Wally Dickerman inspired bowl

[steven carter]

I found this poplar bowl that I roughed out probably 3 years ago. I guess I didn't finish it then because it was rather plain. I really love the piercing pieces that Wally Dickerman produces and decided to TRY to emulate his work with a band of piercing. It is a far cry from the fantastic work by Mr. Dickerman, but it does liven up this otherwise rather plain bowl. It is a work in progress, one coat of home brew oil and not buffed. The bowl is 7.5" x 5".


Thanks for looking, C&C welcome.

Steve

[Mark Hubl]

I think it is a nice job. It does give the bowl some pop.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well that definitely enhances the bowl! Nice work!

You already have some finish on it - but did you consider highlighting your piercing with a burner? Just a thought...

[John Keeton]

Steve, while the poplar actually looks very nice (better than most poplar IMO), the piercing certainly does add another element of interest. I have not tried this, and really have only seen a few of them, mostly done by Wally and a couple others. Seems most of them have fairly thin walls, but this one looks nice, as well.

[Gary Chester]

Wow! You made an nice bowl into something special! I like it.

I wonder what a small groove above and below the piercings would look like... it might frame it in a bit... just a thought.

[Steve Vaughan]

I was thinking the same thing about the groove...just a hint of one above and below the piercings. My question is, I've seen pictures of some here before, but how are you doing that? Really a nice piece there.

[Ray Bell]

It looks very nice, and very tedious. Do you do this with a Dremel?

[steven carter]

Well that definitely enhances the bowl! Nice work!

You already have some finish on it - but did you consider highlighting your piercing with a burner? Just a thought...


Steve, while the poplar actually looks very nice (better than most poplar IMO), the piercing certainly does add another element of interest. I have not tried this, and really have only seen a few of them, mostly done by Wally and a couple others. Seems most of them have fairly thin walls, but this one looks nice, as well.


Steve,
I considered highlights with marker or India ink but discarded the idea, I am considering getting a tip for the colewood cub to burn the edges, I only have the writing tip currently.

John,
The sides are around 1/8", the photos make it look thicker. I angle the edges and to show a little depth in the piercing instead of having the holes go straight through.

Steve

[steven carter]

Wow! You made an nice bowl into something special! I like it.

I wonder what a small groove above and below the piercings would look like... it might frame it in a bit... just a thought.


I was thinking the same thing about the groove...just a hint of one above and below the piercings. My question is, I've seen pictures of some here before, but how are you doing that? Really a nice piece there.


It looks very nice, and very tedious. Do you do this with a Dremel?

Gary,Steve,
On my christmas ornaments, I usually have a groove around the piercing. I had a pencil line to keep the piercing fairly even, but then lightly sanded it off.

Steve,Ray,

First I drew the shapes I wanted with a pencil, then used a drill press and drilled holes within the shapes. I have a Foreman rotary tool, it looks like a dremel, but has a flex shaft that goes to either a rotary tool, or carving tool. The drilling makes it so I don't have to use the rotary tool for the entire shape.

Steve

[Baxter Smith]

Definitely adds a little extra to the bowl. Good job!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice bowl Steven. The piercing really adds some pop to that piece.

[Matt Owen]

That's a nice looking bowl! You did a great job with the piercings. Well done.

[Roland Martin]

That's actually a pretty nice piece of poplar. Nice job on the piercings & the form.

[David E Keller]

It looks good to me. The pierced band is a very nice addition.

[Wally Dickerman]

Hey Steve, thanks for mentioning me as inspiration for a very nice piece. The piercing does add a different look to the bowl. Very attractive.

Your description on how you did the piercing is interesting. I use a dental tool that runs at about 320,000 rpm so there's no torque. Because of the speed of the tiny dental drill it does burn the edge of all of the openings. I don't use a pattern except for a pencil outline of the outside of the design. The drill is powered by compressed air.

Trying new and different things is part of the fun of turning. At least it is for me and probably is for you. The enhancing often takes a lot longer to do than the actual turning did.

I'm sure that you'll carry on with this. I hope that you do.

Wally

[BILL DONAHUE]

Very nice and you couldn't pick a better mentor to emulate. I've spent a lot of time studying Mr. Dickerman's work and consider it time well spent.