My First Madrone Bowl

[Rick Bailey]

A piece for my chiropractor that gave me the logs.
Twice turned, it moved almost a full inch.
I didn't have enough wood to clean up the inside.
So I call it Art.:D
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[Rick Bailey]

Oh,
I forgot to mention it was all done with scrapers.
Just like Robo.:)

[Randy Red Bemont]

I like the look of the different wall thicknesses. It makes someone think "how did he do that!"

Red

[Brice Rogers]

Rick, that is kind of interesting having the oval on the inside. BTW, as far as I can tell from the picture, if the outside is now round, you still have enough meat on thick part of the bowl to make the inside round as well.

[Reed Gray]

Madrone exceeds all levels of logic. The oval effect looks good.

robo hippy

[Rick Bailey]

Thanks guys,

Randy, that is what everyone has said that seen it.

Brice, I got kinda spooked with the cracks so I didn't want to chance it.

Reed, true words you speak.

By the way I sharpen my scrapers on my new robo rest and it was real nice to be able to get the proper angle on them.
I really like it thanks.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Madrone exceeds all levels of logic. The oval effect looks good.

robo hippy

I'm reminded of your thin-walled bowl that looked like "waves" around the rim.
One of the guys down in Olympia did a wet-green bowl with beads, then let it dry. When he was done, it looked like one of those pottery bowls made from ropes of clay, that then sagged... really neat.

[Brice Rogers]

Yes, cracks can be a concern. I can understand your reluctance.

I posted a picture on the GGMG of a HF that I turned from a spalted Liquid amber that had really severe cracks. I wanted to learn from the misfortune - - that is why I continued rather than turn it into fire wood. I had the outside looking okay when the cracks formed. So I wrapped the outside with filament tape and stretch wrap so that I could hollow the inside. I figured that if it lost integrity while hollowing at least I wouldn't get hit with the pieces. Also, when hollowing, the turner isn't typically in the line of fire. I ended up being able to turn the inside just fine. I filled the cracks with fine sawdust and CA. It ended up being an interesting piece.

[Jon Nuckles]

I posted a picture on the GGMG of a HF that I turned . . .

Ok, Brice: I googled GGMG and got suggestions of "Golden Gate Mothers Group" and "Greater Greenville Master Gardener." I give up; what is it?

[Brice Rogers]

Jon, Ha ha. Sorry about that abbreviation.

That is the famous (or is it infamous?) Grizzly Green Monster Group, one of the SMC (this website) community subgroups. I don't know if it is going to work or not, but here is a link to my repaired badly cracked bowl:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/group.php?do=picture&groupid=29&attachmentid=331914
Jon, if you can't see that link, let me know and I'll just enclose the picture in this thread.

I am also attempting to attach a picture that I took, of the crack that opened up widely after I soaked the vessel with wood hardener (I could hear it cracking within a few minutes of the application of the Minwax hardener ...strange!). I am also attaching a picture of how I taped and stretch wrapped the bowl to the chuck to turn the bottom. I did something similar when hollowing. You may not notice, but the first layer of tape is filament tape. It seemed very secure. I tool light careful cuts and kept the rpm down. Worked well.
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[Jon Nuckles]

Thanks for the explanation, Brice. It seems to me that Roger Chandler may have mentioned that group once or twice. I should have made the connection. The link takes me to a page that says you have to be a member of the group to see the picture. I would like to see how it came out. I have repaired a crack or two, but nothing as large as those! The sounds must have been very unpleasant to hear after all the work to hollow it out.

[Brice Rogers]

Jon, I applied the wood hardener before I had fully hollowed out the base. So the lip was perhaps 3/8" thick but towards the bottom inside it was probably over an inch. So when the solvent-based hardener soaked in, it must have applied forces unevenly. I could not only hear it crack, but it was cracking in front of me. I covered it with a cloth and left the shop. The next day the cracks had partially closed. I was thinking of making it into a piece of firewood, but I thought that I wouldn't learn anything doing that.
Here is a picture of the finished product. The bowl is about 4" high and 8" dia. It turned out better than I expected. Not perfect, but the spalting makes it interesting enough.

The wood is spalted gum or liquid amber. It has a tendency to want to crack.

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[Jon Nuckles]

That did turn out nice. The spalting not only looks good, but it does a great job of hiding any evidence of cracks.

[Brice Rogers]

That did turn out nice. The spalting not only looks good, but it does a great job of hiding any evidence of cracks.

Thanks for your kind comments.