What do you USE your bowls and hollow forms for, if anything?

[Bernie Weishapl]

I do use a lot of my turnings. I have a salad bowl set we have used for a couple of years now along with 6 walnut dinner plates we eat off of. I have several bowls we use to put like mashed potato's, veggies, salad, etc. on the table. When we have company they think that is just to cool. I use Mike Mahoney's walnut oil. We just wash them with warm water and rinse. Dry with a paper towel then let air dry before putting away. Every 12 to 18 months depending on use I re-oil. I do have a lot of turnings on the shelves to collecting dust but hopefully the Art Gallery will start selling a few things. Mike Mahoney told me at a demo every woodturner should have wooden utility items in the kitchen.

[Reed Gray]

Most of my bowls are 'utilitarian' as one potter told me. Since I do shows, I always take mine to the food booths. They do tend to give bigger portions when you bring your own bowl. Plus some of the shows I do focus on zero or reduced waste, so I have chop sticks as well. Reusable. I keep the cracked ones for the wood stove poker, and for bringing in shavings and scraps for starting fires. I do have a few small ones for my guitar picks, stamps, pens and pencils, worn out sanding discs, all sorts of container things for the shop, a couple dedicated to cat toys. Probably others as well.

robo hippy

[bob svoboda]

I like to sell some of my stuff, give some away, and keep some. To be honest, if I never did anything with my turnings other than burn them in the fireplace, I would still keep turning to try and make better firewood than the time before.

[Al Wasser]

Looks like you have gotten a lot of answers -- stuff gets used! All my stuff is usable. I haven't started turning pens cuz they are easy to kipe from the bank, dr., etc. Yes the turned ones are pretty but they don't write any better. I haven't started hollow stuff cuz the tools tools are expensive and then what do you do with those things besides look at them.

Each yr I give the gal that delivers the mail a bowl. Yesterday she decided she wanted some bigger ones and bought two. Someone needs to buy a lot more. Oh well, its fun!

[Wayne Spence]

I think most of us turn for our own satisfaction. A few are professional turners whose living depend on it. I am assuming that if no satisfaction were received they would do something else.

As for usage most of my bowls collect polluted air. It is replaced almost daily by more polluted air. And as a related subject I have about 15 pieces of pottery purchased in the 70's that are used on a weekly or daily basis. They range from mugs to large platters and bowls that are used as center pieces or for holding fruit etc. Do you think the number of bowls being turned will equal the number of clay pots that were thrown during the 60's, 70's and 80's?

For a scholarly approach read Richard Sennett's book "The Craftsman". It is probablly available at Barnes and Noble , you could read it there at the store, or possibly at the public library.

[Dave MacArthur]

Some great replies, I laughed at many of them

Having gone down this road of addictive hobbies several times, and seeing MORE than the usual signs pointing to that road here while I read about turning every night... You can see that my intent here is more "how will I be able to hide the evidence from the wife effectively once I start churning these things out?" than, "is it worth getting a lathe?".

LOL, I've already put in hundreds of hours of reading and study and CraigsList and videos, not only does the vortex seem to have me but I'm already moving up to pre-emptive mitigation strategies

[Mark Burge]

Any of my bowls will hold something, though they won't all hold soup. Some are sitting on the shelf at home, some at my office. There is one that I play with regularly because it rolls really nicely. My sons keep their jacks and marbles in two of my bowls. I have paperclips in one on my desk. The one on the shelf is holding air. The one that I stitched up with wire gets laughed at. The relatives have some. The neighbors have some. Some are sitting in my shop waiting for me to get them looking right. Most don't care if you look at them or if you use them, but they are there for either one.

[Allen Neighbors]

No one has brought up the thought that all hollowforms that are in private collections, yours included, are truly a part of your quest for a healthy lifestyle.
They are very efficient little dust collectors, thereby keeping that small amount of dust out of your lungs. Explain that to your wife, and I'm sure she'll understand the need for more.

[Alec Moseley]

I have a great profusion of them scattered around my house, like most of us probably, and appreciate my wife's tolerance each time I bring another one or two in from the shop and she needs to act excited about finding a place for it. But in the last few years I've given away a considerable percentage of my bowls (also other things like pepper mills, boxes, candle holders, pens, and so forth). They make great Christmas presents for in-laws, secretaries and other co-workers, etc., and I've found that the salad bowls I've given as wedding presents have been really appreciated by young couples. My sister-in-law saw one I made for our niece's wedding last year and essentially demanded that I make one for her, which I did for Christmas. We get some wooden salad implements and package them with a handmade bowl and get lots of praise for them. We also eat off or out of a lot of wooden bowls, cracker and dip vessels, platters, etc., in our home.

[Denis Puland]

Hi
A couple of pics of some use I make of my wood stuff.

Denis

I have never posted pics here so hope it works out ok???

[John Keeton]

Denis, not only are those some neat pics, but that is one of the nicest NE pieces I have seen!! Very interesting, and very well done. Thanks!

[Allen Neighbors]

Denis, not only are those some neat pics, but that is one of the nicest NE pieces I have seen!! Very interesting, and very well done. Thanks!

Ditto, what John said!!! So very interesting that I've spent the last few minutes just staring at the pics, and trying to figure out how in the world you did that, Denis. That's amazing!!

[alex carey]

almost as nice as the Natural Edge Cat.

[Frank Van Atta]

No one has brought up the thought that all hollowforms that are in private collections, yours included, are truly a part of your quest for a healthy lifestyle.
They are very efficient little dust collectors, thereby keeping that small amount of dust out of your lungs. Explain that to your wife, and I'm sure she'll understand the need for more.

Yeah, that'll fly.

If anybody tries this, let us know how it works out.

[George Morris]

The rule of thumb is if it does not hold water it must be ART!!!