a 180 rpm low speed.
 
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