rosewood fruit bowl

[cedar n silky]

Hi all.:)
I think this is the biggest peice I have turned so far so I would like your purusal and coments, especilaly about improvements and design suggestions.
The log was a crutch which I ripped throught the middle. Had been drying in the shed for probably 5 or more years.
Turns like butter, and was a joy to turn. I took "hickory's" recent suggestion (in another post) about turning things slower, and was amazed at the difference! For some reason I had it in my head that "faster is better" and am still "expirementing" with speed. I found though that slower actually seems to keep the gouges sharper longer, I guess because there is less heat?:? I would love to hear peoples views on speed, as I am still a bit confused about the ideal speeds for different applications.:)
Anyhow back to the bowl. I screwed a faceplate to the blank, and cut the back of it with the chainsaw to remove all the ugly bark and branches and have a disc to play with.I had to turn outboard, because the bar on the chainsaw is 18 inches, and only just got through the other side, and wouldn't fit over the bed of the lathe.
I used sanding discs on the cordless drill working up to 600 grit, buffed it with EEE and mixed equal parts of Shelawax cream and Glow.
Quite happy with the finish.
Cheers:D

[cedar n silky]

Oh and the finished product!:D

[Speanwoody]

Looks real nice to me, good work

[Hardenfast]

Ooooh Mama! I have such a long way to go!

Excellent work Cedar. I will watch this thread with interest as I too am confused by the whole "best speed" issue. Slow or fast - you did good.

[DJ’s Timber]

Very nice Cedar :2tsup:

[dai sensei]

Really nice Cedar, the grain is spectacular. What was the size?

[ptc]

Very very Nice.
Great Finish.

[Frank&Earnest]

Hi C&S. Wonderful bowl. Like you, I am starting and have the same questions. For example, my preference with blanks like this is to preserve as much as possible of the natural curvature instead of chainsawing all off, trying to obtain a deeper bowl, and sacrifice a little of the diametre to get rid of the nick on the rim. What do the "masters" think?

PS: regarding your question speed/sharpness: it is a purely mechanical equation. If you half the RPM, you half the length of wood cut in the time, therefore you double the time between sharpenings (approximately).

[rsser]

Nice piece Cedar. It's begging to be picked up.

How'd you go with the foot?

F&E, to comment before a master jumps in: yes and no. A missing piece works OK on a rustic style bowl, but IMO the finer the figure, finish and line the bowl just screams 'bit missing!'.

[Frank&Earnest]

Bingo! That's exactly how I see it, Ern. I am even more prejudiced, to me "rustic" to woodturning is what "cubist" is to painting: if the amateur can't get the two eyes the same size, he calls it cubist!:D

The first thing the lecturer said at the BA course in industrial design my eldest son is attending was: "If you can't get it straight, you say that you meant to design it that way".:D :D

Rumor has it that the first thing they teach to future surgeons is never to say "oops!":D :D :D

Etcetera...

[tashammer]

just out of curiousity and a strong feeling of self-preservation, you aren't a surgeon are you Frank&Earnest?

[rsser]

Well, I don't mind Cubist paintings and I don't mind the odd rustic bowl or vase. Figure they all have something I can learn from. Horses for courses.

[Simomatra]

Very very nice Cedar

A beaut piece of timber and very well worked

[Frank&Earnest]

just out of curiousity and a strong feeling of self-preservation, you aren't a surgeon are you Frank&Earnest?

No, if you exclude some self surgery with a Stanley knife and a power plane.. :D I have worked in the health system for many years though. :oo:

[Frank&Earnest]

Well, I don't mind Cubist paintings and I don't mind the odd rustic bowl or vase. Figure they all have something I can learn from. Horses for courses.

Of horse, my sentiments entirely. :D This does not stop us liking other art forms better, does it? :)

[cedar n silky]

Thanks everyone for your comments.
Dia sensei The bowl is 400mm across.
Frank&Earnest Embarasingly, I "have not just started out" but still often flounder with the basics!:B I have been turning on and off for a few years, but am trying to take it a little bit more seriously (while still having heaps of fun of course:D ).
Regarding the little "bit" missing on the edge of that bowl I probably would have got rid of it, but it has its redeeming qualities, in that it has a very nice leathery texture that was under the bark, so I left it. (The attatched picture still doesn't do it justice)
I do try to keep flaws or nice texture if I can and if it works for me. I love those weathered old fence posts and the like (and under bark textures), and I reckon if you can keep part of it in, it tells a story.
Ern I am going well with "the foot" thanks! (Sounds like I've got gangrene and was about to have it amputated!:o ) N0, seriously Ern, thanks for the loan of that book, I am getting a lot out of it as far as bowl design goes, and look out for my next posting, as I will put up some photos of my mulberry bowls.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I do try to keep flaws or nice texture if I can and if it works for me. I love those weathered old fence posts and the like (and under bark textures), and I reckon if you can keep part of it in, it tells a story.

Hear, hear! Especially when, as in that bowl, it's a plain shape that lets the wood speak for itself.

If 'twas a plainer piece of wood, then IMHO you need a more ornate shape to boost the "interest" and then these natural features do tend to look like mistakes. :shrug: In this way, the wood does, to some extent, tell you what it wants to be.

Nice finish, BTW! :thyel:

[TTIT]

Nice looking bowl Cedar, :2tsup: you've bought the figure out nicely. First time I've seen roughing down done with a chainsaw on the lathe though - a means to an end I suppose :shrug:.
Knowing where you're from, I gotta ask - is it 'rosewood' as in rose mahogany??? It's just that I've never seen it so light in color. :confuzzled:

[cedar n silky]

Nice looking bowl Cedar, :2tsup: you've bought the figure out nicely. First time I've seen roughing down done with a chainsaw on the lathe though - a means to an end I suppose :shrug:.
Knowing where you're from, I gotta ask - is it 'rosewood' as in rose mahogany??? It's just that I've never seen it so light in color. :confuzzled:

It was the first time for me too using the chainsaw like that. I rounded the blank out on the bandsaw, but there was a lot of bark and branches to remove, so rather than trying to cut it off at ground level, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time to screw a faceplate on, lock the headstock and it was nice and easy on "the old back"!:wink: Just the right height. I might use this tecnique again!:oo:
Regarding the tree TTIT, I have always known it as rosewood. I have salvaged a bit over the years up this valley, and one old log that was under about 10 meters of lantana and down a deep gully, was close to 2 meters in diameter and deep red throughout!
The peice I turned the bowl from on the otherhand, was from a living tree. A lovely tree that was forked about 2 meters up from the ground, and was starting to slowly split back down towards the ground. It was eventualy going to fall on top of our community store, so a mate and I took 1/2 the tree down. We slabbed the bigger limbs up for furniture for our hall, and I took home a ute load of "smaller" stuff. I took a lot of crutches and the like, and I guess the lighter bits in the bowl are may be heading towards sap wood? The slabs (which were bigger) mind you, were still not a deep red like the other log, so it may be a sub species?
It still has that unmistakeable rosewood smell (an aromatic peppery smell.) I have heard there is a scentless rosewood up this way also, although I dont think I have come across it.:)