Bowls!

That thing I do... y'know, the turning on the lathe, that bit that I haven't posted finished products from for over a year... Well! I got some, finally!

I've been far to busy riding my bikes, so the lathe has suffered some neglect this past year. But, motivation struck, and I turned 5 bowls over the past couple weeks, with amazing finishes, I dare say some of the best I've done so far.

And I'm not posting them yet. So sad.

What I am posting are two bowls that have been waiting in the wings, one since last year, and one from longer ago than that, both waiting for me to finish them, which I finally did this past week.

First, the oldest one:
Alder, with birch laminated to the outside. The alder wood started as a square, and the birch was glued on to each face, then turned. I didn't like the way the inside was turning out, as it was chipping fairly badly on the end grain sides at the birch joint. So, I shelved it for over 2 years, until one of my friends at work convinced me that I should pick it back up again.

About 6 months ago, I did, and after off and on working at it, it now stands finished, with one of the shiniest finishes I've done. It's 6 inches in diameter, by 2.5 inches tall, and finished with the usual natural flavor of polyurethane.

Lessons learned with this piece: I need to work on my centering when mounting the face plate, it really shows on segmented turnings like this. Also, end grain joints are a pain.

Next, a little piece of oak.
Turned from a piece of firewood found on the side of the road, I decided that since the bark was sticking so well, I'd leave it for a nice two-tone coloring, rather than turn all the way through it. Also, wood worm trails!

Gambel Oak, 3.5 inches in diameter, by 2.75 inches tall, finished with natural Polyurethane.

Stay tuned, there'll be more coming in the next week or so.