Mesquite Salad Bowl Set

[Kathy Marshall]

Last week, one of the guys at work asked if I had any salad bowl sets, he said he wants to give one to his wife for Christmas. I told him I'd see what I could come up with.
Friday night I turned the 2 small bowls and Saturday I turned the big bowl. The wood was soaking wet, so I let them sit out to give the surface a chance to dry out a bit. Today I sanded them all, then finish turned the bottoms. I'll take them to work on Tuesday and see if he likes them.
The big one is 10 1/2" x 4" and the small ones are about 6" x 2", finished with walnut oil.
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[allen thunem]

Kathy,
Given the rate you turn mesquite you are leading me to believe it is very stable.Going from sopping wet to dry in one turning session without much movement.
Am I missing something here or are you doing anything to dry it during the turning process?
i.e. DNA drying, microwave etc etc

[Harry Robinette]

Kathy
You always do nice work but this set I love, I can't put my finger on it but something just say outstanding to me.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Those are beauties Kathy. That is one thing I like about mesquite is you can turn it to finish from wet and it doesn't move.

[Dave Fritz]

If he doesn't like them I'll take them. :D Beautiful.

Dave F.

[Roger Chandler]

Beautiful bowls ......nice work, again, K! We easterners could almost turn green [the color] for your plentiful access to mesquite.......that it is a stable wood and you have a very dry climate, really facilitates your being able to turn from wet to finish in short order.........try that around these parts, and you will be crying for all the cracks and warping.......:eek::(

Very nice!!!

[paul vechart]

Outstanding bowls Kathy...I would love to have a mesquite tree here in Wisconsin! Are there any other woods that have the stability like mesquite? The cherry and maple around here will not allow a finish sanding until they are completely dry. Again those are very nice looking bowls.

Paul

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Nice set Kathy :), should make the receiver happy I'd think :D

[Baxter Smith]

Great grain and colors in that wood Kathy! Reminds me of something soft and so touchable. I am sure they will love it!

[Kathy Marshall]

Kathy,
Given the rate you turn mesquite you are leading me to believe it is very stable.Going from sopping wet to dry in one turning session without much movement.
Am I missing something here or are you doing anything to dry it during the turning process?
i.e. DNA drying, microwave etc etc
Allen, it's that stable. In log or blank form, it will crack and check, but once turned to finish I've never had any cracking or noticeable movement. But it's hard on tools and chainsaws. You'll notice right away when your tool loses it's edge when it starts bouncing instead of cutting. Usually I sand and finish them right away, but this load was just too wet.

Kathy
You always do nice work but this set I love, I can't put my finger on it but something just say outstanding to me.
Thanks Harry!

Those are beauties Kathy. That is one thing I like about mesquite is you can turn it to finish from wet and it doesn't move.
Thanks Bernie! And it can have some nice color too!

If he doesn't like them I'll take them. :D Beautiful.

Dave F.
Thanks Dave!

Beautiful bowls ......nice work, again, K! We easterners could almost turn green [the color] for your plentiful access to mesquite.......that it is a stable wood and you have a very dry climate, really facilitates your being able to turn from wet to finish in short order.........try that around these parts, and you will be crying for all the cracks and warping.......:eek::(

Very nice!!!
Thanks Roger! But you Easterners have all that maple, cherry and walnut!

Outstanding bowls Kathy...I would love to have a mesquite tree here in Wisconsin! Are there any other woods that have the stability like mesquite? The cherry and maple around here will not allow a finish sanding until they are completely dry. Again those are very nice looking bowls.

Paul
Thanks Paul! There are other woods here that are nearly as stable as mesquite, like acacia and sissoo, but I don't think any of them would survive a Wisconsin winter.

Nice set Kathy :), should make the receiver happy I'd think :D
Thanks Leo!

Great grain and colors in that wood Kathy! Reminds me of something soft and so touchable. I am sure they will love it!
Thanks Baxter!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful set Kathy! Nice forms - love the rich color variations! Your customer is going to be real happy with them!

[Tim Rinehart]

Nothing not to like about this set. I think you may have cornered the market on fine mesquite bowls!