Green Cherry Bowl

[Prashun Patel]

I turned this 8" bowl from a branch that fell in my partner's yard 2 years ago. Gosh, green wood is nice to turn. I got a little warp though. There were a couple of screw holes (don't ask how they got there) that I filled with epoxy and a little ebony sanding dust. Beauty marks, right??! :(

Finish is a 50/50 BLO/poly blend, rubbed in, then buffed off.

Please critique; I'm learning.

[Tim Rinehart]

I like it. Great job on nice flowing ogee shape and it appears to have a nice smooth shape on inside. Very pleasing to look and hold, I'm sure. Great job!:)

[Prashun Patel]

I'd love to hear about everyone's drying techniques for green wood.

Paper bags?
Wood shavings?
Anchorseal?

What's your favorite?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice bowl. I love the shape. I dry my bowls using anchorseal. I attended a couple of Mike Mahoney's demo's and have e-mailed him on his technique. He coats the whole bowl. I have started doing the same thing and have around 40 to 50 bowls drying now including apple, plum, cherry, maple, honey locust, elm and walnut. I have them on the floor in a cool, dry place with not much air flow. So far no cracks in any of them. We will see how this goes. I had been using the DNA method before.

[Josh Bowman]

That's not green, it's red:D
Seriously, I'm so anxious to see my turnings done that I often turn thin and even and let nature take it's course. Over the past few months, I've had none that cracked. I have been warned about finishing too wet, they will mildew, but the only ones that have done that are the spaulted ones and I think it looks cool. But most of mine that I've done this with have deformed in some way, which again I like.

[John Keeton]

That's not green, it's red:D.Maybe Prashun is red/green color blind!!:D:D

Very nice work on this one, including the rim. I see a vacuum system for doing the bottoms on your short list!!;)

[Roger Chandler]

Great form Prashun! You did good! I like the thickness of the walls and you finished off the bottom nicely as well.

I'd say you have graduated from a beginner to an intermediate turner, and for what it is worth, we are all still learning! :);)

[Jim Burr]

I think it's great! I'm a big fan of a recessed bowl feet...is that correct verbage? There is a school of thought that it makes the bottom look fat or dumpy. For utility purposes...I think works well and yours is great!! Don't forget to sign it!!!

[Prashun Patel]

I think it's great! I'm a big fan of a recessed bowl feet...is that correct verbage? There is a school of thought that it makes the bottom look fat or dumpy. For utility purposes...I think works well and yours is great!! Don't forget to sign it!!!

Thanks! I can't sign it; I already gave it to my partner. And to think, he wanted to use the log for firewood!

[David E Keller]

Nicely done. I don't see anything that I would change. I've been using the DNA and newspaper system for drying, but anchorseal works well, too.

[Tim Rinehart]

For bowls, typically rough turn to 10% of diameter in thickness, anchor seal and put away in shop for a couple months. I'll check periodically, nothing scientific for me with weighing and so on. If it looks like I see a noticeable amount of shrinkage at the tenon and diameter, then I assume it's moved most of what it's gonna move. So far that's working ok. Better way is to weigh it precisely to see taper off of moisture loss.
I've also used DNA method on smaller bowls that fit in my 5 gallon DNA bucket, and that seems to work well also, with less need for full 10% diameter allowance...though safer to stick with that.

As for finishing off your foot details...if bowls are like this, with straight rims, not natural edge...invest in a set of jumbo jaws. Very quick and secure way to hold. Vacuum will be absolutely best way to go if doing natural edge or other irregular shapes.

[Sean Hughto]

Nice shape inside and out. You've got it now. There'll be no stopping you.

About half the time, I rough turn a bowl and then coat the whole thing with anchorseal. Depending up how wet the wood was and how big/thick the bowl, after 3-6 months, I'll put it back on the lathe and turn it to final. Sometimes even these move a tad to the oval, but not much, and none at all in some. With any piece of wood, there are lots of variables from the species, to the specifics of the grain, and on and on. you do your best, and the wood does what it wants (many times for the better IMO).

The other half of the time, I'll turn green sood to a final form and double bag it in brown paper grocery bags to dry. I've had pretty good luck, but expect some ovals and wavy rims. Most folks like it - including me; only a few have seemed disappointed that a bowl wasn't perfectly round. Suit yourself.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice flowing shape inside and out Prashun. JMO but I don't care for the bottom left looking like a dovetail recess. You may eventually end up with a vacuum chuck, build a doughnut chuck, buy Cole jaws etc. but a simple jam chuck would allow you to at least taper in the DTR at a little bit of an angle which would look more finished.

I have ended up turning mostly green wood in my brief bowl experience. If not turned thin, I just put it in a paper bag and leave it on the concrete floor of my polebarn. I have also anchosealed some and stuffed others into cardboard boxes with shavings. I figured they should be dry in a year so sometime after Christmas I will start finding out.

On some apple ones I turned thin, I also bagged and put away for a month just to be safe on the drying. Apparently your cherry made out fine in your conditions. Dry winter heat might change things. Good luck on your next one!

[Jim Burr]

I like your point Baxter. There is a flat between the foot (tenon) and the curve of the bowl to the bottom. I'm still a fan of a recessed foot though!!

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the comments. I'm making a jam chuck out of some pvc. I actually made the foot flat on purpose to make it less tippy. But I definitely see what you mean, Baxter!

[Thomas Canfield]

Prashum,

In turning green wood, I prefer to use a tenon with a dimple for the center if I am going to let it dry since it will distort in drying and very difficult to put remount in a chuck using the recess, and the tenon can be trued up using a jam and live center. I am also able to use the dimple and jam with the finished bowl later to turn off the tenon (well all except a small center piece). That works on bowls even up to 19" diameter and 6" deep so far, and a variation for other hollow forms. I do not see a vacuum system in my future but do use a donut chuck at times, like yesterday, to turn off a broken foot of a otherwise finished hollow form.