White Oak Natural Edge

[Ken Hill]

Well, I hope I am making progress around here:D

I want to thank everyone for every tip, suggestion and comment they have ever posted, because I think i have read them all!

This is a NE I finished tonight. It's final dimensions are 7.5 x 6.5 x 3/16

Finish is Minwax Antique oil, 2 coats so far, I havent decided if I want o add a few more:D

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Bowls-and-Wood-Turning/CMR3159/1110585221_tzP8b-L.jpg

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Bowls-and-Wood-Turning/CMR3161/1110590923_n7S9D-L.jpg

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Bowls-and-Wood-Turning/CMR3167/1110595298_DRJpt-L.jpg

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Bowls-and-Wood-Turning/CMR3172/1110598971_UyKJb-L.jpg

[Mark Hubl]

Very nice Ken. Looks good. Aren't natural edge bowls fun. I really like these pieces.

[Michael James]

Nice! I have a couple of attempts in the fireplace making our kindling probably the most artistic on the block! Good job and that finish looks great. Keep em coming, you seem to be on a roll.

[David E Keller]

I think it's beautiful. The bark edge is great, and I like the form.

It looks more like maple to me than oak, but whatever it is, it's pretty.

[Ken Hill]

David, its lacking in anything exciting for sure, grain wise. It isnt a crotch piece but is deffinatley white oak. I sure wish it was maple, it would have been alot easier to sand:D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Looks like you are getting the process down quite well! Good looking bowl!

[Ken Hill]

Thanks Steve. My wife commented that if she had one, she wanted it to sit flat. I figured I would screw this up and if salvagable she would get it for her shelf. It turned out fairly well and I wish I had maybe done something a bit different with the bottom but it was more a learning expierence then anything else. More are drying:D

[Richard Madden]

Good job, Ken. Your back must be feeling better, I hope.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is really nice Ken. Looks like you are feeling better.

[Ken Hill]

Thanks Richard and bernie..a little yes thankfully. I find myself starting to walk somewhere like normal then it hits me and im clutching the wall or whatever im next to. I know I should be in bed but I just cant sit still. The kids took a stool out by my lathe this morning so I could stay off my feet as much as possible. They took the screen out of the kitchen window incase a nice buck came to feed in the food plot behind the house....and the wife made me some food and put it on the highest shelf in the fridge so life is good haha!

I was spent by 8pm, and shutting down the shop when my oldest son came in and decided he wanted to turn some game calls so I stayed out there with him. I never walk away from the kids when they want to learn something! He made two, a Curly Maple and Red Oak, both predator calls. The oak will be finished tomorrow evening and I will post some pictures.

[brian watts]

very nice..glad your feeling better..

[John Keeton]

Very nice, Ken, and I agree - it is some of the clearest white oak I have seen - does look like maple - a lot!

[Roland Martin]

Very well done, Ken. I haven't used antique oil yet, but won't be long before I do, I love the finish on the maple/oak:D. Glad to hear you're healing.

[dan carter]

Nice looking bowl. Hard to imagine it will look better when you buff it with your new buffing wheels, but it will feel better after buffing. It seems to me that buffing takes off the harshness of the finish, makes it warmer. For sure your wood looks very similar to maple. Good job.

[Ken Hill]

I could have mislabled it, but I am almost positive it came off the same tree I have other NE's cut from, except this piece was from the bell of the tree. I have maple cut and rough turned but no NE, all plain bowls.

Can we settle on Moak LOL!

Further up the tree is where I cut the other blanks, and they contained more heartwood.

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Calls/CMR3077/1106171258_Sd68T-L.jpg

[John Keeton]

For certain, that one is OAK!!

[Ken Hill]

The piece even had that heavy bark line that was a real pain to sand out...you can see it defined in the 2nd picture and it was very yellow as well.

Im not above being wrong, lord knows I have enough wood laying around here to keep a woodchuck busy for a lifetime:D I remember cutting that piece out just knowing I was going to destroy it...my luck it turned out nice and has zero figure:o

[Gene Hintze]

That is the smoothest piece of oak I have ever seen. You must have gone through some sandpaper on that baby. Very nice.

[Ken Hill]

I sure did Gene. I had issues with dark areas in the interior curve and kept sanding and sanding and sanding, even wet sanded with oil in an attempt to get rid of the areas I did not like. I also got in some new Klingspor sandpaper and used it as well......Vinces stuff is on the way I hope:D

I also for the first time tried out my Sorby Sandmaster.....eh....worked great on the outside but not so good on the inside.

[Tony De Masi]

Real nice job on this one Ken. That Antique Oil gives it a nice sheen too. Love that stuff. On to the next one and keep them coming.

[Tim Rinehart]

That's a gorgeous piece, beautiful with the contrast of brown bark to the whiteness of the wood. Great finish to really make the contrast stand out.
Agreed that NE pieces are fun.

If you haven't tried yet, just take a piece of wood from a branch or small trunk where a crotch is, and turn like you would these pieces to keep a NE. I don't even bother to cut the piece in half, just put it between centers and turn a tenon on one side, either above or below the pith (depending on desire to deal with pith in final form), complete the outside shape, and then turn around and finish the inside. Makes for interesting shapes, especially from the gnarly forks.

[Prashun Patel]

I coulda sworn this was maple too. I've been turning a 'lot' of sugar maple recently and it looks just like that. I believe if it were oak, you'd see the grain, the radial lines, and the natural color would be darker. But I'm not 'cusin nobody of no mislablin'... Nice finish. I particularly like how to rim has parts of the bark in tact.

[Rob Cunningham]

That's a nice bowl Ken. Great finish and photography. Glad to see your back is feeling better.

[Ken Hill]

Thanks again guys, I hope to keep improving!

Tim, I think i understand what you are saying and I will surely give it a try!

Back is still bad, I wanted to be turning calls this morning but decided to take it easy...but then had to head out to get some images for channel 9 news in Washington DC. If any metro folks are on here, check out the noon news!

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice NE Ken! The bark looks good. If you are up for a challenge:)try the hickory. The piece of hickory you picked up and gave me(the entire middle was brown because it was getting punky) had some great bark layers. It was very brittle and I chipped off a few pieces from the top layer but it would look neat if you could get it to hold together.

[Kelvin Burton]

Ken, that is truly beautiful! Even my wife agrees, I showed her the pics last night. I have never seen a NE bowl with this much bark, how much CA glue did you use?

[Fred Belknap]

Ken that is a nice NE, beautiful finish, but I have my doubts about it being white oak. I like it what ever it is.:D

[Ken Hill]

Baxter, I have a few hickory drying:D That is some dense wood!

Kelvin, I did not CA anything ahead of time and I think thats why I had such issues with the one layer under the bark, it would not sand clean. I finally CA'd it because I was afraid I would loose bark and then it sanded better.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Ken,
Good to see you working. I always hoped one of my children would have found the same joy in a wood shop as I have. My son is 36. When he was a kid he used to say he would rather pull out his fingernails than build furniture. You can believe no matter how tired or hurt I felt, I too would have stayed with him if he wanted.
The NE bowl is super whether it is oak of something else (maple). The finish is perfect. You seem to have good luck with "once turned" bowls. I'm impressed with the finish on green wood.
faust