Visit with Rich Souchek in Houston

[Dick Strauss]

Well,
This is long overdue! I met Rich S while I was in Houston this summer. He was very generous with his time. I also met his wife who was obviously a real sweetheart (he's a lucky man). Unfortunately I only had a few hours to talk and learn from him. Neither of us had a camera on hand so there are no pictures of us. The bowl is proof we did meet.

Needless to say, Rich forced me to turn some mequite. We took turns taking a poke at the blank spinning on his PM3520. We decided to leave some sapwood for effect and sand it while it was still wet. I finished it a few weeks later (after I got home). By the way, it hasn't moved much since we turned it. Here is the result:

74299

[Steve Schlumpf]

Always great when a couple of Creekers can get together and have some fun turning! Great looking bowl you guys made! Love the classic form and the contrasting colors of the wood!

Next time - be sure to take your camera!!

[Mike Vickery]

Nice looking bowl you guys came up with. Glad you had fun!

[David Fried]

Nice bowl - the sap wood looks great!

[Rich Souchek]

Dick,
You sure that's the same bowl, :confused:

thought we turned some pecan.....:D :D

Oh yea. Mesquite it was...... ;)

That bowl looks a lot better than when it left Houston. Looks pretty darn nice now.
Dick, I really enjoyed turning as a dual with you for a couple of hours. It was amazing how different we did some things, and identical in others. I learned a lot. The expereince even got me to share what little turning knowledge in me with others here in Houston who wanted to learn. That has turned out pretty darn good also.
Thank you Dick.
Rich S.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats to both of you! Creeker visits are great!

[Dick Strauss]

Rich,
The finish is just a little Minwax antique oil. I put a few thin coats on and wiped off the excess after a few minutes. I knocked down the sheen a few weeks later so that it has a low luster to it. I hope all is well with you and your lovely wife!

All,
It was a little strange turning with someone else's tool grinds. I was definitely rusty from not turning for a month or so prior to the trip. I'm sure that figured into my challenges.

Among the many things I learned, Rich showed me a different way to rough out a blank that is proving to be quite effective. He turns the nose of his bowl gouge more vertical versus my usual is more horizontal. My usual sideways cut wouldn't really work because Rich's tools have a more blunt nose on them. It felt kind of strange learning a new technique but it was definitely a good learning experience. After I got home I incorporated his technique with one of my grinds and it seems to be quite effective for achieving a very clean surface. His technique also beats you up much less, especially when you are roughing out-of-balance chunks of hard woods like mequite that aren't round yet.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the visit and sounds like a good time was had by all. Dick the bowl looks great with the sap wood.