David DeCristoforo
08-22-2013, 4:38 PM
269101
A while back, Jamie Donaldson posted some pics of a couple of square edged bowls, one of which was made of bocote. I commented that bocote was one of my favorite woods. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by Jamie who offered to send me a piece of the bocote along with the suggestion that I try turning a square edged bowl out of it. I gladly accepted the challenge. The box arrived a few days later and, to my surprise, it contained not only a very nice chunk of bocote but also a rectangular piece "ambrosia" maple about 2" X 5" X 7", inscribed with the words, "rectangular bowl". I've not yet attempted a square edged bowl but I've never even contemplated a rectangular one. A dilemma. Try the rectangular bowl first or jump in with both feet and go with the bocote? The bocote won (or lost as the case may be!)
Having never turned a square edged bowl, I accessed my "go to" source of this kind of information, "YouTube". A search for "turned square edged bowl" produced a long list of video clips. At the very top was a video by and featuring a gent by the name of Jamie Donaldson! Coincidence? I think not! This is the very same Jamie Donaldson who sent me the wood. I'm sure of it. I had no idea this guy was a celeb! So now I'm feeling very much on thin ice because I gotta come through. I had a bunch of ideas about how to go about this but watching Jamie doing it with a bowl gouge and making it look so easy… well… I can testify to the fact that it's not!
Through sheer force of will, I resisted the temptation to embellish this little bowl with some extra detailing. I did not want to "copy" Jamie's "signature" square edged bowls but, rather "emulate" them. In that sprit, I added a small foot to this bowl. While perusing Jamie's album, looking at examples, I noticed again, the wonderful NE ogee bowl Jamie posted a while back. I was very taken with that bowl and decided to try and combine that ogee with the square edge bowl. So here is what I ended up with, owed to Jamie on three different levels! Oh and one other thing… watch those knuckles!
A while back, Jamie Donaldson posted some pics of a couple of square edged bowls, one of which was made of bocote. I commented that bocote was one of my favorite woods. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by Jamie who offered to send me a piece of the bocote along with the suggestion that I try turning a square edged bowl out of it. I gladly accepted the challenge. The box arrived a few days later and, to my surprise, it contained not only a very nice chunk of bocote but also a rectangular piece "ambrosia" maple about 2" X 5" X 7", inscribed with the words, "rectangular bowl". I've not yet attempted a square edged bowl but I've never even contemplated a rectangular one. A dilemma. Try the rectangular bowl first or jump in with both feet and go with the bocote? The bocote won (or lost as the case may be!)
Having never turned a square edged bowl, I accessed my "go to" source of this kind of information, "YouTube". A search for "turned square edged bowl" produced a long list of video clips. At the very top was a video by and featuring a gent by the name of Jamie Donaldson! Coincidence? I think not! This is the very same Jamie Donaldson who sent me the wood. I'm sure of it. I had no idea this guy was a celeb! So now I'm feeling very much on thin ice because I gotta come through. I had a bunch of ideas about how to go about this but watching Jamie doing it with a bowl gouge and making it look so easy… well… I can testify to the fact that it's not!
Through sheer force of will, I resisted the temptation to embellish this little bowl with some extra detailing. I did not want to "copy" Jamie's "signature" square edged bowls but, rather "emulate" them. In that sprit, I added a small foot to this bowl. While perusing Jamie's album, looking at examples, I noticed again, the wonderful NE ogee bowl Jamie posted a while back. I was very taken with that bowl and decided to try and combine that ogee with the square edge bowl. So here is what I ended up with, owed to Jamie on three different levels! Oh and one other thing… watch those knuckles!