A segmented eye bowl pattern

[Walney Col]

I got the rest of the rings cut this morning without too many blunders. In total I had 5 breakages on the glue joints mostly due I think to the thin rings overhanging the saw's table and starting to vibrate in harmony with the saw before I could catch them. They're easily repaired though and I was half expecting it anyway.

I didn't realise when I took the photos below but three of the rings need to be rotated 180 degrees to be in the correct orientation. They still line up well enough to give a good impression of what the finished bowl wold look like though.

And yes it does have a very small foot and would probably fall over if you bunged a couple of oranges in it. But that's almost the whole point of it.. if it had a large stable foot it'd be full of junk in no time, but if it's so small it'll barely stand when you open the kitchen door up that puts it slap bang in the middle of the "artistic" category and is more likely to be left empty or with minimal contents purely as a decorative item.

That's my theory anyway

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

The glue up...

I came across an almighty disaster about an hour after the last photo was taken.

I hastily forced wood glue into the gap and wrapped umpteen rubber bands around the bowl and managed to get the gap to close but only just. The rest of the images below were taken a good 6 hours later and the red line highlights the cockup.

I have high hopes that it'll all come out in the wash but can't really say for sure till I get the rubber bands off and give it a bit of a sand. If I still have any visible cracks I'll give it the sawdust and superglue treatment before I finish sanding. What I find interesting is that while sawing the rings I'd had 5 breakages and every one was on one of the transverse (epoxy) joints. Lesson learned I think. Use the proper glue and bide my time.

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

The first 2 photos show the joint that had split wide open while gluing the rings together yesterday.

I used a variety of different sized drum and spindle sanders and for me this represents 3 hours worth of very tiring work.

In the photo below you can see a step in the line between the 3rd and 4th ring down. I'm a bit gutted about this since it's a simple glueup mistake that could have been avoided. What's done is done though so there's no use crying about it.

More sanding tomorrow and for the foreseeable future.

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

It's a length of 12mm diameter aluminium tube with a long slit cut into it with a hack saw, and the paper was cut from the middle of a 6" disc because it's all I had in 240 grit.

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

Progress made again today but nothing really interesting. The belt sander worked a treat for rough sanding the outside.

Final wall thickness looks as if it's going to be right around the 3mm mark which is exactly where I wanted it.

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

The finish is currently open to debate. Being intended for a japanese themed setting I was going to do it in high gloss black with a fine red pinstripe echoing the swags inspired by this piece...

But I got the indian ink out today and tried it on what's left of the glueup only to find that it totally obliterates the grain of both the mahogany and the oak meaning that you wouldn't even know there were swags on it. I was hoping the difference in grain of the swags would still show up even if the colour didn't but no such luck.

So the wife is now in favour doing it with oil and wax and keeping it for ourselves and starting something else for big sis.

I'll be taking a couple of days off from the bowl in any case 'cos I've got two new workbenches to make before my new lathe arrives on thursday.

 

[Claymore]

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[Jim o1]

Looks fantastic a true labour of love
Dont worry too Mutch about your little gluing up misshap 9/10 non woodworkers dont have your eye for detail
I would give myself a little talking to if it was me hehe i wind myself up over mistakes but dont beat yourself up
I've been using a pva glue from ever build as its free from my workplace
The one i have is a fast dry pva starts to set in 10 mins I've found less is more with it 5 mins after application it is easy to fine adjust before final clamping
Thanks for sharing your progress
I'm going to attempt a simple version over the weekend

 

[Walney Col]

Thanks Jim, and good luck with yours!

This is 240 grit. One more day of sanding with 320 grit and it'll be time to oil it.

The plans have definitely changed though, we'll be keeping it natural and doing it with linseed oil and wax.

 

[Claymore]

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[Walney Col]

I suppose using that technique you could make a Targe (shield) ?

I shouldn't think so. No scroll saw that I know will let you cut at the really shallow angles you'd need to make a targe.

 

[Walney Col]

Final sanding by hand with 320 grit this morning then the linseed oil went on.
The enhanced contrast between the woods really makes this mis-alligned rings pop but overall I'm still happy with the way it turned out bearing in mind it's the first bowl of this type and the largest I've ever done.

I am however seriously considering slicing the top three rings off, cutting a base for them, and turning what you see now into a shallow dish and bowl set one to be stacked inside the other. That would eliminate one complete set set of misalignment which currently show up in 4 places inside the bowl and 4 places on the outside so it might well be worth doing.

Still to be waxed and buffed - but I'll decide whether to slice the top off first.

 

[Walney Col]

I've just finished cutting the top three rings off my bowl. I used a dremel clamped vertically and spun the bowl around on the work top below it.

The cut's not as clean as I'd hoped for but a bit of sanding soon fixed that and I've now got a base gluing up on what has suddenly become a separate dish and I'm quite happy with the way things are turning out.

It would have been nice to have no flaws in the glueup in the first place but as a result I'm now in with a chance of getting something even more unusual. More sanding and oiling tomorrow then it's out with the wax.

 

[Claymore]

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[Scrollerman]

Col.
I am seriously impressed by your efforts in attempting such a complicated project but it's really starting to take shape now.
I really do take my hat off to you as your posts, which are very descriptive, along with your progress photos, are an absolute joy to see on this forum !
Yes, I know you've had problems but you've also showed us (and are still showing), how you soldier on to achieve your goal.
I'm sure the finished piece will look great and I for one find this thread and your inventiveness, inspiring !
Please keep the running commentary and pics/videos coming for this forum to enjoy. =D>