Bowls from a friend's wood...

[Warren White]

A friend gave me a large piece of Maple that was going to be a gun stock. It contained enough wood for two 9" bowls and one 4 1/2" bowl. They are both about 4" deep.

I have completed one of the larger and one of the smaller. (For those following my earlier post, the larger was an "innie" and the smaller was an "outie" and I like the "outie" better! These are my 5th and 6th bowls; these are finished with shellac and Deft spray lacquer. The one on the left below is the smaller of the two.

Comments, critiques and suggestions are most welcome. As you can see, my skill level doesn't allow for thin bowls! Perhaps some day.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Charlie_W]

Both bowls are turned and finished very nicely! Job well done!
As far as thinner bowls, they will come with time. A bowl caliper is a big help...however, your finger and thumb will work well for as far as you can reach.

 

[D.Oliver]

I think they look just right. To me, super thin walls on a bowl is like having the popping noise on a lidded box. It really only impresses other turners. The general public isn't as discerning. Not only that, it bugs when I handle a bowl there is a disconnect between how heavy / light the bowl looks and how heavy / light it is. That might just be me though.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Nice bowls, I like the thicker walls as to me that makes a bowl more practical... Bill Grumbaugh says every turner should make a bowl as thin as he can, get it out of his system, then turn practical bowls. I have somewhere near 300 or more bowls under my belt and most of them are in the 1/4 inch + range of wall thickness, ans as Derek has said the public generally doesn't care... hasn't deterred my bowl sales at all.

I like the rims around them as well...

 

[alankulwicki7]

I think if the bowl is going to be a 'user' or utility bowl, it should be about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. If it's going to be a shelf queen, then it should be thinner. That's just me, though!

Nice work!

 

[JimB]

The bowls are very nice!

If you want to try turning a thin walled bowl you should go for it. I've turned a number of bowls but am certainly not an expert but I have turned a few thin walled bowls. It is not as difficult as it may seem. There are also some advantages to turning them. For one thing you will learn better tool control which will help you with other turnings. It will also open up some new design opportunities. If you ever decide to get into embellishing your bowls you will want thin walled bowls for piercing.

 

[Warren White]

Thanks one and all!

I appreciate all of the comments. My first bowl (with a LOT of help from an experienced turner) was thin walled, but I am comfortable where I am. I know better now just how much I don't know!

Lots of fun!