Turnings from the last century!

[Charlie_W]

Yup......1970-1971 high school shop class....Mr. Lloyd instructor.( Nice Guy!....I wish he was still around to show him some of my turnings)
These are five bowls that I turned back then. I had one or two and my mom had saved the others. At the time, I knew nothing about bevels and cutting/slicing wood.....we didn't even have a bowl gouge. All I was taught and did was scrape with whatever chisel to get the shape. These are thick walled and clunky by today's standards and have different colored felt glued on the bottom to hide the faceplate holes.
Two cherry bowls in the front, nut bowl left rear is mahogany and cherry, center bowl is cherry and the flat stack on the right is Walnut and oak.(which has de-laminated and cracked)
A bit of furniture polish and these don't look too bad now.
The finish of choice back then was a French Polish.

 

[Curly]

You've come a long way baby!!!

 

[Dieseldoc]

Charlie; You just got me to remember my firsts turning , like you long a go in late 50"S. How ever how I don't know where they are as after my Mom passed years ago they got lost in the process.
I agree with Curly, you have done the long journey from the start to putting out Excellent turnings. Fun work, right?

 

[leehljp]

Every bowl is a step forward. Lets see now, you have walked about 10,000 miles from those days!

 

[wolf creek knives]

Like you, my last turned item from shop class was a bowl and was a gift for my mother. Right after I finished the project the shop teacher just about got his armed ripped off on the lathe and just about scared me to death. Didn't turn anything for at least 15 years. Now both my lathes are my most used tools. When my mother passed my sister got the bowl and I haven't seen it since...or my sister.

 

[Charlie_W]

Like you, my last turned item from shop class was a bowl and was a gift for my mother. Right after I finished the project the shop teacher just about got his armed ripped off on the lathe and just about scared me to death. Didn't turn anything for at least 15 years. Now both my lathes are my most used tools. When my mother passed my sister got the bowl and I haven't seen it since...or my sister.

Tom, I do hope you and sister are reunited someday. Maybe you can get to visit your bowl too!

 

[wolf creek knives]

Tom, I do hope you and sister are reunited someday. Maybe you can get to visit your bowl too!

Probably won't happen. I've reached out with no response back so I just gave up. As for the bowl, it's probably gone. She probably threw it away or burned it. Very long story that's been going on for well over 40 years now. My mom's passing was the icing on the cake.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Tom, I'm sorry you and your sister are estranged... I don't see my sisters often, it's been 2 or 3 years, geographically we are way apart, 1 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico and 1 in Montana, but we do at least talk on birthdays and holidays...

I still have my first bowl from when I first started turning... it's pretty crude compared to some I do now, although some of them are still a little "rustic".... I used a scraper on my first too, but have graduated to the bowl gouges, for almost everything I turn. My first doesn't go back quite as far as your, maybe about 16 years... we didn't have any kind of shop in my high school, only FFA classes and I never intended nor have never had any intention of being a farmer. They work too hard.
I thought in high school that I wanted to be a teacher, but after running a couple of training classes in the navy, decided I wasn't cut out to do that either... wound up in international shipping.... had fun with that for 40 years.

 

[tomtedesco]

Shop class was a long time ago. We did turn a bowl but I have no idea where it is, what I remember most is the pen and pencil stand we made from a 2X6 with two holes drilled in it. Left H.S. after freshman year and enrolled in technical school becoming a machinist, until military service.