My first Calabash

[Roger Chandler]

My first attempt at a calabash bowl form. Having seen a lot of interest in this type of bowl, and taken some time to observe postings on the web related to calabash forms, there seem to be a couple of varieties.....the Hawaiian calabash and what I will just call others. If my observations are up to snuff, the Hawaiian form has a bit of a straightening, giving an illusion of a flare out at the rim area, but still remains the smallest diameter of the form......the calabash gourd bottom has a rounded bulbous shape.

Well, for sure this is not Koa but that Bradford pear that I roughed out back before Christmas last December. It is also the bowl I mentioned that I was trying to get areas of tear out dealt with by wet sanding. It is finished with Doctor's Woodshop Walnut Oil. 10" wide and 7.25" deep.

DSC_0731.jpg DSC_0732.jpg

Any constructive critique from those who know the nuances of the calabash bowl form would be much welcomed, as well as other comments. I have not posted much in the last few months as far as projects off the lathe, but felt like since I had shared the roughout phase, and the tearout problems, that I should show the end result.

My wife and I have visited Calabash, NC several times, and like to eat at some of the restaurants. One in particular was visited some years ago by comedian, Jimmy Durante, and when he had finished his meal, he looked up at the picture of the founder of Ella's of Calabash, and made this remark, which now is emblazened on the wall of the dining area......he said " good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!" We were there last fall, and back there earlier in May, and I told my wife that I was going to make a calabash bowl in the near future.

[Ted Calver]

Looks good to me, Roger. The only thing I see is what appear to be a couple of streaks in the neck that might have been caused by too much bevel riding pressure and are difficult to sand out. Certainly not a show stopper in an otherwise nice looking piece.

[Roger Chandler]

Looks good to me, Roger. The only thing I see is what appear to be a couple of streaks in the neck that might have been caused by too much bevel riding pressure and are difficult to sand out. Certainly not a show stopper in an otherwise nice looking piece.

Yeah, Ted......I have been away from the lathe far more than I care to think about over the last few months. I admit to being a bit rusty on the techniques, and although I did not achieve perfection on this, it is 98% there, I think. That being said, I am still learning the nuances of good form for calabash bowls, and that was the reason for soliciting comments from those who have good experience with calabash forms. I appreciate other comments as well.

[John Keeton]

Roger, I think the "calabash form" constitutes a pretty broad spectrum of personal preferences. I don't personally care for the flared rim and I don't recall seeing that on many of the calabash bowls I have viewed. For my tastes, I think truncating your bowl short of the flare would have left you with a very pleasing form. I have taken the liberty of editing one of your pics to illustrate what I mean.
CHANDLER CALABASH.jpg

For whatever it may be worth, this is a red oak calabash form I did very early in my turning career - actually the 25th piece I turned. It has a bit of a concave effect approaching the rim, but I believe the edited pic of your bowl may be a more common form.
25-1.jpg

[daryl moses]

Roger i'm not a Calabash expert but I do like yours. It has a very pleasing form. Great job!!

[David Delo]

I guess some might say it's a bland looking wood but I think it's a very beautiful looking piece of timber. Nice job Roger.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks John.....it seems that both yourself, and David Chung from Hawaii agree. Over on Wow, he drew a line that pretty much mirrors the edit you did on my pic. Perhaps that "broad spectrum of preference" you reference is a source of a bit of the confusion I have in trying to distinquish "Hawaiian calabash" from the others. David's homepage reveals the absence of that flare under the rim on mine, but when I look at Kelly Dunn's calabash bowls and some others, they have a bit of that. David is from Hawaii, and turns numerous calabash forms from Hawaiian woods.

I am told that the flare is a bit of illusion, and on my bowl the rim diameter is actually the same as the waist at 9.5 inches...the width of the widest part of the form is a tad over 10".... And it just appears to actually flare out.

While I am just learning the nuances of this form, I have been tasked to do a demo on it next month! I am certainly no expert here, but trying to do diligence to research the proper nuances of the form. I guess if the club wants an expert, they will have to pay the cost of bringing one in! Well, I guess it is off to try and make a couple more of these in preperation for next month.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Daryl and David.....your comments are much appreciated!

[Tony De Masi]

Hey Roger, seeping there are no hard and fast rules about this style of turning, Hawaiin vs. otherwise, I much prefer your original piece vs. the two posted by John. I would anticipate that this piece would actually be better to view in person especially without it leaning to the right.

[Roger Chandler]

Hey Roger, seeping there are no hard and fast rules about this style of turning, Hawaiin vs. otherwise, I much prefer your original piece vs. the two posted by John. I would anticipate that this piece would actually be better to view in person especially without it leaning to the right.

Okay Tony.......you caught me! I did use a pic editor to sort of straighten out the leaning camera that I used in hand held mode to take those pics.....must have gone one degree too far right!

The bowl does look good in person........not sure that straight on up close pic and then the crop of the pic to get it down to a size that can be accommodated by the forums shows it in the best light.......I think it does not show the lift of the bottom curve the best, and that is why I think it looks better in person.

Good to hear from you!