Walnut donut

[Les Symonds]

This is a commission that I just finished....a donut bowl out of a lovely piece of Hampshire walnut from Prime Timber (Andy Prime described it as 'uninteresting stock').
It's a good size, at 13" x 4" and is finished with 2 coats of cellulose sealer and 3 coats of microcrystaline wax.

I hadn't made one of these before and had underestimated just how precise I'd have to be to keep the curve flowing , especially as the customer wanted a rounded well rather than the flat-bottomed well that you sometimes see in donut-bowls. In the end, I made a profile template of 1/4 and 1/2 circle and used them to repeatedly check the profile as it took shape.





C&C Always welcome..,.,Les

[fuzzyturns]

Well, if that's what the customer wants, then that's what the customer gets. Personally i find this shape rather uninspiring, although clearly your finish is flawless.

[Les Symonds]

I suspect that this is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of piece amongst the wood turners.....BUT...it is the single most fondled piece amongst the customers in the shop today; they all make a bee-line for it and just can't resist stroking it.

Les

[philstevenson]

I love it. Thin isn't always best and I'm into curves - this bowl just shouts out to be fondled and I appreciate the technical challenge of keeping curves flowing where you want them to go. Well done.

[Duncan A]

Gorgeous!

[bodrighywood]

There are two kinds of wood turning for me, the pieces that grab you by the eyeballs and are works of art in their own right, shout 'look at me' and then there are those that scream feel me, pick me up. Sometimes if you're lucky they coincide. Doughnut (I am english not american) bowls for me are one of the second type though there is an inherent beauty in those that are made well like thisone.

pete

[georg]

                   What can we say Les.......Like every thing about it ....... cannot fault it.

                   Kind Regards
                   Tony & di

[Les Symonds]

Hi Phil, Duncan, Pete and Tony & Di...thanks for your compliments...much appreciated.
Les

[malcy]

That is a beautiful piece of wood and beautifully turned and finished. I can see why your customers in the shop want to fondle it. It so smooth and flowing with superb curvatures. Very well done. Malcolm

[steve w]

you got the flowing line spot on from here Les.  - can i ask how you apply the wax is it in crystal form?

[Les Symonds]

you got the flowing line spot on from here Les.  - can i ask how you apply the wax is it in crystal form?

Microcrystaline wax is a soft paste wax, with a solvent which evaporates readily. It's a by-product of the petro-chemical industry, being a waxy residue of the distillation process. It's beauty lies in the fact that it melts at a temperature much higher than some other waxes (such as carnauba/beeswax), so it tends not to take fingerprints when handled....it's also moisture resistent.
It was developed  by the British Museum and marketed as 'Renaissance Wax', although other suppliers such as 'Chestnut' also sell it.

Les

[Nick Simpson]

Love it.
It has the pick-up-ability factor in spades. Hence the need for a fingerprint resistant finish - so thanks for the heads-up on microcrystalline wax.
And what wonderful figure and colour.
But for the uberpicky..............
This shape is a biconcave disc, which, in nature, is that of a human erythrocyte (red blood cell).
A Toroid continues the flowing curve right through the centre to the other side and is the shape often called donut (or doughnut).

Kind Regards
Nick

[edbanger]

That's a Beautiful piece Les I can see why people have just wanted to pick it up.

Ed

[steve w]

Microcrystaline wax is a soft paste wax, with a solvent which evaporates readily. It's a by-product of the petro-chemical industry, being a waxy residue of the distillation process. It's beauty lies in the fact that it melts at a temperature much higher than some other waxes (such as carnauba/beeswax), so it tends not to take fingerprints when handled....it's also moisture resistent.
It was developed  by the British Museum and marketed as 'Renaissance Wax', although other suppliers such as 'Chestnut' also sell it.

Les

Thanks les - i will have to get a tub.

[Dancie]

A really nice uncomplicated design where the wood ‘speaks’ for itself very touchable.