Latest Turnings

[Nick Fournier]

I was finally able to get back in the shop and spend a little quality time this morning. So, I finished two projects I had been working on.

The first was a small willow burl natural edge bowl. This was my first time turning a burl and it was more of a challenge than I expected. The second piece was a purpleheart bowl that I plan on giving to my mom. She loves purpleheart. I however am less of a fan. I've now done two pieces of purpleheart, one pen, and both have developed a crack.

I guess I'm just getting it too hot while sanding. Additionally, this wood was incredibly difficult to cut and I kept getting catches.

I'm still working on better finishing, but the purpleheart bowl is better than most of what I've done. The willow is rattle can lacquer and the purpleheart is spray on spar urethane.

What do you guys think?

[David E Keller]

Good job on both. I like the form on the purpleheart piece, and the color is great. I like the irregular edge on the willow piece, too.

[Josh Bowman]

Nick, great job. I really like purple heart, it's such and unusal wood. The willow burl looks neat.

[craig lorence]

They both look really nice. Great job on them

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice work Nick! Your Mom is going to love that bowl!

[Baxter Smith]

Nice job. I like that natural edge and I don't think I have seen a purpleheart bowl before.:)

[John Keeton]

Nick, some very nice work! On that spray poly, "spar" poly normally does not get as hard a surface as it is formulated to remain flexible for outdoor use because of temperature changes, etc. It may do fine, but also may have a tendency to stay a little soft. Just a thought.

[Nick Fournier]

Thanks for all the comments guys. The purpleheart bowl was definitely a challenge as the wood seemed really brittle. I had to take extremely light cuts.

John, the Spar Urethane was purchased on a whim when I was in Home Depot. A quick google search on it suggested it did a better job blocking UV than polyurethane and discolored less. The finish has been on the bowl for less than 24 hours at this point and it seems to be curing okay, so we'll see. Thanks for the information though.

[James Roberts]

Couple of nice looking bowls there, Nick. Your Mom should enjoy the purpleheart and that willow NE is nice, too