More bowls, more embellishment

[Thom Sturgill]

I went to a japanese restaurant and was reminded of the beauty of classic Japanese lacquer bowls, so I decided to turn some. The red and black were created by adding pigment to brushing lacquer and applying many coats. In addition, the red bowls are dyed bubinga. First dyed black and then sanded back and re-dyed red. Unfortunately the large red bowl has an appointment with my bandsaw. When I put it on the vacuum chuck it cracked, so I have an opportunity to analyse my turning. The other bowl is ambrosia maple. The two larger bowls are 5 1/2" by 2 5/8", while the smaller is 4 3/4" by 1 3/8". It was originally intended as a lid, but lost part of the rim and got turned too small to fit, but is salvageable as a stand-alone.

C & C are welcome, of course.

[Thom Sturgill]

The first is an 8" cherry bowl a little over 2" tall. The finish is lacquer (there is anything else?) satinized on the inside, polished and buffed on the outside. Small but defined foot. The grooves on the top are not true beads, but simply grooves that have been added and burned. The area below the bottom groove was turned away to make the grooved area raised, and provides a nice gripping surface despite the shiny finish. It has popcorn writ all over it.

The larger diameter bowl is nearly 10" diameter, but only 1 1/2" tall. It is also bubinga, so compare the coloration to the dyed bowl. This will find service as a bread or fruit bowl.

[Jim Burr]

I'd put my popcorn in any of your bowls any day Thom!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thom you have been busy. Those all are really great looking bowls. I do like the red. All are well done.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice work on your classic Japanese lacquer bowls! Especially the smaller red version! It looks exactly as one would expect if sitting in the restaurant!

Agree with Bernie - you sure have been busy! Nice work on everything!

[John Keeton]

Very nice work, Thom!! I, too, like the smaller red bowl, and the Ambrosia maple really looks classy with the black interior.

[bob svoboda]

All very nice, Thom. I am especially drawn to the bubinga pieces.

[Roger Chandler]

Pretty stuff, Thom!

[Dick Strauss]

Thom,
I think your turnings are really nice.

I suspect the heavy feet on the two red dyed pieces will make cracks much more likely.

[Baxter Smith]

It is nice to compare. The maple and black interior is my favorite!

[Thom Sturgill]

Thom,
I think your turnings are really nice.

I suspect the heavy feet on the two red dyed pieces will the make cracks much more likely.

The large bowl cracked because of a small overlooked crack (1/8") at the rim, which I had debated turning off, but thought the CA would protect. When I put it on the vacuum chuck, the chuck slipped inside the bowl instead of setting against the rim. The pressure split the bowl. the foot is normal size for the bowl I was emulating, and is quite thin on the smaller bowl. The larger never got the bottom addressed.

[Bruce Pratt]

Very nice work. What kind of dyes did you use with the lacquer?
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Bruce Pratt

[Thom Sturgill]

Very nice work. What kind of dyes did you use with the lacquer?
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Bruce Pratt
Bruce, thanks for the complement. The red bowls were dyed with RIT liquid black and red fabric dyes. The black inside finish was Behlen Master Furniture powder mixed with brushing lacquer and thinner. Many coats until my mixture thickened. The red interior was red colorant from Sherman Williams that they use for mixing house paint. While liquid, its in a neutral base that will mix with just about anything. They were kind enough to give me a couple of ounces. It was also mixed with brushing lacquer and applied in many light coats. Unfortunately it appears to have picked up some of the black dye from the original undercoat. Next Miso bowl, I will finish the inside BEFORE I apply dyes to the outside.

[David Reed]

Very nice work. When do you plan to post your favorite Japanese soup recipes?

[Marc Himes]

These are all really nice bowls. I have only used spray on lacquer with limited success. Would you please tell us more about your technique for brush on lacquer. (Thinned or not, how long between coats, any sanding between coats, any buffing after, how well does it hold up to food use?)

Marc Himes

[Thom Sturgill]

These are all really nice bowls. I have only used spray on lacquer with limited success. Would you please tell us more about your technique for brush on lacquer. (Thinned or not, how long between coats, any sanding between coats, any buffing after, how well does it hold up to food use?)

Marc Himes

Marc, I use a thinned (3-4 parts thinner to 1 part lacquer) brush on lacquer as a sanding sealer. Normally I sand to 320 first then apply sealer until it does not take any more. re-sand 220 or 320 to 600 or 800 with every thing above 320 being wet sanded with mineral spirits as a lubricant. MS does not leave a residue and lacquer is very sensitive to silicon - it causes fish eye. In the case of the colored bowls I added the colorant to my mix and brushed on 10-12 coats with the mix thickening as I used it from an open container. I brushed each coat from a different direction to even out the coats even though the lacquer 'burn in' helped. I only sanded enough to smooth out brush strokes before applying a clear coat of RCL.

I then spray several coats of rattle can lacquer (DEFT) and sand every third coat or so if needed to fill or reduce orange peel. eventually I polish using the abrasive cloths to 12000 still using MS to lube, After the bowl has a week to cure, I Beall buff lightly,

Lacquer-ware has been used for centuries in asia, and I have seen bowls that have been in continual use for decades. Miso (or rice) bowls are typically plastic that is coated in lacquer rather than wood these days.

[Marc Himes]

Thanks for the excellent description Tom. I have seen other turners use the sanding sealer step with good results.

Marc Himes

[Rob Cunningham]

Very nice work on all the bowls. I think the red one is my favorite.