# What's your best bowl



## APBcustoms (Aug 25, 2014)

Today I made the most beautiful bowl I've ever done. It's waterfall bubinga and measures around 7.75x2 



 



 

So what's your best looking piece???

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 10


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## duncsuss (Aug 25, 2014)

It's really difficult to pick one, nearly all of them have been my favourite at some point in time, but this is one that I hope to make again. Not really a bowl, more of a cup/beaker in Russian Olive:

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## Schroedc (Aug 25, 2014)

I sold my favorite about a year ago. I don't even have a picture. It was a little four inch walnut bowl about an inch and a half tall with a neat void in it. after that I started taking pictures of everything I do regardless of how much I like it.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Bowlguy_in_PA (Aug 25, 2014)

I think this was my favorite one for a while because of all the spalting & worm holes. I'm working on a cherry "burl-esque" type bowl now that I really like. Not quite burl, but lots of figure.

Reactions: Like 9


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## Vaughn (Aug 26, 2014)

Very nice pieces, Austin, Duncan, and Dave. 

Hard for me to pick just one...there have been a lot of favorites. I don't do a lot of coring, but this mesquite set I made as a wedding present for my nephew is still pretty far up my list. The biggest one of the set is about 12" x 8"...












On the other hand, there's this mesquite set, too. The biggest one is about 14" x 9" or so...






Or maybe the manzanita burl bowl that came from a Malibu wildfire. Here's a bit more of the story...






Or maybe one of my dyed bowls? This one is about 14" or so across...






But the walnut NE bowls always get a lot of attention. This one was about 17" tip to tip...






Wait! I know! I know! Here's my all-time bestest, most favoritest bowl EVER. It's a segmented bowl with literally thousands and thousands of individual pieces. Some tricky grain in this bad boy. This is five layers of OSB, about 6" across...

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 6


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## Bowlguy_in_PA (Aug 26, 2014)

How did you dye this bowl? It looks like it's faded bottom to top. Very cool.


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## calcnerd (Aug 26, 2014)

Amazing work in here. I love that OSB bowl. Too cool.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## MikeMD (Aug 26, 2014)

For mine, you'd have to ask Keller...he has it.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## BarbS (Aug 26, 2014)

Beautiful work! If I had to pick only one, it would be this Claro Walnut salad set, 13"d. It sold in only a week, online.

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 5 | Way Cool 1


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## ripjack13 (Aug 26, 2014)

I only made one. It was on a hand held drill lathe set up I had made. It didn't last long. My welds broke and the drill burned out. So I had to finish it by hand sanding....that was in 95. Haven't done anything else on a lathe since then....

Cocobolo cup...

Reactions: Like 8 | EyeCandy! 3


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## MikeMD (Aug 26, 2014)

BarbS said:


> Beautiful work! If I had to pick only one, it would be this Claro Walnut salad set, 13"d. It sold in only a week, online.
> View attachment 58161



Barb, that means you had it priced too low! I'm betting you were underpriced. Not because it "shouldn't" have sold that quickly, but that is one gorgeous set!

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Wes Murphy (Aug 26, 2014)

my best bowl will be the next one I turn

Reactions: Agree 3 | Funny 2


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## Vaughn (Aug 27, 2014)

Bowlguy_in_PA said:


> How did you dye this bowl? It looks like it's faded bottom to top. Very cool.



For that one, I used waterbased lacquer (from Target Coatings) tinted with TransTint dye. I don't remember the name of the lacquer, but it was the predecessor to what Target now sells as EM6000. It was colored off the lathe (which is how I do all my coloring.) I used a mini HVLP spray gun to apply the lacquer. I started out spraying the whole bowl with yellow, then mixed a bit of red with the yellow lacquer to get a light orange, and sprayed that on the lower 2/3 or so of the bowl. Then I mixed in even more red, and sprayed a bit less of the bowl. I kept doing this incrementally until I was spraying a fairly dark orange, and that was just on the very bottom of the bowl. That bowl has a rounded bottom (no foot) so it was pretty easy to get the fade to word. Here's a pic of the bottom. It has no foot...it a roly-poly bowl.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 2 | Informative 1


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## duncsuss (Aug 27, 2014)

Thanks, @Vaughn . I've been thinking (uh-oh, he's thinking again ) of airbrushing some pieces and wondered about how to avoid "seams" where one spray overlaps the previous layer (either round the piece or up & down the sides if I do a segment then turn, do a segment then turn, etc.)

Did you run into this problem when you were getting started (I can see you don't have the problem in this piece)?

A graphic artist I work with suggested maybe creating a turntable and spinning the piece as I spray, moving slowly from bottom to top.

(btw, I think the first set of nested bowls is my favourite from the ones you posted -- lucky nephew )


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## DKMD (Aug 27, 2014)

MikeMD said:


> For mine, you'd have to ask Keller...he has it.



Yes, I do... It's probably the nicest bowl I've ever seen and much nicer than any I've turned. Here it is on display in the kitchen.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1 | EyeCandy! 2


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## steve bellinger (Aug 27, 2014)

Vaughn said:


> Very nice pieces, Austin, Duncan, and Dave.
> 
> Hard for me to pick just one...there have been a lot of favorites. I don't do a lot of coring, but this mesquite set I made as a wedding present for my nephew is still pretty far up my list. The biggest one of the set is about 12" x 8"...
> 
> ...


Show off 

I guess this one would be my favorite so far.




or maybe this as close second.

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## Norm192 (Aug 27, 2014)

My favorite came from a piece of scrap cherry I had been moving around the shop for several years ( I knew there was something special in there trying to get out ). I had been turning for about 2 years when I spun this one out. What a nerve wrecking experience this was back then.
Cherry root, about 10" by 5" turned on a Rikon 70-100 mini.

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 2


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## Vaughn (Aug 27, 2014)

Norm, that bowl's gonna spill soup all over the place, lol. Cool piece, though. 

Steve, your eagle bowl has always been one of my favorites of yours. Not only is it a nice piece, but the fact that you decided "Hmm...I think I'll try my hand at carving." and ended up pulling off that eagle still blows me away. 

Duncan, the turntable is very handy...I use one. It's just a couple of pieces of scrap wood screwed to a turntable bearing. The piece on top has four nails driven though it, giving me a couple of different 3-point "stands" to put a piece on. (I used a file to round over the points on the nails.) I also use the stand for drying pieces after applying a coat of finish. For something like the roly poly bowl where I had the piece turned upside down, I just have a round piece of scrap particle board that I put on top of the nails.









As for getting a seamless color fade, for me the trick is to have a light spray pattern, and to start with the sprayer (either the mini HVLP gun or airbrush) 12" or more away from the piece before pulling the trigger. In a lot of cases, the HVLP gun is easier to get fades with, because it has a larger spray pattern. Sometimes a single quick shot placed directly over the center of the piece is all it needs...the coverage ends up being very even. With an airbrush, that single shot often doesn't cover enough area, especially on bigger pieces, so I have to work harder to get the color applied evenly.

Another piece of advice: I usually spray the dyes directly onto the wood instead of mixing them with the clear finish like I did on the roly poly bowl. But if you try this and you use DNA as a carrier for the dyes, be SURE to wear a respirator that's VOC (volatile organic compounds) rated. I learned this the hard way and nearly ended up having to wake my wife up at 2:00 to take me to the ER.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## BarbS (Aug 27, 2014)

MikeMD said:


> Barb, that means you had it priced too low! I'm betting you were underpriced. Not because it "shouldn't" have sold that quickly, but that is one gorgeous set!



Hi Mike. Well, maybe. I priced it at $130 plus shipping. It's true I haven't seen another piece of walnut anything like it. Would you have done it differently?


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## MikeMD (Aug 28, 2014)

Well, Barb, it is no wonder that it flew off the shelf at $130. Now, I don't know what your market is like, but around here, I'd have $175 on the bowl alone. That is both a beautiful piece of figured cherry AND you did a wonderful job on the piece (form, no tool and/or sanding marks). No reason for it to be any less. The utensils are spot on, too. I don't know how long it takes you to make them, but here's how I price things out... $45 per hour for my lathe/finish time, plus materials. So, I'd give a 13" bowl about 3 hours. And if you were going to buy that piece of wood, I would think a reasonable price being $20 plus $20 shipping (or $40 from a local store).

Again, your local market might be different, but if you were selling it online, you open yourself up to a much larger market. So, even if your market allows for only $30 per hour plus materials, that would be 3 x $30 = $90, plus the $40 for the wood which brings you to the $130 you sold it for, but you still didn't charge for the utensils. Again, not sure how long it took you to make them, but I'd have to assume that with making and sanding and finishing, you have at least 1-2 hours into them. So, bottom line, I wouldn't have let that set go for less than $200.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh with my OP. I just don't think you, or anyone else, should be underselling themselves when they turn out quality work such as this. When you go the extra mile to take out all tool and sanding marks (as we all should...there really isn't any reason not to...but not everyone does), and form is spot on, you deserve to be compensated for your talents...

Reactions: Agree 2


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## BarbS (Aug 28, 2014)

It's not harsh at all; I'm interested in your analysis. Not sure how long it would have sat on my website at $200, but I agree it's worth it, and my time is greater than yours, as I'm slow at what I do, never rushing to get things as right as I want them. I don't want to be underselling either, so thanks for the advice.
oh, and it's claro walnut, instead of cherry.


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## Kevin (Aug 28, 2014)

Barb that salad set is the nicest I have seen. We need to make a deal of some sort. I cannot turn anything that big. Next time you need a big box of FBE . . . . . . .


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## BarbS (Aug 28, 2014)

Kevin said:


> Barb that salad set is the nicest I have seen. We need to make a deal of some sort. I cannot turn anything that big. Next time you need a big box of FBE . . . . . . .



I'll keep that in mind, thanks!


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## barry richardson (Aug 28, 2014)

One of my favorites, 7" tall 10"wide DIW. But like someone mentioned above, may favorite is the last one I've made...

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## MikeMD (Aug 28, 2014)

BarbS said:


> oh, and it's claro walnut, instead of cherry.



Sorry, yeah, you said that... Oh, and you just added at least another $20!


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## BarbS (Aug 28, 2014)

barry richardson said:


> One of my favorites, 7" tall 10"wide DIW. But like someone mentioned above, may favorite is the last one I've made...
> View attachment 58282


Beautiful Rim, Barry! A lovely bowl.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Norm192 (Aug 28, 2014)

That's a sweet bowl Barry!


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## Dane Fuller (Sep 1, 2014)

Excellent bowls!
Here's my wife's favorite. Cherry with turquoise inlay, AO finish...

Reactions: Like 6 | EyeCandy! 2


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## NYWoodturner (Sep 1, 2014)

Thats a stunner Dane!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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