WoW Harlequin ,you sure put a lot of thought into your work ,this combination of timbers IMO work perfectly on this bowl very well turned and finished I like it . =D>
I had a great browse through your other work and found it to be stunning work , you really put some great effort into what you do .You have a great variety of pieces covering a wide selection of turnings .
What I cant understand is why they gave the Nova lathe that can do this work to you and not me . :evil: :mrgreen:
Your bowl looks very nicely turned and finished. I like the unusual design and as Eugene mentioned, the combination of timbers work well together. It`s hard to do something different with a bowl, without venturing into colouring and texturing etc, so full marks for originality! I`m not sure of the bit that protrudes from the centre underneath, though. It doesn`t seem to add anything to the overall design to my eyes.
Thanks Boysie - nice lathe , copes with anything I can throw at it,conversion to variable speed was the best thing I did
Silverbirch - I did try it without the burr but due to the cutouts for the maple rods the bowl appeared a bit eccentric at certain angles so the burr piece was intended to offer a point of focus , there was very little in it though
Alli - thanks, they are indeed horn speakers - a labour of love
Steam bending ply is not difficult, getting it just right and consistent is, as different pieces of wood behave differently based on the type of grain orientation
A steamer box and steam from a kettle is adequate (youtube will show various ways to do this and they all work)- let the wood steam for about 15 - 20 mins and then wrap it around a form that you would need to make to size , and hold in place while it dries with elastic bands etc(I used broad strips of tubing so as to not mark the wood)
things to remember - when you bend wood it will spring back a bit - usually about 25%(for 4mm ply) but depends on the thickness, if using thicker ply like 18mm bending it will require a lot of pressure which the average wood shop cannot achieve so simply make some kerf cuts to reduce the bendy element to a smaller thickness(once bent and installed the kerf voids can be dealt with by filling or glue )
The process cannot be speeded up so patience is key
If you get it right first time - it would be luck ,so prepare for errors and mis behaviour of wood - make several pieces and choose the best if you want some consistency in shape
Hope this helps