Camphor Vessel Design Change

After my last efforts I needed to assure myself not all wood was bad so I dragged a a piece Camphor I had rough turned 9 months earlier out of its hiding place..

I had a shape in mind and as can be seen to the left and above some voids were shall we say obvious.

I had generally shaped the vessel outside and inside leaving a wall thickness of about 1" 25mm all the shavings were then stuffed back inside and it was stored for about 9 months.






I set to remounted the bowl which was attached to a face pate and got hollowing the inside. The shed began to have the scent of camphor again.
I worked the inside shape and formed the top rim edge to about 5mm thick the  walls down to 10mm and shaping of the outside roughed further and smoothed.

 

I had spoken/chastised a neighbour/friend who had walked up behind me while I was working the inside of the bowl. The lathe spinning at approx 850rpm hollowing tool deep inside as was my left hand just at the entrance. All I noticed was a large looming shadow. I almost had a catch as I flinched and pulled the tool out there and then. As my garage door faces the street and I usually this time of year work with it open it could have been anyone. I have had sales people, JW's all just walk up behind me and some enter without so much as a thought to their own safety let alone mine.

The following day as I was getting the sides down to about 7mm the hollowing tool dug in on a hidden knot so tiny it was but grain change can do that.

The tool flipped up slamming my hand into the rim mean while the tool post although tight moved down and the thin rim suffered. I was lucky so was the bowl.

Photo above, sorry for the poor quality, is of the inside before the tool grabbed.

I took a day off turning till swelling went down and made the design change required.

 

Below.

First coats of Almond Oil brought up some great looking grain including whats known as quilting. Quilting was explained to Sue once by another turner as "Compression stress. This is the weight of the tree above that area pressing down much like people who have large thighs or ankles".

The finished bowl with four more coats of Almond Oil.

Oh one other reason Blog posts have been slow to happen was camera's! My little $5 special Sue won in a raffle the battery door broke an even using gaffa tape which I had been ding for 18 months wouldn't hold. Its had been dropped once to often the plastic door gone can't locate it.

Sue's Panasonic, the memory chips ALDI brand would lock up without warning can't take photos.

Yes I used the mobile phone I had some photos off that have been used in these and past posts. Our service supplier decided it wouldn't cover 2G any more so new phones purchased for us both. When I finally got time I downloaded all the photos off my old phone.

Then came our 40th Anniversary! All my sneaky plans for a few days away we hosed down greatly ah well I tried.