Oak burl natural edge bowl

[Bob Rotche]

Made this as a gift for someone in the office who is a fan of natural edge work. It is about 8x3" and 1/4" thick. Finished with danish oil and buffed. C+C always welcome and appreciated.

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[Richard Jones]

Absolutely gorgeous, Bob. That will make your co-worker very happy, indeed. I'm sure those cracks were tough to deal with, but I think they look good as is, glad you didn't fill them.... Thanks for sharing!

[Thomas Heck]

Thanks for sharing. I really like NE bowls and especially burl.

[Bob Rotche]

I posted this on Woodturners Unlimited as well and the issue of the cracks seems to be generating a lot of discussion. I feel that, especially with a rustic piece like this, that cracks add character. I have, at times, tried filling with epoxy and coffee grounds or sawdust but its rare that you can actually completely disguise them so I tend to embrace them. Wood is a natural material and it moves and cracks. If I was going for a more refined piece and it developed a significant crack, I would probably add it to the burn pile though certainly have seen people do some interesting work filling cracks with turquoise or other materials.

[Ken Glass]

Bob,
Super bowl. Amazing character. Well done!

[Fred Belknap]

Beautiful bowl. I'm a special fan of NE bowls. I usually repair the cracks with epoxy, just my druthers.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty and I like the rustic look.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

What a beauty, something interesting at every angle to look at, and your tool control at the bark edges is superb, very clean cuts with no tearout. Natural edges are always my favorites, great job.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, Bob, is this a crotch piece? love your oak

[Roger Chandler]

Hummmm........"embrace the crack"..........that is a super philosophy......my concern is the piece flying apart! :eek: And I will have to get over my natural inclinations that perceive cracks to be a defect! ;)

I guess in turning the rules are different than they are in flatwork.......my flatwork mental parameters are firmly in place, evidently, and I suppose that is where my perceptions are derived from. I must have some growing to do! :D

Seriously, that is very nice Bob, and when it can be safely done, no reason not to embrace the crack, although I do like to see most of them filled! Super nice form and the recipient should love it!

[Thomas Canfield]

NIce looking piece. The looks of the cracks visually are OK to me and I do leave more than I fill, but how was the pucker factor when you were seeing them develop during turning.

[Ted Calver]

I love it! Sometimes folks just can't figure out how a piece relates to the tree it came from and they have trouble visualizing it. A natural edge tells that story so people can understand it and those cracks are part of the narrative. Great job!

[David C. Roseman]

Beautiful, Bob. Curious as to how you went about buffing the inside of the bowl without catching on the voids or the bark.

David

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks for all the comments. These cracks don't seem at all structural so I wasn't too worried about the piece coming apart (though I always try to stay outside the line of fire as a general habit and always wear a full face guard). Buffing a piece like this is always a little risky but I generally don't have too much trouble as long as I'm careful. I do have the ball shaped Beall buffs for bowl interiors which work quite well. I never considered filling these cracks. On a rustic piece, I consider it a natural part of the wood. If it was to be a very refined piece, I would probably just add it to my fancy firewood pile. I have occasionally had good results with epoxy and coffee grounds or saw dust though the crack is generally still detectable if you really look. I'm not a big fan of the turquoise or other contrasting fills though have seen some really nice examples. Some of the most attractive fixes I've seen have involved using bowtie type insets across the crack that turns the crack into a focus of the piece. Lots of options and no wrong answers.

[Greg Ketell]

That is really pretty! Did you have to do anything special to keep the bark on?

[robert baccus]

Super piece just like it is yeah.