First Walnut bowl

[Keith E Byrd]

Here is my first walnut bowl. 8 1/2 X 3 1/2. No finish yet - will finish sanding and start that tonight - planning to use General's Salad bowl finish unless I hear better advice before tonight. Turned very green, DNA soak for 24 hours and dried for 3 weeks. Still learning - had to do final cut with my 80 grit gouge! (Excuse the photography!)
Comments and critque are welcome.

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199086

[John Keeton]

Nice work, Keith - good center placement. Hope the pith doesn't cause you problems. On the next one, you might want to try turning it more shallow to get rid of the pith and see how you like it.

[Jim Burr]

Nice shape Keith...I like the radius on the inside rim. Think you have a keeper here!

[Tim Rinehart]

My first walnut bowl was disasterous catch after catch...ended up being a small platter in the end. Nice work. As said, forego keeping extra deep bowls if it means keeping any of the pith or surrounding wood (up to 1" away in my opinion). It's just not worth it for the amount of times a green piece will crack on you if you keep that pith.

[David DeCristoforo]

Very nice! Like Tim, I totally hosed my first walnut bowl. But I didn't even end up with a "small platter". Just a bunch of shards. You done good!

[Roger Chandler]

Tim,

Nice bowl, I like the contrast between sap wood and heart wood. John is correct about the pith........you may have some issues of radial cracking in the future..........you could stabilize with CA glue, and hope. Do this and let it dry, resand, then put your finish on...........you may get lucky.

[Keith E Byrd]

Tim,(Keith!)

Nice bowl, I like the contrast between sap wood and heart wood. John is correct about the pith........you may have some issues of radial cracking in the future..........you could stabilize with CA glue, and hope. Do this and let it dry, resand, then put your finish on...........you may get lucky.

Roger - I hope I am past the pith problem. It was DNA soaked and has dried for 3 weeks plus and no signs yet. As a general rule how far below the center of the pith is recommended? Keith

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Tim,
Great job balancing the sap wood and heart wood. Walnut, like most dark woods can be a bugger to sand. You don't see scratches until you apply the finish. I often wipe dark wood with mineral spirits before finishing to check for scratches. Personally, I don't like Salad Bowl Finish but you should try it for yourself. Lots of folks do like it.
faust

[Jamie Donaldson]

Keith- as a general rule, about 1/4" below the pith on a rim is good for most woods.

[Keith E Byrd]

Keith- as a general rule, about 1/4" below the pith on a rim is good for most woods.

Thanks for that info - will ensure that as I move forward

[David E Keller]

It looks good to me, Keith. You did a great job balancing the sapwood/heartwood!

[Prashun Patel]

Really nice; looks way better than my first (or my 30th - argggh!)

Really great finish for not having even begun major sanding yet.

[Rick Markham]

Nice lookin bowl Keith! My first walnut bowl turned into a platter and now lives at a friends house (a wedding present) They have it on their wall, I still don't like it, but they do and that's what matters. Great job! Now go turn some more!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a great looking bowl Keith. I agree with Jamie and most times I go at least 1/4" below the pith without any problems. I have had the pith crack on a couple even after 6 weeks or so. I don't like salad bowl finish and use mahoney's walnut oil.