Big Leaf
This ancient kauri bowl was a bit of an undertaking as it is 14inches across, turning a thing of this size and trying to keep the form allowing for the carving was a teaser.
I had to ring Andrew and order an extra long tool rest as well as I had 12 inches of overhang on my bowl gouge, not a thing I want to do often
The leaf templates I made by picking leaves off my favourite exotic tree A magnolia Grand flora .I just love the way the leaves turn up in the wind exposing the brown under side .The flowers give off a beautiful smell almost overpowering. I have planted 30 or more of these trees around my property.
I turned this piece the day I cut it up in the swamp down the road .at ¼ of an inch thick it was finished sanding and then I turned a jamb chuck and left it to dry for a couple of weeks with the tailstock pulled up on my spare lathe .
I drilled a hole down the centre of the jamb chuck and had a fan blowing up the spindle to help dry the timber from the inside .I placed a bucket over the fan cut a hole in the bucket and ran a hose to the spindle .
Every couple of days I would turn some off the jamb chuck so it had a loose fit as the timber shrunk A good inch around the circumference smaller after two weeks
Most of the external carving was done while the bowl was still between centres
Air brushing and prisma colour markers were then used to achieve the shimmer that the leaves have in real life
My wife says the carving detail is not crisp enough, But hey my view is this is my stile (ruff and ready)
I am really enjoying my carving journey at the moment
Comments welcomed
