First Bowl

[JosephTree]

Well, I finished my first greenwood bowl carving project. It ended up being a bread dough trough sort of thing 21" long, 9" wide and 4.5" deep, and was carved out of a 24" diameter chunk of Tulip Tree (Yellow Poplar, Lyriodendron tulipefera) I got off my company's lot. I split the log in half and the bottom of the bowl was the heart of the tree. I adzed and gouged and scorped out the shape and sanded the dickens out of it, while controlling the drying by tucking it away in a plastc bag for 22 hours a day or so. I saw only a tiny hairline crack at one point in the middle of the drying process, which went away with time. I finished it with a commercial "butcher block dressing" compound made of mostly mineral oil with some added carnauba and bee's waxes. I was hugely pleased to see how the grain leapt out so clearly when the oil touched it.
The final test was when I gave it to my girlfriend for her birthday last Saturday. She burst into tears and said it was the most beautiful presnt she'd ever gotten in her life. I rate that as a success.

[bigEd_H]

What, no photos? We need photos.

[Merle Rice]

Hi Joseph, Sounds like you have done a great job on the Bowl, to bring a Tear to your Girl Friends eye. It would be nice to see your bowl and enjoy seeing it all so. Looking forward in seeing it. Merle

[Nancy-G]

I want to see a photo ... pretty please.

[JosephTree]

OK...but, well, I'm a rank novice at this computer business, and actually don't have a clue as to how to get a picture posted. I have a Blackberry phone that takes pictures, but I've no idea on how to make that next step. Can anyone point me to a "posting pics for dummies" thread?
I'll take a picture or 3 this PM and be ready to post them.

Thanks for the kind words!

...I read the FAQ about attaching images, and that seems not too hard. Now I just have to get the pics from my phone to a file on the computer. Any help there?

Joseph

[RWG]

Sounds like you did a nice job on the bowl. Be sure to keep putting mineral oil on it frequently until the wood dries thoroughly. Check out Rip Mann's books on bowl carving if you haven't already.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

I tried to attach a picture and failed, but this may help you: Attaching a thumbnail or photo to a thread

Dave

[JosephTree]

OK, here's a pic of my first effort at a hand hewn greenwood bowl. Dimensions are 21" x 9" x 4.5". Shown here with its first batch of bread.
Thanks for the interest everybody..
J.