After his first few days home from college for Christmas break, my son told me he wanted to carve a bowl. Being in the workshop with him was nice and reminded me of many moments in the workshop when the kids were growing up. Usually, the projects were spur-of-the-moment ideas that struck them; bows and arrows, boats, wooden swords, miniature stages for little ponies and the like.
And every so often, they’d pop in and help me with a project I was working on. Attention spans tend to be short at that age — there are so many things to explore — so I never made the shop into a detention center. Over the years, they’ve continued to investigate and discover their own interests and talents, from drawing to guitar playing. Once in awhile they pop back in to the workshop as Noah did to really carve his first bowl, a gift for his mother.
We worked with green tulip poplar, one good option for a first bowl. We stuck to a form that allowed him to get used to the feel of the tools and the response of the material rather than become overwhelmed with a really complex design. Still, the bowl has a nicely arched top and some undercutting beneath the handles. He enjoyed it and made a lovely bowl that will see lots of use in our house over the years. This tulip poplar log had a cool purple streak running through it that was a nice bonus. The bowl is 16 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 3 inches high.
The photos were taken after the bowl had dried in the open for over a week and had lost nearly half of its weight through water loss. Now Noah will have to decide if he wants to go over all of the surfaces again with fresh cuts to refine the form and leave a more burnished surface, as I do. But he really took the time to leave nice cuts during the green stage and there was really no discoloration or anything during drying, so maybe he’ll just flatten the bottom with a hand plane and oil it. 
Wishing you all a 2019 filled with memorable moments in and out of the workshop.
David Fisher, Carving Explorations 
Good heavens!
What an excellent first bowl.
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We were both very happy with how it turned out, St. John. Thanks.
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That is a beautiful bowl, which – to my eye – needs no further cuts. The texturing is delightful. It is good to see some of your skills and talents continued, and built on, by the next generation. 🙂
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This made my heart smile and sing a little. Well done, Noah!
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Wow, Noah, what a beautiful first bowl! Very impressive. ‘Course you have a pretty good teacher, too! You guys have talent!
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PRO! HNY!!!
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Very nice. How quickly they grow up. Dave, I’m glad to see the interest continues with your children. I’m guessing you must be a proud dad. Great job Noah.
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That’s for sure, Scott.
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Wonderful story.
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A Christmas story if ever I heard one.
Great job, Noah.
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Looks like a chip off the old Bowl! Well done Noah.
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A wonderful way to celebrate family and ring in the new year. Thanks for sharing, Dave.
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Excellent work Noah!! I love those nice clean cuts on the inside as well as the outside of the bowl. It also looks like a nice surprise of color in the wood from the top view on that left side. I am looking forward to seeing the color, and colors, of the wood when the oil hits the wood. Keep up the good work. You are fortunate to have a Pa as a great teacher.
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Happy for you David, I think we all would love to see our children follow in our crafting footsteps or the footsteps of any craft. It’s a beautiful bowl, maybe he’s got the bug, I hope so!
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well I was going to say like father like . . . but I see chip off the old block got in front of the line–nice work on your part and nice work on his–Happy New Year–
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Happy New Year Dave!
I am heading for The Spoonfest (a la Robin and Barn) this summer. I don’t suppose there is any chance you will turn up there?
Philip
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There’s an idea. I do have a canoe… I know it is an amazing gathering.
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I’m sure his mom was as pleased with this fine bowl his dad is proud of the bowl maker!
Thanks for this nice post to start the year, Dave!
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David which oil would you recommend Noah use on his bowl? We use pure Tung 70% diluted with Orange oil 30% which is food safe and has a very pleasant aroma.
Thanks in advance,
Samson
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Check out this wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil
FYI I usually use several coats of raw linseed oil or, occasionally, walnut oil (beware nut allergy sufferers). Occasionally I might follow up with shellac (“sanding sealer”) or, more often, homemade beeswax polish.
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I use flax seed (pure linseed) oil, sometimes a blend of that and beeswax. The tung/orange oil blend you suggest would be fine though. Flax, tung, walnut, hempseed — they all protect much better and longer than mineral oil. I’ve seen that without a doubt. I have some more detailed thoughts about oil treatment at this page https://davidffisher.com/usecare
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