oatmeal bowl designs?

[Ken Kimbrell]

My vote goes to the bowl on the right as well, that design just seems to work better for me, that's how my breakfast bowl is shaped.

As for heating in the microwave... I do use instant, so my way is to place my oats in the bowl, then heat a cup of water to a boil and pour the boiling water over the oats. Don't want to place the wooden bowl in the microwave for fear of cracking it.

[Maria Alvarado]

Sean,
I like your bowls, those look like they will hold a healthy portion of oats. If you search "porringer" on this forum you'll find a thread with a couple styles I made. They're somewhere between a porringer and a 'quaich', as Robin has on his site.

[Pat Scott]

The couple spoons I've made end up rough with prolonged water exposure. I've tried oil, oil/varnish, and just burnishing. Nothing stymies the grain raising for more than a couple uses.

Have you tried to raise the grain first before applying finish? For all of my salad bowls and platters that I know will be washed, while the piece is still on the lathe I spray (mist) it with a water bottle and let it dry. It only takes a few minutes to dry. Then lightly sand again with your last grit used. Now apply your finish and you should be good to go for years.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks Pat. Yes, have tried that. Surprised that it works for you and not me

[Hayes Rutherford]

Sean, I lean toward the upper bowls because of ease to produce. The calabash probably requires 2 or 3 gouges and for me, a lot more time. You did say it was for a relative so Im thinking it might be a gift and not a sale. (so my logic may not apply) Making sets of small bowls can be a pain when somebody request them because its hard to charge what they are worth. I've been trying to take the same size core out of bigger blanks, and turn the same exact single serve bowl every time. Pretty boring but its fast as there is no need to refer back to a pattern or an original. Ive tried a few spoons(yours are super)but they are not in my network right now.
These are birch with walnut oil and work for oats.
set.jpg

[Sean Hughto]

Those look great, Hayes. I may try some that shape. You are right, mine are not for sale. All my stuff is "priceless" -- as in: I have to give it away.

I'm simple - I pretty much use 1 bowl gouge for everything. Maybe I'd get better results if I learned the nuances of a variety?

[Prashun Patel]

Hayes, can you elaborate? I only use one gouge on bowls with minor returns. (minor digression alert): I actually find bowls with returns easier to turn on green bowls that are being twice turned, since the rim usually moves the most. I have to take more off the rim proportionally to bring it back to round. A return on such bowls ends up being the most natural and simplest of forms.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Sean, your bowls are much nicer wood and more artistic shapes for sure.
Prashun, you are right about the rim out the most, but I removed wood at base too when creating the smallest possible spigot where the blank was snapped out as a core.

These are still open enough so one gouge for the entire inside but for the calabash, one to start, one for transition, then one for bottom. That's just my method, not the only way for sure

[Sean Hughto]

Another bowl in Birch and more spoons - maple and one in holly:

[Hayes Rutherford]

Those are super. They look like they would be comfortable to use.

[Jeff Grantham]

Wow those are all beautiful bowls, Sean. As a relative newbie to both turning and this forum, it's inspiring to see.

For what it's worth, I like the top center bowl the best if strictly on aesthetics. And functionally, I get hung up if I try to visualize getting the last few scoops out of that calabash style one with the way the lip turns back in. Just one man's opinion, though!