3 birch bowls & 1 mahogany bowl

[Roland Martin]

The mahogany bowl is 1 3/4" x 9" with AO finish. Played a bit with an ogee shape and turned down rim, what the heck! Does it work? The 1st birch bowl is 2 3/4" x 6 1/4", the 2nd is 2" x 9", and the 3rd is 2 1/4" x 7 1/4". These are finished with BLO, shellac & AO. I figured I'd throw in a little cherry toothpick holder I made for my wife. Again, thanks for looking and critiques and comments are always welcome (with no sugar coating)

[Roger Chandler]

I really like the ogee bowl and the toothpick holder..........that bowl is just nice!

[Ken Hill]

Those are nice, very nice. The toothpicks put the work over the top however!

[David E Keller]

Nicely done, Roland! The thing I noticed is how the 1st and 4th bowls seem to float on the table while the 2nd and 3rd 'feel' heavier... I supposed it's a matter of taste and function, but I prefer the lift that you achieved with the first and fourth pieces. I almost hate to put this in writing, but I think the second and third pieces might benefit from FEET!

I'm interested to hear what you think of them as well!

[Eric Holmquist]

The ogee bowl is my favorite of the bunch. It has nice lift and form.

[John Keeton]

Roland, the fourth bowl is my pick - for much the same reasons Keller stated. I tried a down turned rim on an ogee and didn't care for it. It seems the bowl is viewed from above most often, rarely from the straight on view, and it just didn't seem right. I don't know what yours looks like from that angle, but that is my reason for not caring for that style. You did a great job turning all of them, though!

Nice work on the toothpick holder, too!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice looking bunch. I do like that first bowl and the toothpick holder.

[Ron Bontz]

Ok. That's it! I am going out there and make a tooth pick holder. Out of what. I don't know yet. Nicely done.

[Baxter Smith]

I like them all Roland. The toothpick holder looks great! The second bowl might benefit from a smaller foot or a curve that was steeper to begin with, then curve under so it gives less of an appearance of the sides going into the tabletop. My wife would look at them and pick number 2 as her favorite because she prefers deep bowls that can hold something.

[Baxter Smith]

I like them all Roland. The toothpick holder looks great! The second bowl might benefit from a smaller foot or a curve that was steeper to begin with, then curve under so it gives less of an appearance of the sides going into the tabletop. My wife would look at them and pick number 2 as her favorite because she prefers deep bowls that can hold something.

[Roland Martin]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, honestly, it makes it much easier to grow and learn. Sometimes I can look at my turnings until I'm blue in the face and not pick up on the subtleties that make big differences, that are evident to fresh eyes. John, you're right about the first bowl, when viewed from above, it gets really bland, the soft curves almost blend into a nondescript bowl, leaving the details unseen for the most part. I'm assuming that the same bowl without the down-turned rim would be a benefit. I must confess that my wife was using a clear plastic bottle for our toothpicks and it just drove me nuts. I said I made it for my wife, but I imagine it was really for my own piece of mind.