First Bowl and a load of free wood - YAY!

[Jon Prouty]

Hi Guys,

I know this is one of those posts that make you all cringe - the first bowl post. Anyway, this is a little one that I made on my Jet mini. Approx 5" in diameter. Mesquite finished with Danish Oil (natural) and Beall buffed. I could only buff the outside as I don't yet have a set of goblet buffs for the inside. I need to make a donut chuck to help finish the bottoms (I cheated and after jam chucking to remove the waste I grabbed the ROS for the remaining bit (sorry to the purists) :o

Anyway, the more fun part was a Shoestring Acacia tree blew down at work this week. I was waiting for the noise of the chainsaws from the ground crew and low and behold, at lunch today I heard that magical music. I waited till they got to the trunk and loaded it up. They must have thought I was a crazy nut but they were happy to not have to load it in their trailer and haul away. I'll hit it with some paint to slow the checking but can't wait to make some beautiful blanks out of this. Should be very very pretty inside. If not, it was free so I can't complain. Gonna strain the ol' Jet 14" with riser block for certain.

I think I need a Powermatic 3520B... I don't think my wife will agree. :rolleyes:

Thanks guys for all the inspiration - I enjoy reading all your posts.

JP

[Josh Bowman]

Jon, nice wood. It's a nice shape also. I'm speaking, also to myself, but open the bowl up some at the top, it's hard to turn the steep sides. Some reason it's hard at first to do that and I struggle with every bowl. I'm conserned about your haul of wood drying out to fast, you may want to ship to me here in Tennessee and I'll keep it for you in my shop;)

[James Combs]

A nice little bowl. Lots of character. Can't wait to see what is hidden in the new wood blanks.

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the first bowl, Jon... It looks good to me.

I've never heard of shoestring acacia, so I'm looking forward to seeing something turned out of that. In fact, could you go turn something from it now?:D

[David Christopher]

thats a very nice bowl, and a pretty good haul also

[bob svoboda]

I could show you a first bowl that's WAY worse than that. Nice job. Be sure to sign it and keep it for comparison with progressive efforts-you'll be amazed. Yes, you DO need a 3520b! What's the wife got to do with it? Just sneak it in when she isn't looking. :D

[Josh Bowman]

I could show you a first bowl that's WAY worse than that. Nice job. Be sure to sign it and keep it for comparison with progressive efforts-you'll be amazed. Yes, you DO need a 3520b! What's the wife got to do with it? Just sneak it in when she isn't looking. :D
I wish my first bowl looked that good! Mine looked like a funnel!:eek:

[Jason Clark2]

Hi Jon, I'm also local and turn a lot of mesquite and shoestring acacia. If you ever want to give a 3520b a test drive let me know. I'd also encourage you to visit and join the local woodturners association. We meet monthly in Tempe, our next meeting is the 21st.

Jason

[Jon Prouty]

Hi Jon, I'm also local and turn a lot of mesquite and shoestring acacia. If you ever want to give a 3520b a test drive let me know. I'd also encourage you to visit and join the local woodturners association. We meet monthly in Tempe, our next meeting is the 21st.

Jason

Thanks Jason! I am working on paying off my hobby addiction so my 3520b is a pipe dream at this point. Gotta have something to dream about. I would like to attend the local meetings - I went to one a long time ago and should join the group. It is hard though with family to schedule play time for dad.

I would live to see what you have turned with acacia - I've never turned any before. Is it pretty stable like mesquite? I'm wondering how the drying will go in this AZ summer weather. I would rather not do the DNA or other methods but will if I have to. Thanks!

JP

[Jon Prouty]

I could show you a first bowl that's WAY worse than that. Nice job. Be sure to sign it and keep it for comparison with progressive efforts-you'll be amazed. Yes, you DO need a 3520b! What's the wife got to do with it? Just sneak it in when she isn't looking. :D


sneak it in... funny.:D My wife is a CPA and our financial gatekeeper. She is a bit tight on the ol purse strings so I don't think she will jump at the new lathe.

JP

[Jon Prouty]

Congrats on the first bowl, Jon... It looks good to me.

I've never heard of shoestring acacia, so I'm looking forward to seeing something turned out of that. In fact, could you go turn something from it now?:D

Believe me - the AC is going on in the garage tonight so I can hit the lathe tomorrow or Sunday. Got to bring the 110F down to a liveable temp. I can't wait to see inside this stuff.

JP

[Richard Madden]

Great job on the bowl. You should see my first one. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't unless you want a good laugh.

[gary Zimmel]

Best type of wood is the free stuff... Good haul.
Nice work on the bowl. And yes you need a 3250b. Your wife won't notice you sneaking it in...

[charlie knighton]

very nice !st bowl
great gloat, nice haul on the mesquite, i would rather have access to free mesquite than a 3520, i am happy with 1642 :D

enjoy and keep us posted

[Jason Clark2]

It's pretty stable, not quite as stable as Mesquite but pretty close.

I've attached a photo of a piece I finished about 6 months ago. It has a very nice chocolate brown color with some yellow and orange mixed it. I normally try to turn away most of the sapwood, primarily for aesthetic purposes.

Jason

[Jon Prouty]

It's pretty stable, not quite as stable as Mesquite but pretty close.

I've attached a photo of a piece I finished about 6 months ago. It has a very nice chocolate brown color with some yellow and orange mixed it. I normally try to turn away most of the sapwood, primarily for aesthetic purposes.

Jason

That is an awesome example - thank you! Cute little girl - I have an 8 year old and an 11 month old. My oldest is acting like a teenager already. I'm not ready.

I got the car all cleaned out and am going to see about chopping some of this up tomorrow. EXCITED!!! Free is the best kind of wood.

JP

[Paul Douglass]

That is some real pretty wood, and you made it into a nice bowl.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jon - nice work on your bowl - especially seeing as it is your first!

Congrats on all the wood! One thing to consider when talking about the 3520B - is safety. Let your wife know that turning that size wood on a mini is not a safe thing to do - so in the interest of safety - you need a bigger lathe! :D Yeah, lots of luck with that one!

[Michael James]

Believe me - the AC is going on in the garage tonight so I can hit the lathe tomorrow or Sunday. Got to bring the 110F down to a liveable temp. I can't wait to see inside this stuff.

JP
Jon, I live in the rio grande valley...Its hot but not that hot and if I just open both garage doors, the window and crank up a 24" fan Im good to go as the opening is on the north side. Nice work, and a nice haul!
I just have to chuckle at an air conditioned garage............:) I would have to be what you call a "snowbird".
mj

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Nice little bowl :cool:, too bad for the split, and boy does that Acacia look promising, hope you will be able to get some good turnings out of it, make sure to show some pictures from it :D :D

[Jon Prouty]

Jon, I live in the rio grande valley...Its hot but not that hot and if I just open both garage doors, the window and crank up a 24" fan Im good to go as the opening is on the north side. Nice work, and a nice haul!
I just have to chuckle at an air conditioned garage............:) I would have to be what you call a "snowbird".
mj

I would love not to have to AC the garage - it costs a fortune to run cool it off but at least I can work out there now.

[Jon Prouty]

Nice little bowl :cool:, too bad for the split, and boy does that Acacia look promising, hope you will be able to get some good turnings out of it, make sure to show some pictures from it :D :D

Thanks Leo - yeah, I filled the cracks with CA in case they decided to run on me. Pretty stable wood though so all in all it was a good experience.

The Acacia is staring at me - I gotta get some blanks made right away. I gotta figure out an out feed table for the bandsaw... these are heavy.

I'll take more pics tomorrow of the insides. :)

[Jon Prouty]

Jon - nice work on your bowl - especially seeing as it is your first!

Congrats on all the wood! One thing to consider when talking about the 3520B - is safety. Let your wife know that turning that size wood on a mini is not a safe thing to do - so in the interest of safety - you need a bigger lathe! :D Yeah, lots of luck with that one!


I already dropped the hint and got an evil stare - "save your pennies" was the answer. lol

Gotta love a wife with a sense of humor.

[John Keeton]

Jon, very nice bowl, and a nice haul with the wood!

BTW, "need" and "want" are both 4-letter words, and I try to avoid their use in my home. Now, "sorry" on the other hand is used frequently!!:D:o Usually the duration of the "I'm sorry" period is very close to the "begging" period, but the results of the "I'm sorry" situation always include a new toy!!:cool: Often, the "begging" situation results in dissappointment!:(

Just for your consideration!:D

Jason, that is a darling little girl, and with those eyes, I am guessing she gets pretty much what she wants! I am guessing the good DNA came from Mom????;)

[Harlan Coverdale]

Compared to what a lot of us turned, that's a great first bowl. And congrats on the nice wood haul, too. :)

[Thomas Canfield]

Good looking 1st bowl and wood. You might have to consider a chain saw along with the 3520B to work the large sections. I bought a small 14" bar Stihl since I only had a mini lathe, and now with a 3520B find that hard to work the larger sections and often wished I had a 20 or 24" bar. So far the 14" has worked preparing for the 20"D of the Powermatic.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a nice looking first bowl. Congrats on a nice wood haul.

[Mark Hubl]

Looks like a pretty fine first bowl. However you need to getterdun is what you have to do! Nice score on the wood.