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Calabash bowl

May be a stupid question but why the round bottom? How do you secure it to turn the inside?
Pat
Not stupid at all. I don’t know why the round bottom but I turn mine with a tenon on the bottom. I get the outside and inside done and then put it on a vacuum Chuck to get rid of the tenon and round the bottom.
 
If anyone is interested in learning more about tradition calabash bowls, I would encourage you to read the following article, written by Sharon Doughtie.


It covers everything umeke. I’m sure many of you are familiar with it, but if not give it a read. The writing is fantastic, the history is rich, and the Pat Kramer bowls are superb.

@Emiliano Achaval you mentioned the Jenkins book. Gosh, I would LOVE to get my hands on a copy. With a 1 year old baby and another on the way, the price tag is a bit high right now though. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find an inexpensive copy, or maybe I can ask for it for Christmas.
That was a fantastic article. Thanks for sharing.
 
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There are other round bottoms and pointie bottoms in sw....lot of sand in living areas
 
I was just looking for some more details on the calabash and came across this Antiques Roadshow segment on a big one. It wasn't until the end that I realized that Irving Jenkins was the expert doing the review which I thought was interesting. Link
Oh that’s so interesting! I’ve seen that video a couple of times, but never looked up the name of the appraiser. Thanks for sharing Nathan!
 
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