First NE attempt.

[Lee Koepke]

Its small, about 4" diameter x 2" tall. Cherry is the wood from a small tree my friend cut from his house.

Its only my third bowl all together, but I keep trying things to see what likes me. The small size was not too tough, but all I have is a 1/2" bowl gouge to work with, I see a smaller one might come in handy. Same with the scraper, a smaller one would also help.

Let me know what ya'll think!

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[John Keeton]

Lee, you are pushing the limits of a 1/2" bowl gouge, for sure, but you did a very clean job!! Nice work! I think bowls like you.;)

[David E Keller]

Much better than my third bowl. That's a tough shape especially at the transition from sides to bottom. Nice job.

[Thomas Canfield]

Lee,

It looks like you did well on the bark edge and your 3rd bowl. Congratulations - I've knocked a lot off. The sides seem pretty straight to try to get by with only one bowl gouge, since a 2nd with a flatter grind (about 60 degree or more) works better for a flat bottom or deep bowl. Shallow or sloping side bowls are much easier when starting out to learn riding the bevel.

[Bernie Weishapl]

You did well Lee. Those shapes are hard to do especially on the transition and with a 1/2" bowl gouge. Looks really nice.

[Baxter Smith]

Good job on the NE. Adding those to your repertoire opens up another world of possibilities when you are deciding on what to do with a piece of wood.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Lee - Congrats on your first natural edge bowl! Looks pretty good for your 3rd overall bowl!

Personally - I think your 1/2" bowl gouge worked just fine on this. It's easy to start thinking about getting new tools that will make your turnings easier - we all fall into that trap - but the real key is to learn to use the tools you have. If you haven't already - get with your local turning club and have some experienced turners show you how you can get the most out of your gouge.

Have fun! Looking forward to seeing your next turning!

[Lee Koepke]

Thanks everyone!

Steve, my local turning club meets the 18th. I went to a couple of meetings at the end of last year and plan on becoming a dues payin member this month! Great group of guys and they already surrounded me with offers to visit their shop and ask questions.

I dont have a Vari-Grind yet, so the grind on my gouge is still 'factory'. I have used one with the wings ground back and kinda like how that felt. I just took the cuts slow and thought about how my tool was going to work.

[bob svoboda]

Looks good Lee. You handled the side/bottom transition very well.