Simple Oak Bowl

[Prashun Patel]

9", finished with WOP. Still trying to figure out how to take pix. It's a personal victory bkz it's one of the first I was able to turn fairly thin, without tearout, and with no cracks; most of the oak I turn green cracks during the drying.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice Prashun! That is a beautiful bowl! Did you twice turn this one? Looks to round to be onceturned.

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful bowl Prashun! You really got it thin! I like band around the middle and it looks like you got a really nice finish on it. Great job.

[David E Keller]

Very nice! 'Simple' is one of the hardest things to do well, but you've made it look easy!

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. Baxter, yes, it is twice turned. I misspoke when I said 'turned green'. I meant rough turned from green, dried for a couple months, then re-turned.

[Roland Martin]

Very well done, simple, yet elegant.

[Donny Lawson]

Very nice touch with the band. That's a good looking bowl.

[Fred Belknap]

Very nice.

[John Keeton]

Excellent work, Prashun!! I like the form and detailing on this one, and the wood is very "clean". Looks like white oak??

On the pic - couple of suggestions - it is cropped a little close and the depth of field is not great. Perhaps use a smaller aperture setting and leave a little more background in cropping?

[Michelle Rich]

love the shape..you got that oak smooth!

[Mike Null]

Prashun

Somebody else used the word----elegant!

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, All. John, this oak fell in my neighbor's yard. I believe it's white oak, but I never could tell the diff that easily between red oak, white oak, poison oak.

I am still working out big kinks in my photography. Is aperture the same as F-stop? I'm having trouble getting close enough to show detail but far enough to allow better depth of field.

I'm using a Cowboy Studio, which is a little small. When you photograph how do you place your lights?

The biggest a-ha I had wrt taking photos is to use a tripod (you suggested that, JK), and to use the timer. It really changed the focus.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Prashun,
Great oak bowl. There are lots of oaks and I believe you are correct about this one being white. Your shape is very nice and the workmanship clean. As far a photography, I am also working to learn more then I currently know. As far as depth of field is concerned, may I suggest setting your f stop to 22 and use whatever shutter speed is required to get good exposure. Being used to hand held cameras, we never think about shutter speeds over a small portion of a second but with a tripod and using the self timer to shoot the picture, you can hold the shutter open forever. Give it a try. That will solve depth of field for sure.
faust

[Dennis Ford]

Very good bowl.

[Roger Chandler]

Great bowl Prashun........good curve, the band is a nice feature and your finish is nice as well........with the thin-ness you achieved I would guess it is light to the feel for oak. Good job!

[John Keeton]

Faust is correct on the f-stop - same as aperture. The higher the setting, the smaller the aperture and deeper the field of view. Of course, that means a need for more light - thus the longer shutter speed. You should be able to set your camera on aperture priority, and then let it pick the shutter speed for a proper exposure.

I have gotten away from using side lights, and I try to take pics when I have good ambient light through the shop windows and using my shop lights. Seems to work fairly well, but I still need to correct for white balance a little.

On telling the difference in oak (poison oak is a vine), you cannot use color. The end grain is the key - red oak will have very open pores, and one can actually blow through a short section of it. White oak also tends to have some grain characteristics that are consistent with your bowl.

It is not an exact science by any means, and I still have difficulty if I can't see the leaves. There are several species in each of the two groupings - white/red.

White oak is a much preferred wood for almost any use IMO.

[Richard Jones]

Nice, classy bowl, Mr. P.

I would certainly recommend that you invest the $15 that a Phrugal Photo set up would cost, as the Cowboy way is a bit small.

Link here: http://www.jamiedonaldsonwoodturner.com/techniques.html

John Lucas also has some good info here: http://cumberlandwoodturners.com/htm/tips.htm

Hope this helps, and thanks for sharing.

Rich

[Tom Winship]

Very nice, Prashun. I, like others, like the simple band. It really sets it off.

[Mark Patoka]

Very nice. I really like the simple form and the lines to this one. Has a simple elegance.

[charlie knighton]

very nice.....

[Allan Ferguson]

Like that bowl and know that thin is hard to do, most bowls get out of round before I can get there. White Oak tends to crack. Congratulations on this one.