NE Presentation

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

This is a turning from wet willow. The finish is tinted varnish to change the white willow a bit darker with each coat applied.The bowl is 8" long and 41/2" wide. the bowl is 3/32" thick. Before applying the finish the bowl was 2/3thrd transluscent and could be looked through in the light. I intended to post this with a light bulb under it to show how translucent it is but since it was turned wet it needed to be sealed well so that idea was dumped.I left it 1/8" thick in the center of the bowl for some stability and also along the bark line. Didn't want the wood to dry and shed the bark. all in all things went fine. If I would of made one more pass with my gouge when turning it would of blown the bowl into pieces. Using poly makes the bowl shiny.Mitch

[Jeff Hounshell]

Amazing. I can't get anything that thin. What is the bottom made of?

Jeff

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Jeff
Thank you Jeff and yes you can if you keep trying. I used to think the same thing till I said yes I can and did it a few times. Lost a few too Jeff. By the bottom do you mean the black presentation base as I call it? It is turned from the same willow wood then sprayed black then varnished several times.I enjoyed turning this cause everything went perfectly well when turning this. Mitch

[Joe D'Attilio]

Wow that is really beautiful and the shien - it still looks "wet"

Can you post more info on your finishing steps??

[Gary Muto]

That's amazing. I never thought willow could look so rich. Great Craftsmanship!

[Clara Koss]

very nice!!!!! really pretty...

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Joe D
Thanks Joe. Joe on most all turnings I do I use wet wood and this more or less determines the finishing process I need to use. I am a new turner but old furniture maker. When you turn wet wood it needs sealed immmediately after cutting. I use white shellac, amber shellac, sanding sealer or varnish. On this bowl there are about six coats of tinted gloss poly. Bad thing about this method is there is too much shine on the bark when taking a picture. People don't like this but I don't lose many turnings doing it this way and I don't wait for 3 months for wood to dry. I've cut trees down one day and a few days later had finished turnings that are , at least to me, beautiful. Mitch

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Gary
Thanks Gary. Your right willow is nice but extremely white. I decided to tint my var a little to the yellow side and with multiple coats this var would turn the wood to look something like hickory, which I like. Mitch

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Clara Kos
Thank you Clara. It pleases me very much that you think this bowl is pretty. Thank you for the reply. Mitch