Sycamore Bowl

[Dean Matthews]

I took a carving class at the local woodshop the other day. While sitting there cutting my thumb a pretty big shipment of their "economy" turning blanks came in. I looked around and selected three good size pieces to mess with. I think they were about $3.00/piece.

A couple of the pieces I got were sycamore (so I am told).

Is sycamore a particularly dense wood? Seemed like I needed to sharpen my tools up more often than usual.

I had a blowout or 6 when my tool would catch a wormhole or knot. That was exciting. =)

Since the pieces were all coated in paraffin I had assumed that the blanks would be green and I was only planning on doing a rough turn. As I got into it the wood turned out to be dry.

I seemed to have the same problem where when I get to the end I start getting catches and dumb things happen. Not so sure it is my technique or tools as much as I must just be getting tired. I also KNOW I had it on the wrong speed at one point. I am now wishing I had gotten the VS lathe.

http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o278/went_postal/sycamore/IMG_3318.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o278/went_postal/sycamore/IMG_3316.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o278/went_postal/sycamore/IMG_3320.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o278/went_postal/sycamore/IMG_3314.jpg

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dean that is a good looking bowl. With the splotches in there it kinda reminds me of ambrosia maple but have never seen any that color. I like the simple form and finish. Well done.

[Bob Hallowell]

Dean,
great bowl love the color and form!

Don't worry much about your speed as long as your lathe is vibrating your fine. Speed dosn'r cause catches having your tool in the wrong position does. It could be your grinds or the presentaion.

Bob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dean - that's some good looking wood - for only $3! Bowl turned out pretty nice - love the rich color! Lots of things cause catches but if you thought you were tired - then you were! Next time let the work stand and take a break - see if that doesn't help your cuts! Looking forward to seeing your next turning!

[Gene Kennedy]

Yep, it's definitely sycamore. Sycamore cuts easily when wet, but as it dries it gets pretty darn tough. As far as it being dense, I was out back moving a few chunks of wood last night and I noticed that the pieces of sycamore I have are almost twice as heavy as some comparably sized pieces of sweet gum.

[James Jaragosky]

Tired people don't just make mistakes they get hurt. Be safe. And I agree thats a fine bowl>

[Allen Schmid]

Dean,
Nice job on the bowl, love the spalted look(?) and finish. Ya, you have to be careful when the tired feeling starts setting in, would hate to have anything happen.
Allen

[robert hainstock]

Realy Very Nice. I'm Only Good For An Hour Or So Any More, And Then I Have To Go Rest.so The Advise To Do That Is Pretty True For Even You Younger Guys. I Recently Finished A Project I Started In 1994.:d
Bob

[Al Killian]

I like it alot. I can't wait to try my hand at it.

[Paul Engle]

Nice work Dean, I really like the foot treatment, excellent, well done indeed.:D

[Glenn Hodges]

This is one pretty piece of wood, Dean. I don't know if you got a good deal or not because I don't know how big this bowl is, but thanks for showing it to us. You did a super job on turning it. I know from my experience in working with sycamore it will really warp so I leave it pretty thick on the first turning when I am roughing it out.

[Dean Matthews]

The bowl is roughly 6" in diameter and a little over 2" deep.

The finish is Tung Oil.

I cannot get over what Tung does to that wood. It was pretty and all when I first turned it but when I put the tung oil on there it just exploded with color and figure.

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone. It's appreciated.

[John Hart]

I don't believe I've seen that color in sycamore. But I sure do like it. Nice form by the way. Wow.....3 bucks. :)

[Tom Sherman]

I like it Dean, looks pretty cool.

[Dean Matthews]

I don't believe I've seen that color in sycamore. But I sure do like it. Nice form by the way. Wow.....3 bucks. :)

Well... it could be some other wood. They get pallets of this stuff in that was leftovers from local people. it had SY written on the side of it so we were guessing that was sycamore. Some of the other stuff was labeled AM and that SHOULD be ambrosia maple.

Species wasn't a priority... cost was. =) Since I am just starting out I don't want to buy a $60 piece of cedar or zebra wood and have a bad technique blow something out. Better to learn on the "cheap" stuff.

And I have actually learned a lot with the different woods. This sycamore piece and some purple heart that i had... OMG.... Felt like I needed to sharpen my tools ever 5 seconds. Some of the maple... eh... got nice long ribbons off of the tool for a long time.

I was also glad that I had bought a roughing gouge the same day I bought these new blanks. When I had the first flow out on the rim I was attempting to repair it with the bowl gouge. Then the second REALLY bad blow out occurred... I just took the roughing gouge and ground the edge down past the gash in the wood. =)

I do know that I like the knots and wormholes. I have not made a bowl for food yet... most of them have been more like art experiments. The defects are great to look at... hard as heck to sand around though. =)

and as a side note: I think one of my fatigue problems is the height of the lathe. I think I may want to lift it up a bit. I may be bending more than I should.