My First Bowl... Spalted Sycamore

[Rick Markham]

Hey y'all finals ended (I got a 4.0 this semester!) So I have been busy turning, sorry I haven't posted this sooner but I was "under the gun" for producing Christmas presents for the family etc. Plus I thought that posting a "collection" of my first turnings might be an interesting look at the progression of my work so far.

Anywho, this is my first bowl, Spalted sycamore, the finish is Shelac... Comments and criticisms welcome and wanted. Thanks for all your help so far gang... you were my ONLY resource for this. I'm darn proud of this for my first. :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/011-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/012-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/013-2.jpg

[John Keeton]

Well, first and foremost - congrats on the 4.0!!!!!! That is the real story here!

Very nice work on your first bowl, Rick. Nice outside curve. On the inside, looks like the transition area gave you a challenge, but overall some good work. You might consider sanding out the shellac and adding a few coats of WOP. I think it would really bring this one alive.

It has been fun watching your enthusiasm, and you picked a nice piece of wood to start with, too.

Congrats!!!

[Carol Kinney]

Yes Rick Congrats on the 4.0 - keep up the good work!

Very nice first bowl, I love the spalted sycamore wood and the shape you chose is fantastic - love it!

[Rick Markham]

Thanks! Hard work always pays off!

John, yes the transition gave me a ton of trouble, it is still something I am focusing on. Actually this whole bowl gave me a world of trouble, catches, broken tenon, etc. It was a lesson in saving something. LOL

I'm going to give it a good buffing and see what I think, I might just sand off the shelac and give the WOP a try, it was a real toss up for me, I took a chance on the shelac! I actually have another piece of this sycamore, I might revisit it soon and give the Poly a go, it might be an interesting comparison.

[Ken Glass]

Rick,
That could be your first or twenty first. Well done. Spalted Woods are always interesting and this one is no exception. Classic style and the finish looks great.

[Ken Hill]

Well done, on #1 and the 4.0!

[John Keeton]

I might just sand off the shelac and give the WOP a try...Rick, I wasn't suggesting completely removing the shellac, just to sand it back a little with 320, and then 400 to leave it as a sealer and base for the WOP. But, if you want to remove it, just use DNA and it will lift the shellac and remove it.

Personally, I like shellac. It makes a great sealer coat (or, with a few coats, a nice finish) and it imparts a nice amber color to warm up a piece. My guess is that WOP alone will give a darker finish than if applied over a shellac base.

[Fred Belknap]

Rick: As an old fart it does my heart good to see a young man with your maturity. Hard work pays off in everything you do. The bowl is fine and the wood is great, thumbs up to yea.:D

[Rick Markham]

Thanks Fred, I appreciate that!

John, OK, I got ya! Sounds like a good plan, I might just have to give that a shot!

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey Rick,
Congrats on the 4.0. I bet that feels great!
I just finished up an EMT class as part of my fire dept training. We had to take the national registry test for EMT and I passed last week. It was a great feeling and a huge relief!

The bowl looks great (especially for #1). Be sure you hang on to it!

[Prashun Patel]

Nice work! I like the form. It's been fun following you.
Anyway my (VERY HUMBLE) advice as a fellow newbie is to make your next bowl shallow. A lot of first bowls (mine included) tend to be small and have high sides. This makes the transition to the bottom difficult. Starting with shallower and larger bowls makes it easier to develop one's feel for the continuous sweep from the rim to the center.

Good luck. I wish I had discovered this world as young as you have.

What's your major?

More unsolicited counsel: Find a chainsaw and some logs. Turning green wood is cheap, and easier in many ways than working dry.

[Rick Markham]

Thanks Prashun, Yes, it has helped me to do some shallower bowls, it's something I am consciously working on in every bowl at this point. I am working towards a mechanical engineering degree, I got tired of being a professional chef, the economy is lousy, so it's a great time to go back to school and learn something new.

Doug Congrats on passing the EMT class, I have several friends who are Firefighter/EMTs so I am well aware of what a challenge the National Registry test is! Good for you, it feels great to get that out of the way I am sure.

[Roger Chandler]

You should be proud of this as your first Rick...................it is better than 85% of the firsts of the rest of us! That being said.........you did have some good mentors here on the creek............a lot of us only found this forum after we had made tons of mistakes, and went at learning this skill with the trial and error method.............mostly error of course!:eek:

Nice spalted wood there, it has a lot of character to it.

[Rick Markham]

Oh without a doubt Roger, this would not have been possible without the help of every turner on this forum. It's only through everyone's willingness to share their artistic endeavors that this bowl (and many others) didn't end up being kindling for a bon-fire. I even had to dig through the shop vac of shavings to find the piece of the tenon that broke off. Lesson learned on making sure the front of the chuck seats flush, good thing I wasn't any good at hollowing thin walls when it bounced off the wall and hit the floor... It was an enjoyably frustrating first. My learning curve has definitely been minimized by y'all's mentoring, and I thank every single one of you for it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Rick congrats first on your studies and 4.0. Hard work does pay and 11 yrs ago at 53 I finally got my degree. The bowl look great and hopefully lessons learn will help on your turning experiences down the road.

[Rick Markham]

Thank you Bernie! It's never too late to learn, I love going back to school, I think life experience has helped me out tremendously. This will be my second degree, and I am hoping I am done with it by the time I'm 53 hehe, we will see ;)

[Michael James]

Having finished one degree and picking up another in my 40's, I know the sacriifices that are made; congratulations. And that discipline goes with you everywhere - you earned it.

That is a great 1st, and yes, that transition inside will get your attention everytime, so expect it and maybe soften that angle on a few for now.
Shellac is wonderful. Over - under - more - less- I love just opening the can...I love the smell. I use it on almost everything. Shellac likes me.... shellac likes other finsishes. Shellac wants to be your friend too! :)
Michael

[Ron Stadler]

congrats on both accomplishments, and I am envious of your handwriting skills, mine keep getting worse with age and look rather sloppy on my bowls.:eek:

[Mark Hubl]

Congrats on the grade! Well done. The first bowl looks great. I am a sucker for spalted wood. Can be difficult to cut and finish, so you did pretty well. I'd say your first one is a keeper.

[Jon Prouty]

Congrats on the 4.0 and the first bowl. Looks great. I earned my BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Univeristy of Arizona in 2002 and never had a semester of a 4.0 (not even close). Good luck with your studies and make sure you put school first before the lathe. Come to the lathe for stress relief...

Jon

[Rob Cunningham]

Congrats on the 4.0, that's quite an accomplishment. Keep up the hard work.
Very nice 1st bowl. I love the spalted sycamore.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow! Congrats on your 4.0! That is quite the accomplishment!

Very pretty bowl! Great spalting, pleasing form and I see you already have it signed properly! Nothing left to do but display it and start turning more!

Nice work!