Bowl with carved handles and feet, 1st try

[John K Jordan]

John Lucas gave a demo at the Knoxville woodturning club a few months ago on making a turned bowl with carved feet and handles. I had never tried this so I decided to make an attempt. I set my light diffuser cube up the other day so I finally got a picture.

carved_bowl_IMG_4195.jpg

This is from dry Bradford Pear, oil finish. I decided to go for the tendrils look. This is probably too fragile to be functional.

Here is the pre-carved turning:

carved_bowl_start.jpg

I learned a lot from this first try. The hardest thing with such a big foot ring is turning the sides and bottom with curves that will end up as one continuous curve. This one came out just right but if I do another one I think I'll make a template. I will probably try for a better balance between the handles and feet.

Carved with a Foredom, carving gouges, sharp knife and riffler files, smoothed with files and sandpaper on a stick.

I wimped out on making the sides smooth between the handles. I used a small carbide burr in a Dremel to stipple the band.

JKJ

[mike ash]

Carving is way out of my skill bucket, but I can see that you have a knack for it!! Nice job.

[Bruce Page]

That is very nice! I think I like the dimpled band look better than I would a blended band.

[Bob Bergstrom]

That is very nice! I think I like the dimpled band look better than I would a blended band.

+1 on the dimples. All works well together. It will be a challenge to improve much on the next one.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Beautifully done!

[Thomas Canfield]

Definitely not a functional piece. but definitely eyecandy. Well done.

[Dennis Ford]

Beautiful turning (and photography).

[John K Jordan]

Beautiful turning (and photography).

Thank you! For photos I use a cheap home made light diffuser cube made out of PVC pipe and some thin white cloth. The floor/back is a curved piece of grey mat board from the framing store. Lit with two bright CFL photo bulbs from Amazon and one daylight LED for highlights. Canon 70D on a tripod, wired shutter release. This setup makes it hard to mess up a shot too bad. Photoshop for the quick composite - was in the graphic arts field before I retired about 10 years ago. Good clean fun!

JKJ

[Michelle Rich]

stellar work!

[Brian McInturff]

Beautiful craftsmanship there John!

[William C Rogers]

Very nice piece. Way above my skill.

[Hayes Rutherford]

John, you obviously have skills and this piece sure shows it. I look forward to seeing second and third attempts!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very impressive work - both the carving and photography! Thanks for sharing!

[David C. Roseman]

John, beautiful work. What type of tool rest are you using in the in-progress pic?

[John K Jordan]

John, beautiful work. What type of tool rest are you using in the in-progress pic?

Thanks! The tool rest is my favorite short rest, bought it somewhere probably 10-15 years ago. Sorry, can't remember any details. I like the way the top can be put very close to the work.

It is extremely simple and sturdy, a flat piece of steel welded to a 1" rod at an angle, bevel machined on the top. I have both materials on hand and was thinking about making a few, different sizes. I might angle the ends a bit to fit better into an occasional tighter spot. Maybe not.

JKJ