China Huckleberry Bowl

Once again, impressed beyond words.

Thanks Rikkor.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Wow! awsome bowl…

-- www.woodshopdude.com

I don’t know much about projects that are turned, but I assume the polish is done on a lathe too. I guess you could do this on other projects too, but it would be tough on the arms since the lathe can’t do the work. Very nice work!

Very… very… very nice…

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

To be sure of what you are saying about the finish, which by the way looks better then anything I’ve done to date. You used a salad bowl finish ? and then rubbed on a car compound wax. Please give a more detailed explanation of how you made this sheen. IT IS AWESOME!!!

-- JJohn

wow that is an impressive bowl. i like the form of it and the finish really makes it leap out at you. great job!

Guys,

Thanks for the comments.

MokieMojo, it turns out that all my woodturning projects are finished off the lathe. The reason is that I only turn green wood and it is soaking wet when I’m done turning. I do some sanding on the lathe but the last sanding step and applying the finish is done off the lathe. I sand using the newwave sanding system on the drill press and I spray or apply the finish by hand. Doing a good sanding job on endgrain is atrociously hard, though. I see no reason why the rubbing compound would not work on anything made out of wood and it is embarassingly easy to apply.

JJohn: it seems that, to get a good finish, you need perfect sanding then a decent application of a hard finish like shellac or polyurethane based finished (lacquer works also) and then you need to rub the finish. Some people refer to this last step finishing the finish. The car rubbing compound is simply miraculous. It doesn’t seem to matter too much how I rub as long as I start with a medium-coarse compound, then a fine followed by superfine. A lot of serious research that has never put into any wood product went into the finishing compounds for cars. Everybody has a car and a lot of people like to show off with it.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Holy *&^%! That is an amazing finish. Thanks for the tip concerning the rubbing compound. Every time I long onto this site, I learn or see somthing new that I have to try, and this is today’s lesson.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

that is beautiful!
your son must be disappointed that he didn’t get this one for his collection!

-- www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com

Outstanding form and finish. How do you dry your pieces after turning them? Thank you for sharing.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Darryl: My son already has pieces comparable to this to his collection. He actually has a very good eye and asks only for interesting pieces.

Trifern: The trick I use with my bowls is to turn them soaking wet but get the thickness around 1/8” (below 3/16 in any case). The wood then dries in 1-2 days since all by bowls are end-grain. On some species, you see wild bending (see my other projects for some wild ones).

Brian: thanks for the comment. Try even the coarse rubbing compound (5$ at autozone) and you will be amazed.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

I am sure the end grain rings help hold it together and the trick is to turn with as even thickness as possible so it dries at an even rate. What ratio of your pieces crack while drying?

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Trifern: if I am patient and indeed get the thickness uniform (bottom included) almost none crack. The trick is 1/8” or less though (but more than 1/16). Some types of wood like cherry are already cracked at the pith but the crack does not expand and I usually fill it with a little epoxy. A much bigger problem is loosing my concentration and going through the side walls or through the bottom. For the goblets, the problem is breaking the stem (the smallest catch anywhere breaks the stem due to inertia, stopping the lathe is also deadly, and lots of other things).

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

That is a beautiful piece of art.

-- A King, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A Father can do neither. -Marlene Dietrich

Alin,

Once again you have created a beautiful piece. Every time I see something like this I want to go out and buy a lathe (of course I would have to ask my wife for an advance on my allowance). :)

Well done.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thanks Scott for the comment. You’re nice as always.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Pretty bowl – pretty wood!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Alin, you are just amazing, you give me something to shoot for. mike PS and Trifern.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

Another great job Alin.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Great looking bowl!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/