Finally back making in the studio!

[Richard Kennedy UK]

I love the work of Bill Luce and every now and then attempt to make something akin to his round bottomed forms. Having finally got back into the studio I am trying to remember what to do and this is a lovely kind of thing to practice cutting a curve inside and out although the inside of this one caused me some issues Still its early days I just need to get back into the saddle and fill the studio with woody shavings.

There is something so tactile and pickupable about this shape and I also like the way a footless bowl moves either when you push them or when you just walk past. I left the base of this one slightly thicker to give it a balance or poise! Kind of like a weeble!
(does anyone remember "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down"?)

Made from Sycamore and about 110mm x 90mm Waxed using the beal system its a glossy wobbler!

C&C welcome or just feel free to take a peek!

186958

[John Keeton]

Richard, that is one very nice bowl!! Wonderful form and finish, and from here - it does look "pickupable!!" (My word for the week!)

BTW, I assume it is you that writes for Woodturning magazine over on that side of the pond - nice article on the Kutzall cutters!

[Ron Stadler]

Very nice form Richard, looks so clean looking, bet its a joy to hold.:)

[Nate Davey]

Beautiful work Richard. Amazing how such a simple form can be so hard to make. Bet it feels wonderful in the hands.

[Jon Nuckles]

Lovely form and finish, Richard. Just mentioning a weeble puts the jingle from the commercial in my head.

[Curt Fuller]

Richard, that is a beautiful bowl and "tactile" describes it very well.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice shape and finish with a warm color to it. Just wants to be held.

[Roger Chandler]

That is just a great bowl, Richard. You have a superb finish on it, and this one is a stand out!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a great looking bowl. Nice form and finish.

[Dan Forman]

Simply elegant!

Dan

[Dick Wilson]

Hi Richard, Glad to see you are back in the studio. I trust you are on the mend from your accident. To my suprise, you turn other than super thin, intricate pierced work:D. This a great start getting back to the lathe. Thin walls, very light, beautiful form, truly a beautiful bowl.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Deep bowls make for a difficult transition between side and bottom on the inside. I would like to know if you use fingernail grind all the way or if you switch to a different grind to do the transition and end grain. I love doing tall bowls when the diameter decreases slightly from bottom to top but I fight the transition. Beautiful shape.
faust

[Steve Schlumpf]

Richard - hope this means you are feeling better!

About the only thing wrong - that I can see - with your bowl is that the photo is too small! We are allowed up to a 1024 pixel size as long as the file size is no larger than 107 KB.

Seriously - very nice work! Looking forward to seeing more real soon!

[John Beaver]

Richard,
I too am a fan of Bill Luce and I've tried to emulate his form in a lot of my work.

A little C&C. If you were to compare your bowl to Bill's you will see that his curve is even more concave (especially towards the rim) making the whole bowl more round. It also feels like your belt line is at the mid point, where I think you can lift it towards the top third. I think the bottom half of your bowl is spot on, but to me the top half kind of flattens out. I'd love to see the top tucked in even more. It's not the easiest form to master, (especially turning the inside) and your bowl is certainly beautiful and elegant the way it is.

They are wonderful to hold in your hands, aren't they?

[Dan Carroll]

You might want to look at hawaiin calabsh bowl forms. Thew round bottom on yours with a slightly narrower top edge than the widest point at the side really looks a great deal like the style. I believe it was adopted to wood turining form older, stone forms. As I recall, the form was reserved for chiefs/ royal use. Just a thought. In any case, I like the form and fininsh of yours. You have a winner there.

[David DeCristoforo]

This is a beautiful bowl. Maybe it could be more this or that or whatever but it's elegant in it's understatement and the simplicity of the grain complements to form perfectly.

[Mark Hubl]

Lovely form and finish. It does look like it wants to be held.

[Darren Jamieson]

There is nothing that hasn't already been said, great peice!!!

[Richard Kennedy UK]

Thanks everyone for your comments I was inspired by Bill Luce's work but have come across the term calabash before but as the initial source for me was Mr Luce he gets the credit! I am grateful for all your input and will be making more of these in the future I will have to do a bit more research into this shape as there is as ever a more interesting history to them!!!

[Richard Kennedy UK]

John I hold my hands up! Yes that's me! every now and then I get the opportunity to try something out its great fun to do and keeps me up to date with what's new and interesting! Just need Mark to let me test machinery! a bandsaw would be nice

[Richard Kennedy UK]

Dick I will have a go at all kinds I guess. My focus is the line of a piece I like to make things that are minimalist so no beads or coves, usually! The pierced pieces are fun to make but take so long its nice to do other bits and bobs as a break! I am investigating hollow forms at the moment something I have done very few of in the past. I will have to get back to piercing in the near future but for now I am enjoying just creating and experimenting!

[Richard Kennedy UK]

I used a combination of different angles and grinds, fingernail and standard (with the wings ground back just a touch) its ages since I made the last one and had problems on the transition so ended up using hollowing tools too! I guess I will use whatever I need to get the job done

[Roland Martin]

I hope I'm correct in assuming your injury is healing well, since you're back on the lathe. You've inspired me to give this form a try, it's a very pleasing form and does look very touchable. Great work and thanks for posting. Hope the healing process is pleasantly quick.

[Allan Ferguson]

Clean and beautiful bowl. Very nice wood. Getting the inside cut and that thin would be hard on the nervous system.. I have been working a maple bowl. Started out with similar lines, but then rounded the upper portion more to try and lessen some defects. Working the inside with my tools has been a terror, Off the lath once and wall thickness 3/8" +. Do not know if I have the courage to try thinning it out more. Really like yours. Allan