This Is What I'm Talking About.

Here's how I figured out something was amiss the head/threads on the new beast. I had roughed out a few green pieces, and didn't notice anything out of whack. But when I went to a finished piece, the discrepancies were pretty apparent.



This is a particularly hard piece of oak with some pretty markings within its growth pattern. Not my favorite wood, but I'll still turn just about anything to learn what you can and can't do with it.

The initial step went fine. But when I turned the bowl over to work on the bottom, it was out of true; it had a wobble to it. Notice how on the left of the rim, it's not as thick as to the right. Maddening.





But, I wanted to finish it, so I kept going. Since it was so out of round, and I'd really screw of the bottom by trying to finish it that way, why not try a finish technique that might hide or disguise the mess. I tried a scraping finish. Interesting. don't know if I love it though. Makes it nice to hold and feel, but I don't know about the look.

But, that's what's fun about doing this. You play. You try things. There is no destination really. Always learning. Always moving.

Next, I took to finishing the bottom. But I gotta admit, it was getting late and I was pretty pissed that something was wrong with the lathe. (That's a lot of money and back in forth with my wife just to get the dang thing...) So, like I default to with a lot of things in life, I proceeded to rush it; instead of walking away and coming back with a clear head.

The bottom bears my signature of sorts. I don't like to sign things and push my brand that way; I prefer a more subtle, creative way that lets folks know that's my work.




I use pewter buttons, and inset them into the wood. Oddly enough, one of the first thing people do when they pick up a bowl, is turn it over and inspect the bottom. I give 'em a little surprise. A little design they're not expecting.

And lastly on this piece, here's a dead give-away that someone was rushing: look at the fine cracks on the rim of the bowl. That's what happens when you heat the wood up too high during sanding. It dries too fast, and will happen to almost any wood.

But that's ok. I learned a lot from this piece of wood. And I'll apply it to the next bowl.