Avocado Southwestern Form

[Brian Kent]

Here is another southwestern form made from avocado wood.

I followed Señor Schlumpf's recommendation to have a mouth about 1/2 the size of my previous bowl. That makes this one more of a jar than a bowl. The first was roughly 9" wide and 4" high with a 7" rim. This one is 7" x 4" with a 3-1/4" rim.

Another major difference is that the previous form was buffed, finishing with carnuba on a rag. This one was buffed then coated with Maloof's oil and wax, resulting in a much darker finish.

[Brian Kent]

Here are my three attempts at Southwestern forms made from avocado.

From left to right, 1) finished with several coats of shellac, with the tenon still attached so I can buff it out when the shellac is cured or a week, 2) sanded and buffed with white diamond and carnuba, and 3) sanded, buffed with white diamond, and coated with an oil and wax mix.

Sorry about the hard shadows. They have those on the New Mexico pueblos, too.

[Timothy Mann]

Well done those are all very nice, I do like the last one the best.

[Dan Forman]

Nicely done. That avocado looks similar to mahogany. It would be better to take your photos in the shade - it will allow the subtleties of the wood to show to their bet advantage.

Dan

[charlie knighton]

very nice Brain, looks good, keep trying your different shapes, i heard someone somewhere say do 5 pieces of each different form to get the hang of it

[Brian Kent]

OK, Dan. The sun just went below the horizon so I re-took the photos in the shade.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice Brian. Looks like you are getting the southwest style down. Keep'em coming.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like it but the important question to ask is do you? I think the proportions are pretty good and look forward to seeing the next version!

[Brian Kent]

Yes I do, Steve. I lost an inch of the rim on the first one, but I like the others. Except for the attempt at a narrower opening, my thought process was the same on each of these. I cut the blank out of the avocado log, turned out the unusable parts, and then started into the form decisions based on that. So my intention is to continue practicing this way, looking at the available wood and thinking about the various southwestern forms available. And continue to have fun.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Brian, some nice work. Never have tried buffing shellac, but like french polishing with it.

[Brian Kent]

Buffing shellac worked beautifully on a slow speed after a week of drying. When I tried it at high speed on day-old shellac finish, I melted a terrible hole in the finish and had to strip and re-finish. I look forward to trying French Polish, but have not done that yet.