Bowl #9

Bowl #9 12 1/2" X 5"
6 months ago I was on a ranch near Floresville, Texas harvesting mesquite trees when I came across a tree laying on the ground. The tree was hollow and in pretty shabby shape, except for the huge growth on the side of it, inches above the root ball. I thought that it may have some nice figuring in it, so I cut it right above the burl and hauled it off, with the root ball still connected..

Fast forward to a few days ago. I had to turn a bowl for a Christmas bowl exchange with a friend. My friend is an excellent turner and sells his pieces in art galleries for a pretty penny. He had given me a large segmented bowl that is absolutely gorgeous. So naturally I wanted to give something in return that was fitting.for the gift I had received. As I was looking through my wood pile I came across the burl from Floresville. I cut a large chunk of only to reveal some of the best mesquite burl I have ever seen.

Because we are in the process of moving and my lathe is already in storage, I had to take it over to another turner's shop to work on it. He has a big, beautiful Vicmarc lathe that made turning this piece a breeze. With faceplate attached and mounted to the lathe, I donned the face shield and a 3/4" bowl gouge and proceeded to throw bark and various pieces of wood from one end of the shop to the other, all while creeping the speed up on the lathe as I went. I turned and sanded the outside to 400 grit and then clamped it in the chuck to start the inside.

My original plan was to have some holes and cracks that would be filled with turquoise. That plan fell apart quickly when I realized how large the holes and cracks would be. I started at the rim and slowly started tuning the inside while continuing to bump up the lathe speed. I'd get one area finished the way I wanted then would move farther into the bowl. With the inside finished I power sanded it to 400 grit. I enjoy using other people's shops because of what I can learn. My friend handed me a Grex 2" r.o. sander and I sanded the entire bowl to 600 grit with it. That little sander will do wonders for your finish.

I then hooked it up to a vacuum chuck with little success. So the vacuum chuck became a jam chuck and I turned the tenon off the bottom. and sanded it like the rest of the bowl.

I sprayed multiple coats of lacquer while sanding with 600 grit between coats.

It is now at its new home and my friend liked it so much we are going to exchange bowls for our birthdays in Fe/Mar.

Why bowl #9? Simple, this is the 9th bowl I've turned.

- Joel Haby