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Joined
Oct 25, 2020
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Location
Minneapolis, MN
"I think it'll work (super light cut), I think it'll work (super light cut), I think it'll... dammit!"

Shoulda stopped before that last cut (words we've all said before, probably more than once), but I got greedy on the adrenaline rush of danger, of knowing what may happen. Still a keeper, though. I'll get lots of ooo's and ahhh's and giggles from those who admire it. Hey, ya gotta be able to laugh at/with yourself to be successful.

No forensic reviews necessary, I knew from early on the gamble my foot design posed, out of necessity for what the blank presented to me. And I'd rather see a hole than a contrasting wood plug. Still a great way to spend an evening.

Maple. 2-3/8" x 1" with a 7/16" extra feature.
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Joined
Jan 8, 2021
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Location
Wrentham, MA
An (unfortunately) all too relatable post. Definitely there have been times where my optimism about sizing the interior of a bowl exceeded the actual space available. That said, even your hole looks well finished and almost intentional. :D
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Orange, CA
I did that recently (again) also. I’ve done it also when I forgot I had a mortise and not a tenon. All in the learning process . . .
 

hockenbery

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Joined
Apr 27, 2004
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Lakeland, Florida
Website
www.hockenberywoodturning.com
Callipers will keep you from going through the bottom UNEXPECTEDLY

I set the calipers so they are a little more open than the rim diameter.
This bowl has the wall get thinner below the rim - the space shows how much thinner.
At the bottom I get back to the rim diameter this allows me to have wood to concave the foot.
trim.E25A00FD-0D58-45A7-99C7-EE8AAAA326E2.gif

Here I get a good idea of the bottom thickness at the edge of the foot.
I have another caliper that can take a measurement between the chuck jaws for a really thin wall.

This measure works well for me. I can see the inside curve going a bit deeper and I can see that I have plenty of thickness to turn a concave in the bottom of the bowl

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Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
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Location
Minneapolis, MN
Here's what happens after my widgets come off the lathe and are ready for display:
1- present it to my wife, she always has the right of first refusal. She then gives it the obligatory pleasantries.
2- I ask if she wants to keep it. If yes, I put it on display somewhere in the house.
3- if she says she already has enough of those widgets, I remove it from the house and find somewhere else for it to live. (Yes, there is already another sweet little bowl-with-a-hole on display at home, a bit bigger at about 5" diameter, and paper thin weighing 0.3oz.)

This little bowl-with-a-hole went to work with me today. I showed it to a few coworkers who thought positively about it, even with the hole. I finally found "the right person" who, upon laying eyes on it, instantly fell in love with it, hole and all. She's newer to the organization and didn't know I made turnings, so I explained that when I give a piece away, the first person to react like she did becomes the new owner. She was thrilled with the little bowl-with-a-hole, and even more thrilled that it's hers to keep.

Intent and purpose achieved- making someone's day.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Location
Orange, CA
Here's what happens after my widgets come off the lathe and are ready for display:
1- present it to my wife, she always has the right of first refusal. She then gives it the obligatory pleasantries.
2- I ask if she wants to keep it. If yes, I put it on display somewhere in the house.
3- if she says she already has enough of those widgets, I remove it from the house and find somewhere else for it to live. (Yes, there is already another sweet little bowl-with-a-hole on display at home, a bit bigger at about 5" diameter, and paper thin weighing 0.3oz.)

This little bowl-with-a-hole went to work with me today. I showed it to a few coworkers who thought positively about it, even with the hole. I finally found "the right person" who, upon laying eyes on it, instantly fell in love with it, hole and all. She's newer to the organization and didn't know I made turnings, so I explained that when I give a piece away, the first person to react like she did becomes the new owner. She was thrilled with the little bowl-with-a-hole, and even more thrilled that it's hers to keep.

Intent and purpose achieved- making someone's day.
Cool story. Love “obligatory pleasantries.” I get those also. And she keeps virtually nothing.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
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768
Location
Crossville, TN
Not a good bowl, Nor a good funnel :(

With our traveling this past summer it’s been 8 months since I turned a bowl. During this time I’ve continued to follow some woodturning forums. I half-laughed at this thread when I saw it and thought to myself “it’s been a long time since I turned a funnel” - MISTAKE !

Yesterday I decided it’s time to turn a couple bowls again. The first one went well, but for some reason I decided to focus on turning the second one thin. I overachieved. The 4.5” x 1.5” bowl is thin, and light (26gm) but I wish it was a half-gram heavier. It still holds water (or danish oil) but you can see through the thin membrane in the center. This one won’t get signed and will float around the house or shop holding sundry items because it’s still “cute”.

So much for my pride about not turning funnels in a long time…
 

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Joined
Aug 14, 2009
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Location
Peoria, Illinois
I really like to concentrate on how the design and wood figure draws the eye all around my work to enjoy the effort. That contrasting dark plug not only stops the flow, buy blares out "Look at me". Or to other turners, "Look, I messed up!" Not everything I turn must be saved no matter what. Now if you had turned a post on that plug and sold it as a night stand jewelry bowl, then you have something.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Location
Orange, CA
Other turners certainly know what happened but the public doesn’t and may find the piece more interesting—despite tool marks and other defects. (I patched this for practice.) Like this one:IMG_8351.jpeg
 
Joined
May 4, 2022
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Location
Butte, MT
I have a couple of those paper thin bottomed bowls hanging above on my lathe (they had an nice exterior shape that I want to duplicate at times. . . )
Just a thought off the top of my head . . .
I know there are a lot of resin patchers out there who use colored resin to fill cracks or voids in their work. Could you create a resin "patch" of clear resin for the observation hole and polish it up so that it looked like a little clear window? It would retain the original bowl concept, including the original observation hole, but allow the bowl to be used as a bowl.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2020
Messages
40
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84
Location
Encinitas, CA
Last time I made this mistake it was because I used a spacer for a different chuck when measuring for available bottom thickness on a twice turned bowl - by the time I stopped the bottom was so thin it flexed then cracked. I liked the bowl shape & wood and hated to trash it- so after signing the bottom I put some blue tape over the crack on the inside and filled the mortise with a layer of clear resin - easy permanent fix to make it functional again and just another example of my less than perfect lathe skills.
 
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