Help me with this bowl/platter...

[Rob Price]

Okay, this is some kiln dried walnut. A friend of mine recently commisioned a table from my 'dealer' who does custom work here in town. He scored some 14'x30"x2.5" slabs of walnut for the table which ended up being 8'x4' basically from two pieces. Anyways, I bought the drops off the ends of the slabs thinking they would make some cool bowls and platters.

This is the first effort. I started thinking I would make a basic chips/dip platter and cup, but as I started shaping the platter part I decided it needed a little more flare and now it has an ogee, or at least my attempt at one. The grain is really neat and now I'm thinking this will be a stand alone shallow bowl/platter.

So what do you guys think of the shape so far? I haven't started hollowing yet. I can put a foot on it for the chuck or I can go with a recess and leave it as is. I figured I would stop and get some expert opinions while I can still modify the shape. I just don't feel like I have a good eye for this stuff yet. The rim is about 3/8 thick right now. I will thin it down once I'm confident in the shape. Current dimensions: 12"x 2 3/8".

Any thoughts? (rotated to it's natural position)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wDy8y0dQSGE/T48mXphvzUI/AAAAAAAABtE/OR4-9TM81mU/s640/photo.JPG

[Breck Whitworth]

IMHO your curve into the rim is great, I would round out the bottom curve more (making the bottom of the bowl a little smaller) to make it flow better but other than that it is going to be a great bowl.
Breck

[Roger Chandler]

Your ogee is fine...........my tastes go for a foot, because it will add lift to the bowl itself and in my opinion add presence to the form as it is displayed...........the recess will also be fine, but I think the form on a table will have more of a "squatty" appearance.............just my opinion, of course.........your mileage may vary!

[Mike Peace]

I am with Roger in liking a foot on a platter for the lift. It does not have to be big. - perhaps 1/8" - 1/4". I believe it adds additional interest.

[Jamie Donaldson]

You can enhance that mundane flat rim with a bit of reverse curve, and a small foot where the chuck tenon once was will flow the profile with some lift. I don't like recesses for chuck mounting, especially with old or dry wood like mahogany. Even a waste glue block would be more secure for mounting in a chuck, and much less likely to split out.

[Rob Price]

Thanks for the feedback- I agree on the foot, just hate to give up depth at first glance, but I think it needs a foot.

Jaime, could you elaborate on a reverse curve? The more I look at it, I think I want to bring the end of the curve up the rim a bit, thinning the rim and getting rid of the flat area. I had just a short amount of time to start it out today, hopefully I can finish tomorrow.

[Jamie Donaldson]

The present curve flattens out at the top/rim, and I suggest that you reverse the curve back down slightly on the rim bottom and roll an echo in the top. This need only be a slight reverse of the present curve, sort of an abbreviated or flattened S shape, but greatly enhances the flow of the ogee rather than straightening into a static flat rim, and don't make the edge so thin as to be fragile.

[Rob Price]

Thanks again for the help, thanks to John K. who helped me 'offline' with some comments and a sketch. Final pics coming once the oil dries and I get a chance to lacquer it up, but I thought I'd give you guys a preview (really it was just a crappy iPhone pic). Credit to Keeton for the design.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GrsqtlrDhfs/T5bSDgDdzbI/AAAAAAAABtQ/0YGSdM5jJq0/s640/IMG_1258.jpg

[Roger Chandler]

I like what I see so far, Rob........look forward to the finished pics that show the grain texture, etc.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice shape Rob!

[John Keeton]

Rob, I may be biased here:rolleyes:, but it seems to be a marked improvement over the initial pic!:D

[Steve Mawson]

Looks like a great classic shape to me. Turned out well. Pleasing to look at.

[Rob Price]

I was hoping to get lacquer on it today but too cold and windy. Hopefully I'll have finished pics soon.

[Rob Price]

Finally got around to taking pictures. Got the bowl finished a few weeks ago. One coat of BLO, several coats of spray lacquer. Rubbed out with steel wool/wool lube tonight and polished. The rim ended up being a bit thinner than I wanted. The wood moved much more than I anticipated once I turned it around to hollow it, but I still had to put a gentle curve on the rim, so some areas are thinner than others and the rim isn't close to flat. The rim is around 1/8 thick, the rest of the bowl roughly 3/16" -1/4". Lessons learned though.

I still don't have a light box or a good way for taking photos, so this is on a sheet in my kitchen. Sorry for the photography. Thanks again to John K for design help. The profile pics were taken with the bowl upside down, I couldn't figure out how to get light on the bottom of the bowl without a flash.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-524yTforbEg/T625RCBBGNI/AAAAAAAABt4/CGpe4vDFksA/s800/IMG_2123.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s9oT3I-1F58/T625Ro-G8GI/AAAAAAAABuA/ZpXD_gO7qzg/s800/IMG_2126.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-z7mZpXWEqsY/T625Sn69cJI/AAAAAAAABuI/uBx0s6yDDpg/s800/IMG_2132.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-RH4fNJXby1w/T625T0A531I/AAAAAAAABuQ/JBG8E7B4xE0/s800/IMG_2137.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PxK5-BKqxXk/T625VvVK3NI/AAAAAAAABuU/uBMJG9Wte40/s800/IMG_2138.JPG

[Pete Jordan]

I would get the lathe off the ceiling:)

[John Keeton]

Rob, looks like you did fine with it! Glad you got it finished and the next one will be much easier. Finding a time slot sufficient to finish turn an object is the best way to minimize the effect of wood movement. Try to get it turned to finish dimension as quickly as possible, with the outside profile completed first, and then the rim to completion before working on the inside hollowing.

Nice work!

[Cheryl A. Prince]

I would get the lathe off the ceiling:)

Rob your bowl turned out really nice. John's input really helped with the flow of the piece...
but I can't stop laughing at what Pete said! I had the same thought when I saw your initial picture! Is his lathe upside down!!??

[Rob Price]

Ha! I actually got the idea here. Someone said they use their phone to take a picture sideways and then visualize the bowl right side up without taking it out of the chuck. Thanks again for the comments.