Butternut bowls

[robert baccus]

Prettiest butternut pieces I've ever seen--very nice. Have you ever tried hardening the wood. That's the only way I can turn soft or punky wood.

[Paul Hinds]

Gorgeous bowls. I've never turned butternut ... sorry to hear it's such a pain but clearly the results were worth it

[Thom Sturgill]

Prettiest butternut pieces I've ever seen--very nice. Have you ever tried hardening the wood. That's the only way I can turn soft or punky wood.

Thanks, Robert. Rubbing with the walnut oil seemed to help some on the insides and may have he;ped make the grain stand out. I used the lacquer sanding sealer on the outside of the second bowl prior to the last pass. That helped more, but I should have thinned it more to get better penetration.

[Thom Sturgill]

Gorgeous bowls. I've never turned butternut ... sorry to hear it's such a pain but clearly the results were worth it

Thanks, Paul. I agree. I think I will leave any more butternut tothe wife for carving though.

[Mike Goetzke]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'll try to answer your questions:

Mike, I used one of Dave's beading tools and a lot of sanding! I really like his beaders.

Prashun, no it was actually a focusing issue. I try to focus mid-bowl but I think my eye just picked up the rim. I shot these indoors, but usually use morning sunlight outside. These pictures were lighted with an LED Ottlight my D-I-L has. I use GIMP to crop and set white levels. I had to go back and scale most of these to get SMC to allow me to upload them.

Paul, that's what I paid for this billet.

Thanks - those beaders look interesting. I watched the videos and Dave has mastered hand/tool control.

Mike

[Jim Seyfried]

Very nice bowls Thom! I especially like the grain pattern shown on the first picture. You sure did a nice job on the beads, I think three look very attractive.

[robert baccus]

You might try thinned 2 part epoxy or poly resin(fiberglass resins) thinned with acetone. Rough out the form and soak in a vinyl bag --play shake & bake. Next day it turns like new wood with no color change. An old boat rebuilding trick. I'm sure I could turn a roll of toilet paper done this way.This has worked on a dozen spalt and palm pieces for me. There is a commercial version called Git Rot.

[Thom Sturgill]

You might try thinned 2 part epoxy or poly resin(fiberglass resins) thinned with acetone.

Acetone for the 2 part epoxy too? I have not had any luck thinning that stuff in the past, which is why I have used thinned lacquer sanding sealer.

[robert baccus]

I use the bulk marine stuff for this in epoxy. Poly resin is cheaper--just look for a clear product and like you say,thin generously for penetration. I also use thinned lacquer for semi-punky wood as it is stronger than SS.

[Rob Boesem]

Those are great bowls!...The first one is my favorite. No matter what it took to get them finished, it was well worth it!...Great job!