A little gloat and an Oops

[Kathy Marshall]

Got a call from the tree trimmers yesterday, they were going to have some mesquite today. So I took my trailer to work this morning in anticipation of a nice load. Got out there this afternoon and managed to get it all in the truck. Left the trailer at their house since this was only the small tree and they're taking down the big tree tomorrow! Yay, should be a good haul tomorrow and may just have to pick up another load on saturday.
Got home and sealed the ends as I was unloading, had just finished with one of the bigger pieces and tossed in on the pile, and the danged thing jumped off an landed on my big toe :eek: Ouch! I can honestly say, unloading wood in sandals is not the best idea.
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From live tree to bowl in under 8 hours. Took one of the smaller logs and cut out a small bowl blank, thought I'd get a quickie in. Turned the outside then loaded it in the chuck to turn the insides. I had just started to square it up when a chunk let loose. I had seen a couple of cracks by the pith, but didn't realize they went so deep. No harm done, the lathe was only going at about 800 rpms and the chunk may have hit the tool rest first because it was a pretty light hit on the face mask. The bowl is 4 1/2" x 2" with a coat of BLO. I think I'll just use this one as a catch-all for little bits and pieces.

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Thanks for looking!
As always comments and critiques are welcome.

[Gary Max]

Nice haul------ some days turning can almost be to much fun. Toe nails grow back-----DAMHIKT

[Dan Hintz]

I don't know, Kathy... angle the edge of that missing chunk in the same way as the rest of the bowl's edge and call it a pouring bowl. :)

Out of curiosity, what do you trade with the tree guys for your wood?

[Josh Bowman]

Nice stuff. Sorry about the toe. You could make it into a kitting bowl by cutting kind of curved slot from the bottom of the vee and ending with a 1/4" hole.
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[Roger Chandler]

glad you were not injured with the flying chunk that broke off..........sorry about the toe...............nice mesquite there......Stay safe! I am glad you had your face mask on........one never knows when something will fly off.........our eyes are too precious to be careless with safety............I say this because I want everyone who reads your post to know it can happen in an instance.

[Marc Himes]

Nice haul. I have only turned a couple of pieces of mesquite but I really like it. The nittiing bowl is a nice idea. My wife knits and wants me to make one for her.
+ 1 on the glad you were not seriously injured. Hope your toe heals well.

[Keith E Byrd]

That is an interesting way to make a pour spout!
Stay safe and glad you had your face shield on!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on all that Mesquite!! To bad about your toe... hope it's better by now! Cracked wood is always a concern when I turn it because of what you experienced. I've had that happen a few times and it is something I prefer to avoid!

This bowl would be a good candidate for carving... should you want to embellish the damaged area!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on all that mesquite. It is my favorite wood to turn. Sorry about the toe. I agree with Steve that cracked wood always makes me uneasy. I had a vase I was turning yesterday with a crack and a knot. It broke out along with the knot and hit me dead center of my face shield. I would do some kind of carving and maybe burning because that is a nice bowl.

[Jon Nuckles]

Kathy, you are a turning machine! The way you turn out bowls and give away wood, it is a good thing you have a reliable supply. As someone who chainsaws in sandals and turns barefoot (to keep the shavings out of the sandals), I can relate to the toe story. I like the pour spout and agree that some carving might enhance it (though I haven't learned to carve yet). Way to take advantage of the "design opportunity."

[David DeCristoforo]

Love the dechunkified bowl. Great save! So glad you were not clobbered by the flying piece...

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks guys!
Well my toe is black and blue and the nail is split almost in half, but I can walk (and more importantly stand) and it doesn't hurt if I don't touch it lol.


I don't know, Kathy... angle the edge of that missing chunk in the same way as the rest of the bowl's edge and call it a pouring bowl. :)

Out of curiosity, what do you trade with the tree guys for your wood?
I have to say I'm pretty lucky, I don't trade anything for the wood. I do give his wife (who I usually deal with) a piece now and then and sometimes she has a request for something turned for the tree's owner. Otherwise, they are happy to get rid of the wood without having to pay dump fees and they're just really nice people! He even offered (and I accepted) to sharpen all my chainsaw chains.


Congrats on all that Mesquite!! To bad about your toe... hope it's better by now! Cracked wood is always a concern when I turn it because of what you experienced. I've had that happen a few times and it is something I prefer to avoid!

This bowl would be a good candidate for carving... should you want to embellish the damaged area!
Thanks Steve! Being that the tree was taken down only hours before, I never thought the cracks were that deep, I probably would have been a little more leery if it was a log that had long been sitting out in the sun and cracking. Must have been a flaw in the branch.
I've been thinking about the carving suggestion and I may just give that a go this weekend.