#13 Simple Red Cedar bowl

[John Keeton]

Nothing fancy here - just a very plain (but pleasing to my wife!) little bowl. 8" x 2"
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This is from a blank of eastern red cedar given to me by Tony De Masi - Thanks Toni!! It really has some striking grain. It did crack slightly on me in the sapwood visible in the second pic on the right hand side. CA fixed the problem, but it does show a bit.

Working with this piece kind of brought back memories!!:) My experience with red cedar goes back to my childhood days in eastern KY. It was the all time favorite "whittlin" wood, and I made a shotgun forearm of a piece from a huge lightning struck cedar when I was about 13. I had skipped school to go squirrel hunting, and slid over a rock ledge with my shotgun, breaking the plastic stock. It was a WWII vintage, and many of the cheaper guns had plastic stocks because of the war effort. Dad was not happy about the skipping school, or the busted stock!!:o

I have to admit though, this piece was a bear to turn!:eek: Wanted to tear out and chip no matter what I did. Sharp tools, shearing cut, planing cut, talking to it, begging..... not much worked. I finally got an acceptable finish, and let the sandpaper take care of the rest!;)

[gary Zimmel]

May not be real fancy but it sure is pretty....
I like the color in this one. Nice work John.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I love that Juniper, both the color and smell, and hate it for both of these attributes disappearing after a while, but still love turning it, and you did a very nice job on it John :)

[David Christopher]

very nice bowl John, cedar is a all time favorite

[Baxter Smith]

It may be pretty simple, but it is simply pretty!:)

[Steve Mawson]

Looks pretty nice John. I have the same tear out problem with red cedar. Some pieces are worse than others but it can be made smooth with sandpaper. What did you use for finish?

[Brian Brown]

Man dude! When do you sleep? Really gorgeous piece.

[Curt Fuller]

Mr Keeton, you are on fire! That's a beautiful bowl!

[Brian Effinger]

Sometimes, plain works. It lets the character of the wood shine through. Beautiful bowl, John.

And remember - the 80 grit gouge is just another tool.

[David E Keller]

Very nice... I can almost smell it from here. Lovely color and a nice simple form.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice bowl John! I like the simple styles when it comes to bowls and save the fancy stuff for other things. I like the flat rim and open form. You did good! Thanks for sharing!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful bowl John. Simple form and it sure does make the shop smell good.

[Doug W Swanson]

John,

Another nice piece. The simple lines really let the color in the wood show. This just shows that a piece does not have to be fancy to look good!

Doug

[Ken Fitzgerald]

John...Your wife has good taste! The simple form allows the beauty of the wood be the star of the show! I like it!

[charlie knighton]

very nice...

[Donny Lawson]

Very nice John.,what kind if finish did you use?Poly?
Donny

[John Keeton]

Thanks, guys. I will have to admit that I like more going on with a piece, and this was a little too simple for my tastes - but, if we made all them the same, it would be a boring world!! It was a good exercise in form for me, as I venture on down this path - excuse me, as I get sucked deeper into the vortex!!:D


What did you use for finish?Steve and Donny, I have really enjoyed using the Deft brush on lacquer - satin. This piece has a coat of shellac, rubbed out to nearly gone, and one fairly heavy coat of the Deft, rubbed out with 0000. The Deft really makes a nice finish. It feels and looks like a handrubbed finish. I think I am going to get some of the gloss and try it on some bottle stoppers I need to do, and use it as a friction finish to see what happens.

[Tony De Masi]

Very nice John. You have certainly been cutting down on your sleep I'm sure. How did you dry the bowl? DNA?

Since your wife likes it let me know if you (she) wants some more. It would have to wait for the snow to melt however.

Tony

[steven carter]

John,

Very nice cedar bowl. I like the clean simple lines that let the wood be the star of the show. BTW it seems that your wife and mine have similar tastes, not only in liking the less artsy turnings, but both seem to have a proclivity for ruggedly handsome men:D.


Steve

[John Keeton]

How did you dry the bowl? DNA?

Since your wife likes it let me know if you (she) wants some more. It would have to wait for the snow to melt however.

TonyTony, the cedar was surprisingly dry! It didn't move at all, and felt very dry to the touch though I didn't meter it. I appreciate the offer on more. When we built, we pushed down a large cedar and I moved it to another field with the tractor. After turning this bowl, I will probably cut into it to see if I can get a couple of blanks!! If not, I will be yelling at you!;)


BTW it seems that your wife and mine have similar tastes, not only in liking the less artsy turnings, but both seem to have a proclivity for ruggedly handsome men:D.
SteveSteve, can't speak for you, but my wife has never seen me without a beard for fear she would leave me!!! She threatens to shave me when I am dead, just to see with whom she has been living all these years. God made some men good looking, to the others he gave enough facial hair to hide the horror!

[steven carter]

John,

Funny you mention it, I just shaved my beard off this morning. I do keep the mustache and goatee year round. I usually get rid of the beard each spring, and with the weather we are having I thought that maybe it was really that spring arrives each year after I shave off the beard..... really I'm ready to try anything. I really like turning but like golf just as well, and I have a streak of 15 years in which I've played golf at least once each month, and it looks like the month of Feb 2010 may break the streak. We have a couple of feet of snow to melt in 10 days and the temp isn't going to be above freezing for the rest of the month. OH well all good things must come to an end. Also since LOML has been with me for 37 years now, I don't think looks come much into play (at least I hope not).

Steve