Yew Bowl

[Santos]

Anyway, before going away I was able to get sometime time with my tutor and produce this Yew bowl. The wood was an absolute pleasure to turn, however, I don’t think I’ll turn another bit of Yew for awhile, as I managed to get catches to no end, even with a bowl scraper!

Overall, I think I’m pleased with the bowl, the shape and finish isn’t too bad for an amateur I think. Although, I can’t help but think, the base should have been much narrower to further extenuate the bowls appearance. But I suppose thats a mater of opinion.

The bowl was sanded down to 800grit, and finished with 3 coats of Libron sand and sealer, 3 coats of friction polish and fine furniture wax burnished in at high speed.

Thanks for looking!

Comments and critiques as per usual always welcome.

Dan

 

[Ad de Crom]

Dan, lovely wood for sure, the black knot were good for a few catches.
I work most of the time with a cutting tooltip to avoid catches when I see such a pretty large black knot.
Overall the bowl looks good to me, maybe a more smaller base but not neccesary.
Ad

 

[CHJ]

Form is fine for a user Dan, you have avoided the problem of heat checking the the surface whilst sanding, something that is easy to do with Yew.

Personally I would have tended to fill the dark voids with a CA/Dark Dust or Coffee mix to avoid the trapping of light dust/finish/wax in the cavities, A thin CA in the cracks would also add stability to the piece which you might find moves a little when it has been indoors some time and will show itself if it occurs as ridges at the crack edges.

The finish achieved is fine but sounds like a lot of work to achieve it, if you can run to the expense of a buffing system in the near future you could achieve the same in about 5-10mins with a coat of sanding sealer and a hard wax. (Canauba or Microcrystalline) The reduction in finishing costs will eventually recover the Buffing mop costs.

 

[Jonzjob]

Yew is one of my favourites and your bowl looks good to me, but if it were me doing it I would have taken it a bit thinner. I don't think that you would have had any problems with the 'imperfections' in the wood?

I like the shape. A nice line. What gouge did you use on the outside?

 

[loz]

Nice one Dan !

Bit straight sided for me, but as Chas says - ideal as a user. Bif of decoration to disguise the chucking recess next time though will just add a finishing touch !

 

[Paul.J]

Great piece of Yew,and nice looking bowl

 

[petercharlesfagg]

Lovely piece of Yew, could just see similar pieces being turned in my shop!

Nice shape and judging by your hand a nice size for holding.

Regards, Peter.

 

[Santos]

Thanks for the really kind words everyone, very much appreciated!

I primarily used a traditionally ground bowl gouge to get the initial shape of the bowls exterior, and then switched to a Skew for the final shaping of the bowl.

Yes, I defiantly agree CHJ, hiding the dust in the cracks would have made a massive difference in this piece. Seems to be something I just overlooked. I would love a buffing system, although, money is somewhat low at the moment- so I’ll have to save up for one. But using one myself, I defiantly know the advantages!

Dan

 

[CHJ]

....and then switched to a Skew for the final shaping of the bowl.

I would strongly advise that you do not use a Skew in normal mode for dressing the outside of a conventional bowl blank, the chances of a catch on the end grain and consequences are too risky.

A skew can be used laid flat on the rest in scraper mode in some instances when truing up or defining detail.

The Skew is intended for spindle work where it just slices or peels the grain layers off.

 

[Jonzjob]

I agree with that advise Chas! A catch on the high speed of even a bowl that size can certainly 'concentrate the mind'!!!

I normally use a 3/8ths spindle gouge on the outside as I find it gives better control than my bowl gouges.

It is surprising just what a good finish you can get by using a scew as a light weight scraper. All you need to do is to make sure you don't expect it to do too much and take the edge off?

 

[Santos]

Apologies, I did in fact use the Skew in the ‘scraping’ manor, as I know first hand what will happen if you attempt to do a planning cut on a bowl blank using the skew!!

Dan

 

[CHJ]

No need to apologise Dan, you can't think of everything when in the throws of posting, just wanted to make sure you knew the dangers and avoid you having an accident if you didn't.

 

[Bill Mooney]

Lovely well turned bowl with a nice finish.
Love the inclusion, it gives it character'
Well done.