The Last of the Pine Tree

Ed & Mark brought the last logs from the tree down from Hartford County last weekend.   Mark & Joe got the chain saw out and sawed them into somewhat manageable logs.  Counting the 70 bowls we have turned, we should have plenty of pieces left to meet the 100 bowl goal.  A few of those bigger logs might have to be group projects.  It will take a team to lift them up onto the lathe.  Any volunteers?

Kini's Hand Sands Bowl #51

Kini brought bowl #51 by the shop this week.  The hand sanded finish is beautiful!  Hope she'll bring it back for the 'end of the project' party/show.  This one needs to be seen and touched to be fully appreciated.  The photo doesn't properly show-off those natural features (worm holes).  Congratulations, Kini!

Big Pine Bowl on the American Lathe

Here's a video of Mark roughing out a big pine bowl (#58) on the old American lathe. 

Dan's Granddaughter Decorates Bowl #49

Dan sent two photos of bowl #49 along with this story about the bowl's new owner.  Thanks, Dan.  Looks like bowl #49 is in good hands.

Nancy,  I’ve sent you two pictures of bowl #49.  I got the bowl home and put a number of coats of poly on it but the pine wood was very porous and just sucked up everything I put on it.  I also wasn’t totally thrilled with the basic shape of the bowl and was considering tossing it.  However, it just so happened that one of my granddaughters just returned from two years out of the country with her parents and had just painted her room (purple—she is 13) and she wanted a bowl to put some of her things in. So, I offered her the bowl and allowed her to paint it however she wanted.  The result is the painted bowl you see in the picture. So, we are now both happy.  Warmest regards, Dan

Need Sandpaper?

Tom asked about final sanding, once the bowls are dry.  We've got sandpaper here at the shop if you want to stop by and pick some up.  You'll need more than one grade.  You're also welcome to stop by and put the bowl back on the lathe and sand it that way.  Frank & Stacy both did this with their bowls and found it to be a big time saver.

Tom Puts Bowl #20 to Use

Thanks, Tom, for sending the photos of Bowl #20.   This was Tom's first bowl.  It was turned in May's Basic Bowl Turning Class.  We look forward to getting photos of other bowls as they find their new homes.

Turning Bowls on this Summer's Hottest Day

Well, we picked the hottest day of a very hot Baltimore summer for our bowl turning open studio day.  But in spite of the >100 degree thermometer reading, 13 bowl turners joined Mark in an effort to boost our bowl count for the Pine Bowl Turning Project.  Thanks Bob, Frank, Donna, Tim, Stacy, Brian, Gretchen, Mike, Dan, Kini, Sue, Dan & Joe for adding bowls 41 to 54 to our count.  We didn't even have to toast those bagels.