My first bowl

[Justin Bukoski]

Well I finally got around to making my first bowl. I ordered some cherry wood from a guy that saws up lawn trees and such to make a new bed. When he was here he says: "Hey, I've got some slices of cherry burl but they are wet. Would you be interested." Acting nonchalant I say "sure, let me see whatca got"

Anyway, I bought all of them for a song thinking I would slice them up into veneers for the bed. This one piece sort of jumped out at me and a little voice said "its about time you tried to make a bowl and this stuff was cheap."

Anyway, long story short, here it is. My first attempt and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased. Of course now I realize that my rinky dink Jet 1236 lathe just won't cut it so this is probably going to cost me...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Justin,

Nice first bowl......... Yup it'll cost you!

[Skip Spaulding]

The bowl looks great, real pretty wood. I think the 1236 and the turner did a fine job!

[Bonnie Campbell]

That's a first anybody would be proud of!

[John Hart]

Your first?

Sheesh! That looks better than my last one.

[Justin Bukoski]

gimme a break John, you burn better stuff than that in your fireplace but thanks for the kind words.

You guys should have seen my little lathe walk across the floor. I had to hold on for dear life!

Oh, and the rough piece was too big to turn over the bed so I had to rotate the head....

[David Fried]

I'll bring my 1236 over and we can have races!

Nice bowl and nice wood. As a 1236 owner I can appreciate
the extra effort it takes to turn a piece that's rocking and rolling,
bobbing and weaving.

[Dan Oliphant]

That is indeed real nice.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking bowl Justin. I surely wish my first had looked that good. Well done.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful bowl Justin! Love the wood! Make sure you sign and date your bowl and then put it aside - theres only one 1st and you'll want to keep it!

[Justin Bukoski]

Thanks Steve. Signing it is a good idea but I think its going to be a Christmas present. My wife's grandmother is a famous author and its hard to figure out what to get her. I think this will be just the ticket...

[Dan Forman]

Justin---That's really cool. I'm sure your GM-in-law will just love it. Over and above the lathe dancing, do you get just a tad nervous seeing how loose the burl is, wondering whether it's going to fly apart?

[Alex Elias]

Wow that sure is a nice piece right there. The fact that is the first one is even more impressive.

[Justin Bukoski]

Dan, I was as nervous as a prison inmate wearing an "I love Elton John" t-shirt. I was pretty sure it was going to fly apart at any second. The inside turned real smooth though.

[Brian McInturff]

You've gone and done it now. Life is never going to be the same. We;ll be seeing stories about how you went to jail wearing an Elton John t-shirt for the crime of stealing "Wood". Not sure those words will go over well in prison. Just hearing the term wood will get those prisoners excited. And your MIL will be writing famous stories about it. Mark my words Justin, every addicts first words were "my rinky dink lathe just isn't going to cut it, I need bigger". Your hooked man.

Oh, and as for the turnings? Who are you kidding, first my foot. Looks like you've been turning for a couple years.

Have fun!!!!