Oops, a lampshade

[Tom Hamilton]

Greetings fellow turners and mistake fixers:

So, I'm merrily turning the tenon off a piece of mesquite that I got from "somewhere in Texas"

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and just as I was thinking "I better check the thickness" the bottom fell out...literally.

Obviously unhappy I surveyed the damage and decided the fairly even 2 inch void might accept a plug. I had a piece of the mesquite left over from when I cut the blank. The scrap was curved on one side and formed a right angle on the other. Well, I wonder if I can get a flat piece out of that to make the plug.

The band-saw produced a flat piece and I turned it round, testing the fit regularly. Digital dividers said I was almost there so I eased apiece of sand paper against the edge and oops, too much. The darn plug is loose.

Rats, by now I'm in so deep why quit. I enlarged the hole just a little and filled the ring with crushed turquoise.

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At this point, of course, it was always my plan to have a turquoise ring in the bottom of Robert's mesquite blank!

So, as Winston Churchill said, "never give up!"

Best regards, Tom, in Douglasville, headed back to the shop to make more lemonade.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nice form, gorgeous wood and great recovery Tom!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice save! Really good job on aligning the grain on the plug! The turquoise really adds to the overall color! I think this turned out really nice! Thanks for sharing!

[Tom Sherman]

Nice save, the mesquite and turquoise go well together.

[Greg Just]

Nice save! I like that design feature on the bottom of the bowl! :D

[Richard Madden]

I like the turquoise ring. Good idea and a great save.

[Tony De Masi]

Nice save Tom on some really great looking wood. Robert has sent out some nice pieces over the years.

Have you gotten to that cherry yet?

Tony

[Gary Herrmann]

Good save, Tom.

I just did something similar to a nice piece of quilted maple, except I was thinking about the inside curve a little too much and got down to a nickel sized hole that shows the red oak glue block I used.

Ugh.

Have an idea for a solution. We'll see how it turns out.

[Robert McGowen]

Now I feel bad. I don't remember a hole in the bottom of the blank when I sent it, but I guess you never can tell........ :D:D:D:D:D:D

Nice save! It sure looks like an "I meant to do that" ring of turquoise though.

[David DeCristoforo]

Come on Tom... admit it. You wanted that turquoise ring in the bottom of that bowl.

[John Keeton]

Actually, when I view that bowl, I see a turquoise ring, with a mequite bowl turned to fit it!! And, believe me, that takes so much more skill than the opposite!:D;)

Looks good to me, and provides a nice area for a signature on the bottom, too.

[Steve Mawson]

To me it actually looks better than if you had not had the problem. The ring really sets it off.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

What? The turquoise ring was not in the plan? Looks pretty darn good to me. I couldn't have planned that any better.

[James Combs]

Nice looking bowl Tom. I subscribe to the same MO. I never have mistakes just unplanned special features.:rolleyes: