Silver Birch Burr Bowl

[John D Smith]

  This is a chunky Silver Birch Bowl most will think this is to chunky but comments welcome.

                                                    Regards John

[GBF]

I think that is chunky

Regards George

[Les Symonds]

It's a tricky path to tread; the path between retaining thickness of bark to show the texture whilst thinning down the bowl. As beautiful as the bark is, I too feel that it really is chunky!

Les

[GBF]

I did one very similar to this some time ago and was not very pleased with it so I put it back on the lathe turned it thin and it looked great.

Regards George

[John D Smith]

 Thank you George & Les for your comments:

  Les could you explain why" It's a tricky path to Tread" ? The one thing that sometimes bugs me is to see a beautiful piece of wood/Burr finish as a pile of shavings on the floor of the workshop.

 George Why is thin always better I have seen some great chunky pieces turned by very good turners

                                                 Regards John

[Les Symonds]

By all means.....there is a tendency towards being thin (in life and in our turnings) and we sometimes feel the need to strive to achieve this sense of elegance before we stand back and say 'No, I want a chunky look to this piece'! OK, that's a valid point, but I feel that this bowl is just too chunky....that it would benefit from having a little less meat on it.

Les

[Eric Harvey]

chunky is fine with me,the only thing I`d adjust a bit if I could would be to make the inside of the bowl mirror the shape of the outside,relatively speaking,cheers,

Eric.

[GBF]

 George Why is thin always better I have seen some great chunky pieces turned by very good turners

                                                 Regards John

Thin is not always better but in this case I think it would be.

Regards George

[John D Smith]

        Thank you Eric I see what you mean thanks for taking the time to comment.
               
                                   Regards John

              George thank you for your constructive comments Regards John

[edbanger]

Chunky fine with me also

But I do agree with Eric's observation .

All the best

Ed

[bodrighywood]

Chunky can attract a lot of attention at shows as it can be very tactile, doesn't always work in photos though. As with the others, the problem for me is not so much the chunkiness but the lack of shape and design which could be the picture.

Pete

[georg]

       That's a Gem of a Burr you have got there John...... Must say from past experience its a very difficult decision on how
       far to turn a piece without losing too much wood.... with burrs like this I tend to take a bowl save out of the centre,,
      which gives me more options on not finishing up with a pile of shavings.
      Kind Regards
       Tony di
       

[John. B]

Must concur with the little too chunky. However with a fabulous piece of burr like that
I think I would have tried to turn the interior an oval shape so that two sides show the wonderful burr
and the other sides would give balance to the bowl overall.
Just a thought 

John. B   

[Bryan Milham]

As  said above, it's a little on the thick side.

I don't know if it's the photo or the irregular shape of the burr but the shape of the bowl part does not follow the outer shape, which makes the natural edge get thicker as it progresses lower, which is what stops it looking as attractive as it could.

[John D Smith]

 Thank everyone for your comments.

John B I wouldn't even know how to turn the inside oval thanks for the suggestion.

 Tony & Di. Good Idea I will try doing that some time.

 Pete,  I find it difficult to see shapes and what the design should be on a particular piece of wood/Blank

I have done very little turning over the last 4 years and find I have lost some of the skills I had it is as they say if you don't use it you lose it
                                 Regards John