Bowls: Natural Edge Beech

Continuing my obsession with Natural Edge bowls, this beech bowl measures 7" and is turned to a thickness of 1/4". It rests on a small foot you can see in the photo which I rather like and is a departure from my usual NE bowl bottoms.

From a piece of wood given to me by my sister-in-law Kathy, this NE (Natural Edge) bowl was one of the very few I've re-turned. I usually turn any NE forms in one sitting as I turn them when they're still green and they can warp significantly unless done without pause.

This began as a demo at a show my woodturning club put on. Not having the time or necessary tools to complete it to my liking, I roughed it out to show our visitors how a NE bowl was made. I'm still working on my presentation skills and being out of my normal element an not wanting to turn a prospective bowl into an accidental funnel by turning through the bottom or sides because I was too busy talking to the crowd, I put it aside before I ran out of both nerve and talent. ;)

To my surprise it not only survived the trip back to the shop but none of the bark had come off and no cracks had developed. It was pretty badly warped but it managed to hold together while I finished the turning.