Hello everyone, new here

[Toby Bouder]

I have been turning for about 9 months now and have benefited from reading this forum. I retired about a month ago and now have lots of time to devote to turning. I have enjoyed viewing the pictures posted here and have gotten lots of ideas form them. I think it's time that I posted some of my work for C&C. I think this is dogwood, it is from a dead stump that I got 4 small bowls from. This one is 4"h x 5"w. I hope the pics show up ok!

Toby

[Rick Markham]

Welcome to the Creek Toby! Looks like a beautiful bowl to me! :)

[Tim Rinehart]

Welcome Toby. Congrats on your retirement and having plenty of time to turn. This is a fine bowl, and definitely dogwood. I just got some large chunks of it and love the pink hues in it. This piece has loads of character.
Look forward to seeing more of your work too!

[Roger Chandler]

Welcome to the "Creek" Toby.........looks like your first jump into the water "turned" out nicely! Pretty bowl!

[Allan Ferguson]

Looking good.

[Alan Trout]

Welcome,

You are doing very good for a new turner. Just keep up with the practice.

Alan

[Josh Bowman]

Toby, welcome. Look forward to your next turnings. Your bowl looks great. Congratulations on the retirement.

[Toby Bouder]

Thanks everyone, I will post more pics. Retirement is great so far!

Toby

[Mike Cruz]

Toby, first of all, welcome to the Creek. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and learn more than I have...;)

Since you asked for C&C, here's mine:

BEAUTIFUL wood. I mean, I don't know how often dogwood spalts like that, but man, that's the cherry on the sundae! One of my pet peeves is seeing tool marks. Now, I don't know if it is because the pics aren't too detailed, but I don't see any, so kudos there for attention to detail. Next, is the shape. Too "conical" for me. I've found that a bowl that is a section of a circle flows the nicest. It becomes more difficult when the bowl is as tall (or close to it) as it is wide...then the walls get close to vertical. THAT is a preference, though. So, don't take that as a slam, just how my eyes see it. Next would be how the inside curve follows the outside curve. Especially hard with a steep sided bowl because you need the bottom to be somewhat flat. So, how to make the wall thickness even when the curves aren't exactly same...hmmmmm, yeah, that's a tough one. Usually, that means that there will be a differnce, but you have to make sure it is further down the sides than fingers can reach. ;) Looks like you made the walls evenly, but then have an abrupt change to the bottom. Stands out like a sore thumb to me. But again, that is just me.

Bottom line is that if you are making this for resale, no buyer would ever notice the "critiques" I have. They would notice the overall size and the figure in the wood...that's it. What I am commenting on is what another turner sees. And each one of us sees something different.

Hope that helps you in your journey.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome to SMC. Pretty good looking bowl.

[Toby Bouder]

Toby, first of all, welcome to the Creek. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and learn more than I have...;)

Since you asked for C&C, here's mine:

BEAUTIFUL wood. I mean, I don't know how often dogwood spalts like that, but man, that's the cherry on the sundae! One of my pet peeves is seeing tool marks. Now, I don't know if it is because the pics aren't too detailed, but I don't see any, so kudos there for attention to detail. Next, is the shape. Too "conical" for me. I've found that a bowl that is a section of a circle flows the nicest. It becomes more difficult when the bowl is as tall (or close to it) as it is wide...then the walls get close to vertical. THAT is a preference, though. So, don't take that as a slam, just how my eyes see it. Next would be how the inside curve follows the outside curve. Especially hard with a steep sided bowl because you need the bottom to be somewhat flat. So, how to make the wall thickness even when the curves aren't exactly same...hmmmmm, yeah, that's a tough one. Usually, that means that there will be a differnce, but you have to make sure it is further down the sides than fingers can reach. ;) Looks like you made the walls evenly, but then have an abrupt change to the bottom. Stands out like a sore thumb to me. But again, that is just me.

Bottom line is that if you are making this for resale, no buyer would ever notice the "critiques" I have. They would notice the overall size and the figure in the wood...that's it. What I am commenting on is what another turner sees. And each one of us sees something different.

Hope that helps you in your journey.

Mike, thanks for the critique. I agree the wood is the best attribute of this piece. This was one of my earlier bowls and I am working on form. I have lots of wood and lots of time and hopefully lots of help from you guys.

Toby

[Steve Schlumpf]

Toby - Welcome to the Creek! Beautiful wood in this bowl! I think you did pretty good on the form - especially for turning for only 9 months! I like the slanted rim - which shows me you are already thinking beyond the basic form. As Mike pointed out - maybe a little more of a curve to the walls... but all-in-all, this bowl is pretty nice! Looking forward to seeing more of your work real soon!