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Looking for advice

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I have some bowls that I have done up that I would like some critique and advice on. Looking for good honest opinions good or bad! I have people interested in all of them allready and i'm wondering what prices to tag them with, or if they're not worth selling that's fine to let me know too! not sure how to post a bunch of pictures so i'll just do the first one with the post then repost with more. Thanks

First one is walnut natural edge 9.5"x8"x4.75" finished with deft semi gloss laquer
Christopher
 

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this one is a spalted yellow birch bowl, approx 7.5"x2.5" finished with walnut oil
 

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figured maple fruit bowl 10.5"x3.5" walnut oil finish
 

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figured maple 8"x2.5" walnut oil finish
 

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something I heard from DE.....make a point to not guaranteeing the bark will stay on.....in fact better get that in writing........pretty stuff
 

odie

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Hi Chris......

You're not going to have a hard time finding those who will want your bowls.

I only have one comment. I used some branding irons for my bowls quite a few years ago, and I remember having a difficult time keeping the hot iron exactly level with the surface to be branded. It looks like your one example shows that happened to you when you branded the bottom of that bowl. You will get better with time, but there will always be a few impressions that aren't evenly branded. At some point, I decided to just design a logo that was recognizable and looked good enough for my long term approval. My logo is now done freehand with a wood-burning pen. I'm not saying that's what you should do......but, am mentioning it as an alternative, should you ever become unsatisfied with using branding irons.....

ko
 
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I know what you mean OD, I hate that I spent 100$ on the iron and didn't realize that it is very dependant on whether you get the bottom perfectly flat or not. most bowls are not even, matter of fact I would think it's rare to find one that is flat since we normally make in concave for balance anyways.
 
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charlie knighton;114671[QUOTE said:
]something I heard from DE.....make a point to not guaranteeing the bark will stay on.....in fact better get that in writing........pretty stuff

The bark looks tight with no "loose" gaps I can see. Would think it can stay on many years. I bought barked bowl froom ?20 years ago-before i was turning. Bark missing, in a couple of places thru the years with my cats playing with it, or threw it on the floor!!!!. 90% still in tact. . Nice job, Chris, \Gretch
 
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They look nice and would be good for sale. Pricing- I'm going to wait and learn from the experts as they reply.
 
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Only comment is on the walnut natural edge. I much prefer a much more dramatic cone shape compared to your near vertical walls. The more tapered walls give a more graceful and light look. Vertical walls make it heavy and "blocky".
 
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i'm wondering what prices to tag them with

price as a lot to do with location, ur reputation, is turning a hobby or business.....many more factors

location....will u be displaying in home, symposium, club venue, mixed gallery....etc btw do u need a business license.....set up sales tax monthly pay to state
depends where ur

ur reputation.......I assume ur are just starting to sell........are ur a founding member of Utah or Tennessee clubs and the AAW........do u have a sponcer that loves ur work.......do u teach or demonstrate at regional and national symposium......are u set up to do volume work ......or is it about the art

are ur trying to build a business or is it just a hobby that u want to use cash flow for machinery and tools

it really is a personal decision and u have to compare yourself and ur turnings with the market.......ur stuff is nice and good luck but be sure to enjoy the experience
 

Bill Boehme

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I tried both the branding iron and laser engraving and decided that gave them too much of a "machine made" look. I now only do hand signing mostly by pyrography, but sometimes using a pen or a vibrio engraver.

I would price your bowls in the $20 to $40 range in my market area.
 
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Pretty much what others have said, just want to add a minor comment. The wall thickness seems to start pretty thin on the tip of the wings and pretty quickly gets thicker. I think they look better if the bark area is pretty close to the same size all the way around. I make and sell lots of the NE bowls mostly walnut, they are for me my best seller. Price mostly depends on your market location.
 
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Fred-Could it be the angle of the bark? Looks wider from the side cause it's taller. Looking at it totally from the top (not available) may be more accurate, and looking directly from the top at the middle and then looking at it directly over the tip. Make sense?? I have this problem doing Nat ed. The sides are angled while the ends are usually horizontal. Like slicing a carrot perpendiclarly or on an angle. The angled slice looks bigger but is still the same diameter. May not be saying this right!!!! Gretch
 

Bill Boehme

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Very nice example in your avatar, Fred.

I don't do many NE bowls, but here is one of mine. If memory serves me correctly, somebody paid $40 for it.

index.php
 
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BIll -this is an example of the comment I made in #15. The lateral , very angled edge in the middle looks thicker that the left tip. An illusion, Gretch
 

Bill Boehme

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BIll -this is an example of the comment I made in #15. The lateral , very angled edge in the middle looks thicker that the left tip. An illusion, Gretch

Gretch, I suppose that it takes a lot of imagination when looking at a flat photo and the viewing angle at each area of the edge is different. The wood thickness was actually constant over the entire piece. This meant that the width of the outer edge of the bark was the greatest at the wing tips, but from this viewing angle which is almost edge-on it appears thin. Without actually holding the piece and viewing it from various perspectives, it's difficult to get a true representation of the shape.
 
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I do have the issue of having the wing tips thinner, I haven't quite figured out how to get it perfectly consistent at the bottom of the edge same as the top for some reason. lots of practice I guess, thanks for the replies
 

Bill Boehme

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I do have the issue of having the wing tips thinner, I haven't quite figured out how to get it perfectly consistent at the bottom of the edge same as the top for some reason. lots of practice I guess, thanks for the replies

One reason might be if you try to make it too deep. If you start with a half log, shoot for using no more than 2/3 the thickness of the piece and don't use a large diameter log. Once you get the hang of it, you can try larger pieces of wood. I personally prefer the banana boat style of shallow winged bowls. It's easy to get in trouble if you try to make them deep. And I avoid having the wings turn vertical because it's not easy to have a nice flowing curve to the overall shape. It looks like Fred pulls it off nicely, but I would probably botch it.
 
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I do have the issue of having the wing tips thinner, I haven't quite figured out how to get it perfectly consistent at the bottom of the edge same as the top for some reason. lots of practice I guess, thanks for the replies

One problem I have is with spalted wood (no bark), which usually has more tear out at the tips, meaning more sanding after it's already cut symmetric with the sides. Makes it thinner. Gretch
 

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Christopher,
Your natural edge walnut bowl is a nice looking piece.
IMHO It looses a few points on wall thickness, curve, and color.

Your wood lost its color and the sapwood is no longer white. This happens when wood sits too long letting the little beasties work on it. The way to get the white sapwood is to turn it within a week or so of it being cut. Another way is to freeze it until you turn it.
Compare the color of your bowl to the walnut hollow form below no finish yet. the white sap ring is a feature. You may have no control of this but do try to turn some fresh walnut if you get a chance.
image.jpeg

Regarding shape and rim.
I like the style that Bill showed. Those bowls show well.

I like to see a continuous curve from foot to rim and an even wall thickness. Bills bowl has those qualities.

The ash bowl below was turned by my wife. It is has a nice even wall thickness and a pretty fair curve from rim to foot.
image.jpeg

The curves and wall thickness will get better with practice.
I think it is a great bowl for some one who has been turning short time.

Al
 
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I tried both the branding iron and laser engraving and decided that gave them too much of a "machine made" look. I now only do hand signing mostly by pyrography, but sometimes using a pen or a vibrio engraver.

I would price your bowls in the $20 to $40 range in my market area.

Bill, a couple of years ago I bought a branding iron. Going back I probably would have bought an electric one but for half the price I bought one that needs to be heated manually. I bought a small butane torch to heat it with and I just never got it hot enough to work. The torch probably wasn't generating enough heat. Before I run out to buy a propane torch do you have any advice? Incidentally, the head on my iron is rectangular so I use the tool rest very close to the wood to rest the iron on it and that basically reduces my margin for error to the horizontal if I have to go at it a second time to get a good result.
 
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Bill, a couple of years ago I bought a branding iron. Going back I probably would have bought an electric one but for half the price I bought one that needs to be heated manually. I bought a small butane torch to heat it with and I just never got it hot enough to work. The torch probably wasn't generating enough heat. Before I run out to buy a propane torch do you have any advice? Incidentally, the head on my iron is rectangular so I use the tool rest very close to the wood to rest the iron on it and that basically reduces my margin for error to the horizontal if I have to go at it a second time to get a good result.
Paul if you rest the hot iron on the too rest that will wick out some of the heat you just put into the iron.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Hi Chris......

You're not going to have a hard time finding those who will want your bowls.

I only have one comment. I used some branding irons for my bowls quite a few years ago, and I remember having a difficult time keeping the hot iron exactly level with the surface to be branded. It looks like your one example shows that happened to you when you branded the bottom of that bowl. You will get better with time, but there will always be a few impressions that aren't evenly branded. At some point, I decided to just design a logo that was recognizable and looked good enough for my long term approval. My logo is now done freehand with a wood-burning pen. I'm not saying that's what you should do......but, am mentioning it as an alternative, should you ever become unsatisfied with using branding irons.....

ko
He should read our other thread on branding irons...
 

Emiliano Achaval

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I tried both the branding iron and laser engraving and decided that gave them too much of a "machine made" look. I now only do hand signing mostly by pyrography, but sometimes using a pen or a vibrio engraver.

I would price your bowls in the $20 to $40 range in my market area.
Thats so incredible inexpensive... For many years, I gave my turnings away...
 

john lucas

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I agree with Bill. In my areas it's hard to sell a bowl in the 12" range for more than $40 I don't care what wood it's made of. They just don't value wood here. I can sell a hand mirror for as much as a bowl but even then it's hard to get over $45 even for the really fancy ones so I just hang onto those. Someday I will try to get a show in a bigger city and see if I can find a market that will pay what they are worth. It's frustrating for those of us in these depressed areas to see bowls selling for $400 and higher in other areas. Then again I love where I live so I guess I shouldn't complain about a little thing like selling wood. As long as I enjoy making it then that's all that really counts. That and sharing fun and information with other turners.
 

john lucas

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Can I visit just long enough to sell a bunch of stuff. :) I'm afraid the cost of living and my retirement salary won't jive.
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Can I visit just long enough to sell a bunch of stuff. :) I'm afraid the cost of living and my retirement salary won't jive.
Truly a shame you have to sell a work of art so cheap. People tell me I'm lucky I can sell to so many tourists, but the truth is, my big pieces are all for local people. A Hawaiian Calabash is a cultural thing here, not just a bowl. Only the King and ruling classes were allowed to use them in pre-contact days. A tradition here is to give one small calabash when a baby is born... Lots more about it in my article about the calabash in Woodturning magazine, lol, had to put a plug in there...
 
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One reason might be if you try to make it too deep. If you start with a half log, shoot for using no more than 2/3 the thickness of the piece and don't use a large diameter log. Once you get the hang of it, you can try larger pieces of wood. I personally prefer the banana boat style of shallow winged bowls. It's easy to get in trouble if you try to make them deep. And I avoid having the wings turn vertical because it's not easy to have a nice flowing curve to the overall shape. It looks like Fred pulls it off nicely, but I would probably botch it.


Bill I appreciate the complement. NE bowls are probably 95% of what I do. My biggest problem with the edge thickness is the end of the wings are to thick. It is because I start my cuts a little bit down the inside to protect the bark. I use a power sander to even up the bark, it's pretty easy to do, just set the index and grind each end to match the rest or the bowl.
 
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