I turned this bowl for about an hour before I noticed the heart. Most of that time it was spinning at 1000-1500 rpm but in the course of making a bowl, you stop the lathe a number of times. Enjoy.

I had visions of 5 straight days in the shop “bowling”  I have been eagerly awaiting this long weekend ( 2 days of vacation + Labor day = 5 days off in a row!).  Well, almost.  My oldest grandchild and family were “evicted” from their home when the owner failed to use the rent payments to pay the mortgage. 

It was a productive weekend and the result is several new pieces that really rock. Two just stand out. They are pictured below and have been posted to the website.

Shop time this weekend. I hope to post new bowls Sunday.

This oak burl bowl is beautiful but the most interesting thing about it is how heavy and smooth it is. The oak burl is so dense that it feels and weighs like a smooth rock. I really like the figure and color on this bowl. There are a couple of drying cracks but they do not detract from the bowl at all.

I cheated this weekend and turned six great bowls. I usually turn a mix of OK, nice and really nice. I don’t always know how pretty a bowl is going to be by looking at it in the rough state but I usually have a pretty good idea.

I’m finally back in the shop.  Yahoo!  I made a mess of my first bowl today but the next two are going well.  I’m working on a pretty big box elder bowl now. 

Spent the day with a new acquaintance and talked a little about woodworking but more about passion, excellence and ethics.  We threw in a little religion and politics to spice things up but were pretty respectful and just enjoyed each others perspective.  That is a very nice day.

I got the last of the new bowls posted on my website last night. It took 4 days to put up the 75 or so bowls that were finished but unposted.

Part of the fun of bowling (making a bowl on the lathe) is picking out what to do next. At any given time I have 100-200 bowls in progress.