Southern Maple bowl

Nice! I especially like the rim. What tool did you use to undercut the inside of the rim?

Alan Weinberg said:

Nice! I especially like the rim. What tool did you use to undercut the inside of the rim?

Click to expand...

Thank you!
1/4 Crown bowl gouge. One of the little short handled ones you get in their mini set.

And a little more 100 grit gouge than I should have.

Nice work, good that you challenged yourself with this rim. Now you can put that on the shelf!
The problems with that rim are, it’s ugly, (sorry) and prevented you from cutting the walls of the bowl properly, so you have forever tool marks.

”nothing special about the wood” Just a bit of pushback, the wood is maple, nice to turn, finishes really well, holds up well, people love it. The wood is just the medium, it‘s your work that makes it special or not.

Marc, I appreciate the feedback, it is well recieved.

Regarding the undercut rim, what makes it look ugly to you? Just educating myself here on aesthetics. I rather like the rim, I especially like how it feels in the hand... but then again I also think my 25 year old Suburban is a nice looking truck so I realize that I don't exactly have the most discerning taste.

Matt,
I shouldn’t have called it ugly. My apologies, and thanks for not blasting me for my less than gracious comments.

It can sometimes be difficult to explain what we see intuitively. So I’ve pondered and will do my best.
Technically, the rim is fine. You were successful with a difficult maneuver. That’s extreme under cutting, so good on you for that.

When we view something, a bowl in this case, we look for visual cues as to purpose and weight. A wide rim suggests some heft, and undercutting suggests that the remainder of the bowl is thinner, finer than the rim, the width adding a sense of strength, stability, and an invitation to the interior which can be aided by a gentle inward slope.

I don’t feel that your rim tells us much, or what it says doesn’t fit with the rest of the piece. The inner edge is quite thin. It’s the thinnest part of the bowl, even looking fragile.
Beginning at the outer edge and scanning inward, my eye gets to the edge of the rim, the inner edge and stops or just flies over the top. Nothing pulls my eye into the bowl to investigate the interior with all of that gorgeous maple grain pattern.
The path one’s eyes travel a piece of art/craft is very important. Keeping the eye/brain moving around the piece, not flying away, will increase interest and enjoyment, and will increase prices if you sell.

Marc

Ok, that's the type of feedback I was hoping for, thank you. I knew your original comment was intended as constructive .

I have a few more blanks of this size and a few more rim ideas I want to try so I'll certainly be taking your feedback in mind.

This kind of criticism is great to receive. We should have a forum where one can post items that the experienced turners can criticize without hard feelings. I’d like more than just a “like” so I can progress.