Thin Persimmon Bowl

[Jeremy Leasure]

This is my first venture into "thin" territory. It's right at 1/4" thick. The bottom was a close call, really should make a bottom finding jig soon. When I roughed this out it didn't have any worm holes at all, and as I turned it I found a nice live larvae snuggled up inside. I was disappointed but filled the holes with malachite and finished it up anyway. I feel like the foot is too tall, but since I had the close call with the bottom I couldn't shorten it more. It feels really light, so I weighed it at 15 ounces. I think any thinner and lighter and it would start to feel too flimsy.

C&C Welcome.

10.25"x3.25"

http://i.imgur.com/XM66t.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wRZ0p.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Bmghc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JFfau.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MOuBi.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jeremy - looks pretty good to me! I am not a big fan of large feet on bowls but if this is to be utilitarian - then it should work just fine!

Highly recommend figuring something out so you can measure where you are at when hollowing bowls! Sure beats turning funnels!!

[Marc Himes]

It looks like you did well with the thickness and with the surprise inside. I can relate to being concerned about the bottom thickness and agree with Steve's comments.

[charlie knighton]

very nice form, persimmon i do not turn much of, the one time i did the wood turned black in places, nice piece

[John Keeton]

Nice work, Jeremy. I understand the need for the larger foot - and, in this case, it worked out fairly well. Gotta get control of that depth thing, though!

[Roger Chandler]

Pretty bowl..........a smaller diameter foot will give you a more proportional form.........for this bowl it should be about 2/3 rds what you have on it now. This is quality work Jeremy.........you just need to study form a bit and that depth gauge can be as simple as a pencil and a thumb.........:)

[Jim Burr]

Good work overall! Even the best still end up with a funnel from time to time. The foot isn't working for me...maybe a groove or bead part way up to break up the line? Nice save on the worm motel!

[Pat Scott]

Nice curve inside, nice simple rim, I like the looks of it. Ditto on the foot being way too big. Most of what I make are utilitarian bowls, your foot could easily be 2" smaller and it would still work. The foot should be roughly 1/3 of the overall diameter, yours looks to be 2/3 of the overall diameter. Think of it this way - now that you've pushed yourself to make thinner walls, your next personal challenge can be making a smaller foot. The bottom thickness will come with practice. If you go through the bottom, well it's just a piece of wood afterall. Good job Jeremy.

[Prashun Patel]

I love the inside and the rim and the green fill.

Since yr asking:

I think the foot could be smaller - but more critically, could be thinner. If ultra-thin, then I like the reverse curve you've done. However, anything thicker than a 'hint' of a foot would IMHO benefit from a more abrupt transition, like a bead.

Also, the top of your form is straight. IMHO, there are three types of curves emanating from the base that work very well: curved (tucked) to straight, straight (not tucked) to curved, or curved to curved. Straight to straight doesn't seem to work for me. I find the first 2 most appealing. Since your form flares out to straight, my eye wants the bottom of the bowl to be round. This of course means a reduction in stability, which is why if I were making a utility bowl, I'd opt for a curve on the top and a non-tucked base. I also find a slight curve on the top better for touch.

But all that is just mumbo jumbo points to ponder and disagree with me on. Your bowl is beautiful.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice looking wood and a pretty bowl Jeremy! I am always somewhat surprised at how small a foot can be and still remain stable. I am no longer surprised when the bottom gets thinner than planned!:eek::)

[Jeremy Leasure]

Thanks for all the great advice. The foot started bothering me almost immediately after I finished it up. I guess I could try to jam chuck it and turn a groove or something to break it up as mentioned by someone above. I wonder where the best placement would be? If I do it, right now I'm leaning toward putting it somewhere close to the top of the foot and bottom of the bowl.

[Robert Henrickson]

Depending on how green the wood was, it may well have gone out of true by now, so adding grooves might involve more than just that.

[Prashun Patel]

Jeremy-
LEAVE IT!!!!
It doesn't have to be "perfect" to be perfect. These are just points to ponder for next time. I have a few bowls like this that I think - or others think - could bear some minor improvement. But now they're reminders of how yr perceptions/technique/preferences change.

I would focus on the things that came out very well (inside shape is flawless, nice fill, beautiful rim, nice finish) here and move on to the next piece.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking bowl Jeremy. I agree with Prashun. Leave it and learn on the next one. If it was green and has moved any your chances of getting it centered to put a bead or groove on the bottom may not come out well. Don't ask how I know this.:mad: Best to move on.