| Project by mot | posted 384 days ago | 565 views | 0 times favorited | 21 comments | ![]() |
I wanted to try an experiment in the preparation of this blank to turn. I had a small yellowheart and small purpleheart blanks that were about 5” square. I thought the woods might look nice together in contrast, but not having a drum sander, I didn’t want to start resawing these blanks too much and end up with some iffy glue joints. I thought about it one night while laying on the couch and wondered, what if I cored the blank and laminated the layers. But not coring in the curved blade sense, but more removing a a cone from within a circle sort of thing.
To start, I chucked up the yellowheart and trued the face on the lathe, turned a tenon and trued to bottom. I’m going to need it flat. I then took a parting tool, and at about a 50 degree angle, I started into the blank from the tailstock side aiming about 1” from the rim on the headstock side. Turning very slow, and patiently, I separated an outer chamfered ring, from an inner cone.
I then took the purpleheart blank and resawed about a 8 mm thick piece. I glued the purpleheart to the cone, and when the glue was dry, I rechucked the cone and trued the face of the purpleheart. I then glued the chamfered yellowheart ring on top of the purpleheart, and then a thicker purpleheart piece on top of that. Clamped and glued, I waited until last night.
I chucked the entire piece and turned a profile on the outside, and hollowed the bowl. What you see is the finished project. This is an experiment. In my opinion, the rim is way too much purpleheart. I could have turned it down a little more, but turning dry purpleheart was straining my tenon and I lost this bowl from the chuck twice in the process. As it is an experiment in process, I am, again, unhappy with the form. However, it’s a pretty cool looking little bowl.
In keeping with my wife’s appreciation of my artistic ability, she stated, “Neat. You can plant a little flower in it,” and walked off.
This is, thus, my layered, reverse cored “pot.”
Thanks for looking and please feel free to be critical.
Tom
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
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21 comments so far
David
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1802 posts in 544 days
posted 384 days ago
Tom -
Great project! I love the story – made me smile. I like the bowl. I am not a turner (yet) so I have no experience to guide or judge. I agree with your comment about the purpleheart top rim. A thin delicate rime of PH would look wonderful and would be a great accent for the YH. I stiil think it looks great!
-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com
Douglas Bordner
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2302 posts in 469 days
posted 384 days ago
Beautiful, Tom. Really nice contrast to the woods. Like most geniuses, under-appreciated in their own land. I’m sure my wife feels the same way about the Shop Tour fun. The look I got when she woke up this morning and I was still working on it – was less than enthusiastic. Even though I was just finishing up an attribution to her (and Deb’s daughter for photo work). You got credited, ur ah, Spid-tato man got credited for his cameo appearances.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
DAN
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2644 posts in 389 days
posted 384 days ago
Hello Tom,
Great bowl ! Nice shape. Love the yellowheart too. Looksgreat next to the purple heart.
Taking the photo with fruit made it even better !
Regards
DAN
-- ..... smalll army of cast iron wingnuts !! cool photo in FORUM
WayneC
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5690 posts in 503 days
posted 384 days ago
Well done. If I knew your wife better I could suggest a retort…
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
MsDebbieP
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11040 posts in 566 days
posted 384 days ago
love the bowl… AND the artistic top ring…. it kinda adds weight to keep the bowl “planted” firmly on the table, balancing on the smaller ring at the bottom.. if that makes sense. It does to me, the viewer, and so that’s all that counts, to me, the viewer!! :)
great photograph – nice setting.
family appreciation, well, what can one say… when it comes right down to it an artist’s work only matters to him/herself. If he/she is pleased, then it is good.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
mot
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4830 posts in 442 days
posted 384 days ago
Well, thanks for the comments. I was jittering with anticipation each time I got a minute to get down to the shop to work on this. The foot was turned off it about 3am this morning. After losing the bowl from the tenon that was chucked twice, I mounted it in cole jaws to turn the foot and lost it again. I’m pleased at the glue joints because it hit the concrete floor both times…and the lathe bed…and tool rest, and my workbench leg…possibly the bandsaw as well.
Turning purpleheart: Yech…hard as a rock. I had to sharpen my gouges several times.
Turning yellowheart: Suprisingly oily and really nice to turn. Tears out a bit, but that can be controlled with a sharp gouge and paying attention to grain and bevel support.
Will I do another layered bowl? Baby yeah! And quite possibly start on one tonight!
Thanks for looking! And yes I know…I have to get cracking on the summer challenges…LOL
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
Karson
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12002 posts in 806 days
posted 384 days ago
Tom:
It’s a great looking bowl. But I do think that the large purple heart layer causes the eyes to stay too long in that spot. Maybe twice as big as the bottom PH layer.
The yellowheart does not seem to be a 1X and a 2X maybe more a 1X and a 2.5X layer, you could try the purpleheart in the same combination.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
TheGravedigger
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185 posts in 430 days
posted 384 days ago
I can relate to your situation. If there was such a thing as a wood that was naturally demon-possessed, it would be purpleheart!
Of course, if you want a REALLY hard wood, try black locust.
-- Robert from Raymond, MS. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefore not a practice, but a habit." - Aristotle
Bob Babcock
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1809 posts in 492 days
posted 384 days ago
Nice Tom, I know almost nothing of turning (one of these days I’ll actually spend the time to get the lathe fixed) but I like the bowl.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Bob #2
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1683 posts in 427 days
posted 384 days ago
Good job Tom and nice to see you experiment with different woods and styles.
Turning is always a learning thing.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Don
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2586 posts in 583 days
posted 384 days ago
Interesting experiment, Tom. Nice combination of woods and color.
If you want to try really hard wood – try any variety of Aussie Eucalyptus.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/
jockmike2
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3890 posts in 652 days
posted 383 days ago
Nice looking bowlll spiddy. N ice presentation picture takindg. jockmike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
oscorner
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4576 posts in 717 days
posted 383 days ago
Neat looking bowl, Tom. I like the design.
-- Jesus is Lord!
scottb
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2782 posts in 733 days
posted 383 days ago
good idea for preserving the inside of (and otherwise lost to dust portion of) the bowl. I agree with your design critique, but the experiment is a success!
-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative
BillinDetroit
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26 posts in 383 days
posted 380 days ago
I turn. And I like the bowl. So there! <grin>
Nice lines on the profile … it actually looks like you have giant fruit next to it … try this again with larger stock and maybe hold closer to the Golden Ratio for the layer thicknesses … but letting them get bigger towards the top.
Seriously, the bowl DOES look top heavy … but that gives it a sort of ‘anticipation of motion’ and could easily have been claimed as a design intention.
If you don’t want it, I’ll send you my address so you can dispose of it properly. 8-)
-- http://nmwoodworks.com (pens & bowls, mostly)
dbriski
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22 posts in 462 days
posted 379 days ago
Cool Idea, I had thought of something similar to this idea but never put it to wood. Do think it would be possible with 3/4” stock? I guess you would just have to get the right angle.
-- David, www.briskibusiness.com
MsDebbieP
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11040 posts in 566 days
posted 378 days ago
ditto on the “design intention”
that’s what makes art – art!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
mot
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4830 posts in 442 days
posted 378 days ago
dbriski, 3/4” stock would be fine. I think I would do it with a scrollsaw first though, or use a very narrow parting tool to preserve the stock. There was mention of a tool called a “Ringmaster” that apparently makes bowls from boards. The same sort of concept I guess.
Debbie, art is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I had an interesting comment on another forum, from an artistic turner that makes a living at this sort of thing. She stated that there is a balance with the yellowheart on the bottom and the purpleheart on the top. So, where I was failing to see it, balance existed.
I showed it to a friend and he said, “How did you get those paint lines so crisp?” I just took it from him and stomped away.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
MsDebbieP
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11040 posts in 566 days
posted 378 days ago
lol you didn’t go throw a plant in it, did you??
:)
hmph. critics!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Joel Tille
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200 posts in 650 days
posted 358 days ago
Tom nice bowl
I had a good laugh, paint ... some people don’t get it, wood is beautiful by itself.
-- Joel Tille
Steffen
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229 posts in 441 days
posted 353 days ago
Tom,
I don’t think it’s too much purple heart as much as it is the shape of the top to the base. You could easily balance it out by turning a base which is larger in diameter (out of purple heart) and attaching it. I don’t know, after I said that I looked at it again and I don’t really know…I have to hold things before I make these kind of decisions. It’s very nice and I’m jealous of your lathe.
It’s a very beautiful piece.
-- Steffen