Purple Heart Bowl

[monkeybiter]

Latest effort. There are flaws, but I am pleased with it, and so's my son which is more important.
The reason for using purple heart was to make a purple bowl [my son's an occasional Goth] but it's more brown than anything else.
It's still not bad though, and I'm very pleased with the finish as compared with the pine I've been practising with.

Thanks for looking

 

[Frank S]

Just leave it in the sunlight for a day or so and it will turn purple.
Nice bowl,by the way.

 

[CHJ]

Good flowing curves Mike, not the easiest woods to tool, if you've had problems with tearing try coating with sealer before the final cuts with a freshly sharpened gouge. Any pulled fibres can run quite deep and be very difficult to remove the shading that causes when sanding.

Try filling the knot voids with sanding dust and CA or sealer to reduce the trapping of finishing wax.

 

[Blister]

Nice bowl monkeybiter

practice makes perfect

keep it up :wink:

 

[monkeybiter]

Thanks for the tips on tear-out, I did get some persistent tears that I didn't seem to be able to 'turn through'; a couple I sanded out by hand while static [not deep enough to leave a noticeable flat] then through the grades while spinning.
I thought about cleaning out the cracks with a toothbrush but I thought SWMBO might notice. :wink:

I haven't put a finish on it yet, don't know whether to bother or not?

 

[PeterSk]

I'd put some sort of sealer on followed by some wax myself, either that or buff it up with some tripoli if you have the means. I'm guessing that it's a bowl that will get some use, so it'll last a lot longer with a finish of some description, and if nothing else it will stop it getting grubby fingerprints all over it.

I really like the round over on the edge of that piece, the profile looks great and the top down shot makes it look almost toroidal. Looks like a good job turning through those giant knots as well, are they filled with something?

 

[monkeybiter]

Thanks for the kind words, the cracks in the knots just have a little sawdust crud in the bottom, hence the toothbrush thoughts.

I'm hoping it will get a bit of use, so I think I'll take your advice re. finish. I've got both spirit based and cellulose sanding sealer [is one better than the other?] and some beeswax, what about friction polish, not durable?

 

[Paul.J]

Nice looking bowl Mike
Nicely finished and nice shape.

 

[PeterSk]

Personally I've got Chestnut Cellulose Sealer and Chestnut Microcrystalline Wax, on the recommendation of Mark Sanger. Can't say I find anything wrong with them, the only thing extra I want is a buffing setup to get stuff really shiny.

I would have thought that friction polish would be good, I know a couple of people use it to finish pens so it should be pretty hard wearing, probably more so than the beeswax

 

[stevebuk]

beautiful bowl, i would really be tempted to put finish oil on if it were mine... :lol:

 

[Bodrighy]

For me the knots make it, don't see them in purple heart very often. It'll change colour as it mellows.

Pete

 

[monkeybiter]

Thanks for all the generous comments, that sort of encouragement on here makes all the difference, as opposed to making efforts in isolation. It makes you try harder and strive to improve.

 

[Wanlock Dod]

Thats a nice looking bowl, if you give it a few days it will go purple again, then I recommend it is kept out of sunlight to maintian it's purpleness for as long as possible

 

[Kalimna]

As for purpleheart, I have used it a couple of times for other purposes and can sometimes be a bit disheartened when it comes out brown from being freshly planed/sawn. But as mentioned above, a day or two should bring out the pigment. Unfortunately, that pigment will eventually go a dull brown in sunlight. UV retarding finishes should, in theory, delay the purple-to-brown change but it will eventually go.
Bizarrely, I find that purpleheart has a candy-floss smell to it when it's being worked, and also that it splinters something nasty..... However.....

The bowl is lovely too - I really like the soft curves and 'lip'....

Cheers,
Adam

 

[monkeybiter]

I've no sense of smell, so I can't comment on the candy-floss comparison :lol:

The bowl is now on the windowsill waiting for the sun. So it'll go purple in about 9 months then

 

[gasmansteve]

Nicely shaped bowl there Mike,never tried Purple heart! I`m sure the goth will like it :wink:
Steve