A Big One

[Kathy Marshall]

I thought it would take me a week or so to getting around to turning this one, but when I went out to the shop this morning, it was calling to me, so onto the lathe it went.
This is from a fresh load of mesquite, and it's soaking wet.

I wanted to do something just a little bit different from my other big bowls, so I gave it a wide rim (about 1") and then undercut it. The walls are about 3/8".
It's 14" x 4" with a coat of walnut oil. The light spots in the bottom are where the walnut oil has been completely absorbed. By tomorrow, most of the bowl will look like that and it will take a few more coats of oil to get a consistent finish. Mesquite can drink up walnut oil like nothing else.

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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Nate Davey]

Beautiful form and the wood is spectacular, Kathy. Looks like you're making that new lathe earn it's keep.

[Barry Richardson]

great color in that mesquite! Did you get a bigger lathe?

[Baxter Smith]

Great looking bowl Kathy. The undercut rim makes it nice for picking up with one hand....though on a bowl this size, it needs to be empty!:)
I know the mesquite you gave me seemed like it had spots that literally took weeks to even out the color with oil.

[Tim Rinehart]

That's a very nice bowl. I like the wide rim and undercut, makes easier to carry as well. Can't wait to see how a few more coats adds to it...but it's starting out great!

[Doug W Swanson]

Beautiful bowl! The rim is really nice and I love the color.

[Dale Miner]

Great looking wood Kathy.

The undercut rim is a nice feature. If the inner edge of the rim were softened a bit, it would be more inviting to pick up with one hand.

[mike ash]

Nice Kathy! You are putting that Nova to good use!

Mike

[Brent VanFossen]

Very nice!

[Jay Jolliffe]

Very Nice bowl Kathy.....So what I gather from this is you turned it wet & after applied the finish to the wet wood....Is that right....I didn't think you could apply finish to wet wood. I'm just a beginner at this with a lot of questions.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice bowl Kathy. The mesquite I have turned I have did the same thing. Turn green to finish and soak with walnut oil. Really nice looking wood grain on this one.

[Dick Mahany]

That is one cool bowl. I like the rim and the wood colors very much. I haven't many mesquite bowls that large and you did a great job on that one!

[BILL DONAHUE]

Fantastic piece of wood and you did a good job with it. It has exactly the same shape as a demo bowl I have that was turned by David Elsworth. The undercut on the rim gives it a very good feel when held. It's both beautiful and practical.

[Keith Palmer]

I really like the wide undercut rim Kathy. Beautiful bowl Kathy!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!
Just as I thought, by this morning it had almost completely soaked up the walnut oil and has pretty much gone gray. I think it may take more than just 2 or 3 more coats.
And just for kicks I weighed it and it's 2.95 lbs. In comparison, the silk oak bowl I did earlier in the week (also turned green), is 1.4 lbs and only about 1" smaller in diameter.

great color in that mesquite! Did you get a bigger lathe?
Thanks Barry! Yep, I got a new Nova DVR XP and I'm in turning heaven! :D :D

Great looking bowl Kathy. The undercut rim makes it nice for picking up with one hand....though on a bowl this size, it needs to be empty!:)
I know the mesquite you gave me seemed like it had spots that literally took weeks to even out the color with oil.
Thanks Baxter! It's definitely easier to hang onto with one hand (for me anyway).

Very Nice bowl Kathy.....So what I gather from this is you turned it wet & after applied the finish to the wet wood....Is that right....I didn't think you could apply finish to wet wood. I'm just a beginner at this with a lot of questions.
Thanks Jay. Yes, turned it wet and applied walnut oil. Applying finish to wet wood works fine for most pieces depending on the finish, it also helps that mesquite is very stable and movement is minimal to none. Walnut oil doesn't form a hard surface, so if the wood moves the finish is not affected. I've also not had any problems with Tung oil, BLO (boiled lindseed oil) or DO (danish oil) as the surface they form seems to be somewhat elastic (at least long enough for the wood to stabilize). WTF (Wood Turners Finish) will not work on wet wood. The one wet piece I tried it on moved, but the finish surface did not :eek:, and I would imagine that lacquer would probably give similar results.