Ugly duckling

[Les Symonds]

I wanted a couple of small bowls to send to a local shop, so picked a sawn-off piece of weathered old oak that had chain saw marks on its end grain and a bit of punky sapwood in it. Then I turned a tulip-bowl out of it and looked at it in a whole new light.....this one's gonna be in my shop, not in anyone elses. Too darned pretty a piece of wood to let someone else make money out of it.









C&C always welcome (whatever that means, George!)....Les

[GBF]

Hi Les I think this is a beautiful bowl but for me the foot should either be wider or so thin it is almost invisible.

Regards George

[Les Symonds]

Hi Les I think this is a beautiful bowl but for me the foot should either be wider or so thin it is almost invisible.

Regards George

Thanks, George....I struggled with the foot on this one! I had started with a 2" tenon in my chuck, so there was a good sized foot on it, but I decided that it was much too big and kept cutting slice after slice off it. I got down to this size, which I liked, but think that I can see what you mean about making it very thin. Is the thinking behind this, that to have a foot this small, and then give it too much height, makes the foot look awkward - so better to cut it really short and let it just hold the bowl above the surface that it is sat on?
I might try drilling a hole a bit bigger than the diameter of the foot, in a board , to about 80% of the depth of the foot, then see what it looks like when the bowl sits in the hole and most of the foot is obscured.
Les

[Graham]

I have to agree. A beautiful bowl but the foot doesn't look right. I think  it would be better without one at all.

[georg]

    not going to mention the foot les ..... Its a very appealing little bowl
     Tony & di

[GBF]

Hi Les

I think it is very difficult to get a foot that suits everything and it is probably down to personal taste.
Some turners make a feature of the foot but I make mine almost so thin you cannot see it but it gives the piece a bit of lift.

Regards George

[bodrighywood]

For me the foot should lift a piece enough to see the flow at the bottom but not be really visible. Either that or become a major feature in it's own right. It is really personal taste though an like all 'rules' is there to be broken. In this case I agree it should be removed or at least made a lot thinner as it just looks like a tenon but thee will be those that like it and it doesn't negate the beauty of the overall piece as such.

pete

[Mark Sanger]

A lovely bowl, loads of interest with the grain and a beautiful simple shape.

[Bryan Milham]

Les,

sorry to be so long commenting on this piece, truly I cannot make up my mind.

Everything about it is right but I can't get it to settle comfortably in my eye - and I don't know why.

The nearest I can get is the scale, I can't see how big it is and you don't say, so although it is a perfectly curved shape, with a sympathetic finish, it looks like it's no bigger than 4" diameter. Size is not an issue but at that size it looks to have a slightly heavy look to it.

[Les Symonds]

... I can't see how big it is and you don't say, so although it is a perfectly curved shape, with a sympathetic finish, it looks like it's no bigger than 4" diameter. Size is not an issue but at that size it looks to have a slightly heavy look to it.

It's 6" diameter, Bryan

[Eric Harvey]

very nice bowl,good shape and nice foot

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Hi Les,
        I am with George on this one in as much as I think it would look better if the foot was removed. Otherwise a very nice piece.