My second bowl

[Mike Cruz]

Well, after my fist bowl, a mahogany sushi bowl :D that I turned at a Woodcraft bowl class, everyone said they were looking forward to seeing more. So, here it is...my second bowl. The wood is unknown. It was a small tree at my last house that died. I noticed the base of the tree had a cool burl to it, so I cut it off and saved it...that was about 10 years ago. When Tony was over cuttin' up wood over at my place a couple weeks ago, we decided to try out my lathe (so this makes this bowl my virgin "on my lathe new to me" bowl). It was the only dry blank I had handy, so I threw it in. He helped me get started on it. Set it up between centers, create the tenon, and started rounding over the bottom. He had to leave, so the rest was up to me.

Now, I have to say, I didn't really finish this bowl. Because of the voids and unstable tenon, it flew off the soft jaws twice, so I decided to call it quits. I ended up carving out the base instead of turning it. I wanted to shape the bottom curve a little more, but didn't want to take a chance of the whole thing exploding if it came off again. It cracked in one spot on the second flight. A little glue and it was fine.

Dimensions are 5 1/2" across the top. 2 1/2" tall. Foot is 2 1/2" across.

The first three pics are just rotating it. I just realized that the first and third are about the same... The fourth shows more of a profile.

Comments and critiques are certainly welcome.

[Mike Cruz]

Here are a couple more pics. The first is looking straight down into the bowl. The second and third are of the base. I have to admit that I stole the carving idea from my old boss, but it was more out of necessity than trying to emulate...

[James Combs]

Nice character to the bowl and I love the finish. What did you use as a finish?

Are the walls fairly thick? I would think so if it was wanting to fly apart, I can certainly see why it was unstable but that is what gives it character.

[bob svoboda]

Mike, way to handle a tough assignment. What gorgeous wood! Carving the bottom was a very creative thought and a great save. Can't wait to see your subsequent turnings.

[David E Keller]

That's a great #2 bowl! The wood looks a bit like olive or russian olive burl... It's really pretty. I love the voids and bark inclusions. I agree with your original plan to give the base a little more curve, but I think you were probably smart to quit after the second launch. This is a pretty challenging piece of wood for a second bowl, but you've done a nice job with it.

[Mike Cruz]

James, don't laugh, but good ole poly... 4 coats sanded to 400 between coats. Had a drip (from one of the voids) on the second coat and had to sand that all the way back down. Other than that, it went pretty smoothly. EXCEPT for the first coat...I almost forgot. I put the first coat on, and set it outside to get some nice fresh air and to not get dust from the rest of wwing I was doing. Played around in the shop for about a half an hour and went outside to look at it. IT RAINED AND DIDN'T KNOW IT!!!!!! Just a little drizzle, but enough to leave water drop marks all over it. Had to sand all of those out, too. Anyway, poly finish. Yeah, it'll take about 3 weeks to not have that new poly smell, but it is durable...

Bob, yeah, it was probalbly a little much for my second bowl. The gouge was catching right and left. A little because of my stupidity, and a little because of the voids and charicter or the wood.

Dave, it would be nice to find out what the wood is. It was hard as heck, and super dry, too. I was a little surprised to see the bowl not turn out a little more purple. The original blank (and while I was turning it) seemed to have more purple.

Thanks for the compliments!

[John Keeton]

Mike, way to hang in there!! That wood has everything going on - a little burl, voids, inclusions, knots!! Nice work, and great finish.

[Tony De Masi]

Nice bowl and a real good save Mike. I know how tough that sucker was to turn. Tough to ride the bevel on that piece for sure. Poly finish looks pretty nice too. Good job.

[Josh Bowman]

Mike, congratulations on your second bowl. It looks great! I like the wood.

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Tony. Yeah, it posed its challenges for me. Some/most of you probably would have breezed through it. :o But, I'm at the beginning of the learning curve here.

[Mark Hubl]

Mike, Not bad for a second bowl. Challenging piece of wood for sure.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice bowl Mike. Really nice save and finish.

[Baxter Smith]

That is a tough piece of wood to learn on for sure. You did a good job of surviving to the end!:) Pick a normal piece of wood for your third and see how much easier it can be!

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, everyone. The bottom line is two fold. I am happy with it. I know that it was a big bite to chew off for my second bowl. I ended up with a bowl, not splinters. AND my wife absolutely loves it. She can't stop commenting on it. What's not to be happy about...