Another sun bowl!

[johnny.t.]

Well I haven't had much shed time but got out there today and made another sun bowl, the last one I made got a few suggestions on how to inprove it which did make sense so I took them on board and this one has differing length rays which have been carved and sanded to not have the 'cut out' look. Anyhow 8" wide again.

sorry the pics are naff

Then me being me,I was intrigued by the carving thing and as we spent the afternoon sitting in the garden :roll: Not turned but I thought I'd share them with you. Don't laugh,I've only got a stanley knife and have never done anything like this before.........

Your thoughts as always most welcome

JT

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Johnny,
Thats another nice piece out of your workshop and I like the style as it makes a change from just plain round.
As for the carving with the stanley knife these say to me Lord of the Rings possibly??? But I like them!
Regards,
Ian

 

[Bodrighy]

Are those straight from the wood or from templates? Whichever they are rather good mate.

Pete

 

[Woodmagnet]

Love the bowl Johnny 8) , and the carvings are
great, I agree with Ian about the L.O.T.R. idea.

 

[Neal Addy]

Very nice! Glad to see you doing a series in these sun bowls.

Don't laugh,I've only got a stanley knife and have never done anything like this before.........

All I can say is WOW!

 

[Paul.J]

Not so keen on the bowl JT
I think the bowl part looks too big making the rays look too squashed.
Might have been better doing away with the outer circle and cutting the rays into that area,making them look longer and perhaps just darkening the outer rim of the inner bowl.If you see what i mean.
The carving or do they call it whittling :? for a first attempt looks great :shock:
You'd have loved Westonbirt with all the carving going on their.

 

[loz]

Can see your Sun bowls slowley evolving into something wonderful Johhny,

And your greenmen are cool also - They would suit being stuck on the top of Sticks for walkers for sale - but i want commission on that idea,

If you like carving have a look at this

http://www.carvingpatterns.com/

and the GMC forum has a good carving section also,

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/forum/default.asp?C=5

 

[Jenx]

JT ... love the bowl, and the Wood Spirits are fantastic... well done on all fronts ! ...

Spot-on !

8)

 

[pete honeyman]

I like the bowl much better than the last one, I'd maybe go for a smaller bowl section to allow some of the rays to be cut in further, the proportions don't look quite right to me as it is. Definitely getting nearer to something interesting though.

Pete II

 

[Oakbear]

That bowl's a corker!

Massive improvement on the last one imho. I reckon that's bang on the money, the dimensions sit perfectly for me.

Great stuff!

 

[CHJ]

Nice to see the 'sun' evolving, think the idea of a smaller bowl has merit, also the rays look a little too well finished and regular in my view.

Ragged differing length, 'spattered' rays with a rougher finish might look more realistic.

Great results with the carving, if that's a stanley knife effort then a small set of carving knives is more than justified.

 

[stevebuk]

hi JT
i can only echo what others have said, i like the sun bowl very much but i love the carvings. I think a face in the bottom of the bowl would also be good.
keep em coming mate :lol: :lol:

 

[penman]

Hi JT

Definitely like the sun bowl.
SWMBO likes the lower carving and she thinks it looks very phallic. :wink: :wink:

Malcolm

 

[johnny.t.]

Thanks chaps
I know what you all mean by saying the bowl part could be smaller and the rays bigger but from my experiences with the gallery sales(where this is now for sale) the things with smaller bowls don't seem to sell so well(at least for a decent price) for example this little laburnum crotch bowl has been there for ages for just £15

the thing is perfectly finished etc and IMO looks the business but I think people look at the bowl size and think "thats small for the money",I bet it would go for £8 in a snap :lol: where as something with a bigger bowl looks worth more?(at least thats how I'm thinking) Maybe I just need to make one much bigger with say a 5" bowl and the same for ring and rays?

As for the little carvings they where great fun to do and I'm going to order a set of proper knives in a minute :lol: I've also made a walking stick with one on the top that I need to finish later.

Pete, no templates,I doubt I could follow one if I tried :lol:
Malcolm thats exactly what my MIL said when she saw the second one(disturbingly :lol: )

Cheers JT

 

[Bodrighy]

£15 is ridiculously cheap for work like that IMHO don't know what anyone else think. A lot depends on where you are selling. Galleries and online you can ask for more than small shops.

Pete

 

[Jenx]

John, Pete's right ...........
There's a phrase " Reassuringly Expensive "....

IMHO you could 'up' that figure a little and not be out of order by doing so.

All the best to yee ! 8)

 

[Walter Hall]

John, Pete's right ...........
There's a phrase " Reassuringly Expensive "....

IMHO you could 'up' that figure a little and not be out of order by doing so.

All the best to yee ! 8)

I agree too. if you add up the cost of the materials and your time I think you might find you are making a loss.

Like the star bowl and the woodspirits though.

Walter

 

[johnny.t.]

Don't misunderstand me chaps, I like as much money as possible :lol: this is just an example of bowls and how I see other non turners percieving them. The gallery sells my clocks for about £30 and pens for £20 (I get £20 and £12 respectively) and they don't take me long at all,much less time than bowls, it just seems when people see a small bowl they see that as the bowl and the rest, however fancy as an extra decorative bit. TBH those little laburnum bowls took about an hour to do,so £15 isn't bad for what is essentially enjoyable time for me at the lathe.(I don't buy wood either 8) )

JT

 

[duncanh]

Thanks chaps
I know what you all mean by saying the bowl part could be smaller and the rays bigger but from my experiences with the gallery sales(where this is now for sale) the things with smaller bowls don't seem to sell so well(at least for a decent price) for example this little laburnum crotch bowl has been there for ages for just £15

I'd have to agree and say that £15 for that lovely bowl is way too little. Assuming the shop takes off the same commission you'll be left getting maybe less than £10.

You may not have to pay for the wood but you should still factor in a cost for it - you may not always have access to free wood.
Imagine - someone wants a repeat of something you've turned for them and you have to buy the wood for the second one. If they want to pay around the same price you may end up essentially selling it for a loss.

You might find that putting up the price actually leads to a sale - if you value your work more then a potential buyer might as well.


I struggle to come up with realistic prices for the small amount of work that I sell myself. For the large pepper grinders I make I chose to strike a balance between how long they take, cost of materials (wood, mechanism, finish) and what I think people will be willing to pay. A couple of weeks back I sold one that had been ordered and one where the high price was queried until I explained what was involved in making them. I sold a 3rd to someone who had already bought one and who had said that she and her friends agreed that they were way too cheap. She paid the normal cost and voluntarily added another 50% to make it up to a price that she thought was reasonable (I should say that these sales were all to friends and acquaintances, and the 3rd sale was to a doctor who perhaps has more disposable income)

Btw. I forgot to say - I really like the turnings and carvings that you've posted in this thread


Duncan

 

[johnny.t.]

I'd have to agree and say that £15 for that lovely bowl is way too little. Assuming the shop takes off the same commission you'll be left getting maybe less than £10.........

.....Btw. I forgot to say - I really like the turnings and carvings that you've posted in this thread

Thanks Duncan.

The little lab bowl would earn me £15, so its more in the gallery(didn't mean to mislead ) The gallery works on a basis of you give them your price,whatever it is and they add on whatever they feel they can make in profit.

Your points are quite right of course but I think many of us feel awkward putting a high price on stuff. My website has higher prices than I would/could sell to the gallery for but they need to be able to make enough out of things for it to be worth their while.

JT