Thick walled pierced bowl

[duckkisser]

I have a bowl that I want to try and add too by piercing the wood to create a pattern. But everywhere I look people use thin walled vessels. Is it a bad idea to try this with a bowl that is about 1/4 thick. Has anyone done any projects that could give me some pointers?

[Indy Cindy]

Dan,

 

The people I know who do piercing use high speed tools like a dentist's drill on thin walled bowls as you mentioned. I think you would burn up your tool before you ever got through 1/4 inch of wood.

[duckkisser]

thought to drill it out with my drill and drill bits but haven't decided what i am going to do.  i might instead carve out each section that i drew out and instead do a inlay across the entire bowl.  or perhaps ill just inlay in a few butterflies haven't made up my mind. 

[sbarton22]

You can do it with a thicker bowl, it just might feel clunky. The goal of many pierced vessels is to create a lace-like feel.

 

Now, with that said, many sculptural artists start with a thicker wall so they can carve away. Look at the work of William Hunter. You have to start with a thick wall to pull that off.

 

So, ultimately, it just depends on what your final product is and what your design calls for.

 

Post pics.

[Indy Cindy]

Here is a picture of hand carved bowls done by Frank Kobilsek presented at a demo at the Ohio Valley Woodturning Symposium last fall.  Food for thought.  These started out at least 1/2 inch think if I recall correctly.