Maple bowl, critique pls

[Ben Werner]

Finally got around to finishing this one up, has some interesting features...mineral oil, and will be buffed once i get bowl buffs. 4in wide by 2in high. thickish base to add some heft but for the most part wall thickness is 1/8th. What do ya think?


sorry bout all the photos but I just felt you wouldnt get the fullness without all the side shots etc.

[Gary Herrmann]

I like the grain. I like the shape very much. Looks like something you want to cup your hands around.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ben - great looking little bowl! Reminds me of a Japanese rice bowl - one of my favorite simple forms. Very nice work!

As far as your finish - mineral oil works just fine but was wondering why you were going to buff it. Were you buffing a wax over the oil or what? No big deal - just wondering.

[Tom Sherman]

I like it Ben nice little bowl.

[Mark Pruitt]

You nailed that shape just right, Ben!

[Dominic Greco]

Finally got around to finishing this one up, has some interesting features...mineral oil, and will be buffed once I get bowl buffs. 4in wide by 2in high. thickish base to add some heft but for the most part wall thickness is 1/8th. What do ya think?

Ben,
I was impressed by the fact that this bowl was only 4' wide x 2' tall. If you didn't tell me I would have assumed that it was larger. This is a testament to the profile proportions being dead on. Well done!!

As much as I like mineral oil as a "food safe" finish (I use it on cutting boards all the time), I stay away from it for items not meant for food. It never really "dries" and may leave a bit residue on a tablecloth or surface. In addition, mineral spirits tend to darken light woods like maple. If thats what you intended, cool. But if you're going for a finish that allows maple to retain most of it's color, there are other finishes out there.

If you're expecting the Beall Buffing System any day now, I would think that you're at the point where you really want to impart a shine to your turned work. Therefore, I would recommend using Watco's Danish oil, or Woodcraft's Polyurethane Oil. They're really simple to use and give you a first class finish. Simply flood the surface with the finish, let it sit, then wipe off. Allow the finish to harden for a day or so and then buff with 0000 steel wool and recoat. Repeat if necessary. When you buff, you'll notice the difference right away.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ben you did a great job on a great bowl. I like the form and wood.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Reminds me of a Japanese rice bowl - one of my favorite simple forms.

I love this form too... really simple, but really nice looking! Great work!

[Mark Cothren]

Looks "just right" to me, Ben. Nice bowl.

[Ken LaSota]

Ben nice job, perfect size for popcorn while watching tv.
Ken

[Ben Werner]

Ben,
I was impressed by the fact that this bowl was only 4' wide x 2' tall. If you didn't tell me I would have assumed that it was larger. This is a testament to the profile proportions being dead on. Well done!!

As much as I like mineral oil as a "food safe" finish (I use it on cutting boards all the time), I stay away from it for items not meant for food. It never really "dries" and may leave a bit residue on a tablecloth or surface. In addition, mineral spirits tend to darken light woods like maple. If thats what you intended, cool. But if you're going for a finish that allows maple to retain most of it's color, there are other finishes out there.

If you're expecting the Beall Buffing System any day now, I would think that you're at the point where you really want to impart a shine to your turned work. Therefore, I would recommend using Watco's Danish oil, or Woodcraft's Polyurethane Oil. They're really simple to use and give you a first class finish. Simply flood the surface with the finish, let it sit, then wipe off. Allow the finish to harden for a day or so and then buff with 0000 steel wool and recoat. Repeat if necessary. When you buff, you'll notice the difference right away.

Thanks for the info, I'll try that out next time... I have used poly with wonderful results.. but I do like the color change due to the mineral oil thats all really...

Thanks for the comments.
Ben

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Ben, first let me congratulate you on a fine bowl! I like the form and the wood has a lot of character. It is apparent that you put in a lot of effort into trying to provide the type of pictures that would facilitate us giving you an honest critique and you are to be commended for that. I haven't been responding to many of these requests because it is so difficult to pass on fair critiques without adequate pictures. I am certainly no expert but I will do my best to comment based on what I have learned and what I personally strive for myself. I will also need to ask some questions for clarification purposes as well.

First, I fully concur with Dominic's comments, especially the finish portion. As I looked closely at the inside picture I noticed that the shape was not following the profile of the outside. You made the comment, "thickish base to add some heft", my question is: was that intended or did it just come out that way? I have had to ask myself that question a number of times as well. If not intended, is that something you wish to get better at and you will continue working at as you move forward? In the outside pictures I thought at first there may be some tool marks but upon closer examination I now believe it to be the wood itself so if that is true that is a good thing. I did see in the last picture a tool cut around the base of the bowl. That could be a part of your design or just a difficult area to sand. and some of the cut was left behind. I would need you to tell me which was the case. It is not a big thing but if you are striving to have each bowl better than the last then you may want to look at that for improvement if it is not part of the intended design.

Again Ben, I think you did a wonderful job and I commend you for wanting to continue getting better. This is a bowl you should be proud of and one that will help you on your journey. Keep up the great work and I hope this helps some!

[Jim Becker]

I think you did a fine job on this one.

Oh, and since mineral oil isn't a "drying oil", there is no point in buffing it if you didn't do an oil/wax (heated) combination.

[Ben Werner]

Ben, first let me congratulate you on a fine bowl! I like the form and the wood has a lot of character. It is apparent that you put in a lot of effort into trying to provide the type of pictures that would facilitate us giving you an honest critique and you are to be commended for that. I haven't been responding to many of these requests because it is so difficult to pass on fair critiques without adequate pictures. I am certainly no expert but I will do my best to comment based on what I have learned and what I personally strive for myself. I will also need to ask some questions for clarification purposes as well.

First, I fully concur with Dominic's comments, especially the finish portion. As I looked closely at the inside picture I noticed that the shape was not following the profile of the outside. You made the comment, "thickish base to add some heft", my question is: was that intended or did it just come out that way? I have had to ask myself that question a number of times as well. If not intended, is that something you wish to get better at and you will continue working at as you move forward? In the outside pictures I thought at first there may be some tool marks but upon closer examination I now believe it to be the wood itself so if that is true that is a good thing. I did see in the last picture a tool cut around the base of the bowl. That could be a part of your design or just a difficult area to sand. and some of the cut was left behind. I would need you to tell me which was the case. It is not a big thing but if you are striving to have each bowl better than the last then you may want to look at that for improvement if it is not part of the intended design.

Again Ben, I think you did a wonderful job and I commend you for wanting to continue getting better. This is a bowl you should be proud of and one that will help you on your journey. Keep up the great work and I hope this helps some!

Thanks Chris, I certainly did try to take as many pictures to show the bowl as well as possible.

to answer your questions:
1) it was partially purposeful, I could have followed the curvature of the outside moreso if I had wanted (at least I think I could have), but I kinda wanted this to be utilitarian so more heft helps. I certainly do want to be able to follow the contours and it is something I'm working on but just not on this bowl.

2) What you see on the tenon are marks from the chuck. I think I tried to make it a part of the bowl on this one by spinning it in the chuck (slowly tightining the chuck after spinning it a few times. I'm not sure if I like it though... I do have a donut chuck but I have problems getting the bowl centered in it well so I havent been using it. Hopefully I'll get a vac chuck eventually so I can clean up the bottom nicely.

Thanks for the critique, I really need it to get better. You utilized the sandwich method quite well

Ben