First Bowl

[Alex Cam]

Well, here it is. I've spent a long time slowly accumulating tools, blanks, reading Sawmill Creek, and watching videos, and I'm very excited to finally have something to show for it.

This bowl came from an old, old maple tree that had to be cut down because it was becoming a danger to nearby structures. The base was no less than 7' across -- it was a massive tree. I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing when I cut a few bowl blanks from it, so it's a miracle I actually have something to show for it!

It's 7 1/4" wide and 2.5" tall. The rim is about 1/4" thick. It was sanded to 180, finished with BLO, then buffed. I wasn't happy with the quality of the sanding that I was able to do by hand, so I'm going to look into power sanding for future pieces. Comments welcome!

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[Gary Herrmann]

Alex, I think thats a great first bowl. Nice shape and beautiful wood. I think the only thing I'd change is making the foot a little shorter, but thats just my taste. Very well done.

[Keith Burns]

WOW, I'm impressed. Great piece of wood and a great first bowl !! I agree about the foot but then what do I know? Great job !!!!

[Mike A. Smith]

Outstanding for a first bowl! Really nice curve.

[Alex Cam]

All criticisms are welcome -- plus, I agree about the foot (as does LOLM, it turns out). The transition from tenon to foot is something I'm working on. It's not as easy as you'd think, is it?

Alex

[Jude Kingery]

Alex, very nicely done, especially for your first time out - have you a chuck so you can reverse chuck it? Sometimes that makes the foot really easy to do. As in do the outside first with your tenon - and foot in-cut, then reverse it to hollow. Still, I think you did a wonderful job on this bowl, I like the deficit and shape very well. Jude

[Patrick Taylor]

Awesome job! My personal taste is for no foot, but to each his own! just keep making more, and keep up the good work. Especially the smooth curves. Long after a bowl's finish is trashed from decades of use, the form is still there to speak of the turner's skill. ;)

[Pete Jordan]

Ourstanding Alex!
You are well on your way.


What part of western MI are you from?

[Neal Addy]

That is VERY fine work! I really wouldn't sweat the foot on your first bowl. They tend to shrink in proportion to experience. :D

This is a really nice form, especially for a first bowl. Hang on to it! You'll want to look back on it years from now. I'm betting you'll still be proud of it then.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Alex - you should be proud of this bowl! Very nice form, beautiful wood and a great looking finish - what more could you ask for? Very nice work - looking forward to your next one!

[Jim Becker]

Alex, that's an excellent bowl for your 50th, let alone your first! Nice job, especially on what seems to be a pretty even wall thickness. And good choice starting with a basic form...so many folks choose a hard-to-turn form for their first and the results are often not as elegant as yours!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Very well done Alex. Great looking bowl for your first. I would hang onto that bowl as Neal said and a year or two down the road pull it out to compare them. You will be surprised. I surely was when I looked at mine.

[Don Eddard]

That's one of the nicest "first bowls" I've seen. Much better than my first one. Great piece of wood and you did it proud.

[Mark Cothren]

I agree with everyone else... it is a very nice bowl, but considering it is your first I think it is great! Also a great piece of wood... keep up the good work!

[Alex Cam]

Ourstanding Alex!
You are well on your way.


What part of western MI are you from?

I'm just outside of Grand Rapids, towards the lakeshore.

[Alex Cam]

Alex, very nicely done, especially for your first time out - have you a chuck so you can reverse chuck it? Sometimes that makes the foot really easy to do. As in do the outside first with your tenon - and foot in-cut, then reverse it to hollow. Still, I think you did a wonderful job on this bowl, I like the deficit and shape very well. Jude

I have a doughnut chuck that I made for finishing bowl bottoms -- it's more of a lack of "feel" for a well-proportioned foot that's holding me back. I'm still in the "I know it needs something, but I'm not sure what" stage of design. Good, bad, or ugly, it sure is fun plowing through wood and roughing out different shapes!

[Don Orr]

Excellent first effort Alex-well done! The simple fact that you look at your work with a critical eye is a major step toward improving your design. With this one done so well, you're already ahead of the learning curve!

[Mark Pruitt]

Great job, Alex! It's been 14 months since I did my first and I wish it had been as nice as yours! I think I'm hovering somewhere around 90 at this point....be careful, this suff is addictive!:p

I have a doughnut chuck that I made for finishing bowl bottoms -- it's more of a lack of "feel" for a well-proportioned foot that's holding me back. I'm still in the "I know it needs something, but I'm not sure what" stage of design. Good, bad, or ugly, it sure is fun plowing through wood and roughing out different shapes!
Honestly, I think that just one final touch would give it a "just right" look. That would be to re-chuck it in the donut, and turn the foot to a dovetail profile rather than straight. And maybe, maybe take a little bit off the foot, but only if it still doesn't look right after modifying the profile.

[Curt Fuller]

When I read 'first bowl' I usually picture this big old clunky thing that was my first bowl. Man, your's is a beauty! That's some incredible wood too. As for the foot, I was taught that a foot should give a bowl the appearance that it's floating above the surface it's sitting on. Just enough to lift it without being seen. Either that or it should be so conspicuous that there's no mistake that you wanted it to be seen as part of the bowl.

[TYLER WOOD]

I really really really like the wood. The form is excellent, I agree on the foot. I like how you let the wood be the show, but could be even better with better sanding.

As for the hand sanding. Did you sand it on the lathe, or did you take it off and sand it? I find it pretty easy to sand when on the lathe, you just hold the paper to the wood. I would suggest sanding to a finer grit than 180. It will give you a nicer finish. I have sanded to 2000 grit, 0000 steel wool and then using a buffing compound for polishing. You get an extrodinary shine with nothing on the surface, Just the gorgeous wood.

[Alex Cam]

I really really really like the wood. The form is excellent, I agree on the foot. I like how you let the wood be the show, but could be even better with better sanding.

As for the hand sanding. Did you sand it on the lathe, or did you take it off and sand it? I find it pretty easy to sand when on the lathe, you just hold the paper to the wood. I would suggest sanding to a finer grit than 180. It will give you a nicer finish. I have sanded to 2000 grit, 0000 steel wool and then using a buffing compound for polishing. You get an extrodinary shine with nothing on the surface, Just the gorgeous wood.

Hi Tyler,
I sanded it on the lathe. One thing I believe I did wrong was sanding it at too high a speed. I've since read that a slow speed actually gives you better material removal than whipping around at 1500rpms (and you might actually 'glaze' the wood going that fast, impairing your sanding at higher grits). I'm also going to get some higher-grit sandpaper for future finishes and see how that works out. Thanks for the tip.

[Joseph Peacock]

Very beautiful Mr.Alex!!!!!!!!!!:D ;) :cool: