Goldfish Bowl Lives!

The Goldfish Bowl, as I now call it, is done.  Isn't he cute?  Here's another shot.

The tail and fins have been carved to add a little detail.  This was done before they were attached to the body.  I had thought of using a rotary tool to sand out the low spots but I had visions of the tool taking off and running wild across parts I didn't want sanded.  I decided to remove most of the material with a carving gouge.  This was faster and gave me a better feeling of control.  The surface the gouge left behind had a rough texture to it and I liked that detail as well.

The tail fin is glued into a slot in the stub that I left at the back end of the bowl.  To attach the fins I marked their locations and then drilled a 1/8th hole through the bowl.  Holding the fin in place against the body I marked the location of the hole with a pencil from the inside.  I then drilled a matching hole in the fin(a little smaller) for a screw.  I didn't like the idea of using screws but I wasn't confident in the fit between the bowl and the fins and I just didn' think they would stay on any other way.  If you look in the mouth you can see head of the screw.

I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch high gloss latex for all the paint.  The first coat on the exterior is 4 parts Sun Yellow and 1 part Apple Red.  After that dried I would paint a small part orange and, while it was still wet, paint the outline of the fin in yellow and mix the orange and yellow to fill it in.  The last bit around the mouth has a few yellow streaks to give it a finer texture.  I finished the painting on Sunday and found that I didn't have any glue to attach the eyes.  I had to wait until Monday after work and I could hardly wait to put them on. 

Over all, this was a fun project.  The patch job I did on the hole was something new and while it would never be good enough for high end woodworking at least it salvaged this bowl.  Carving and painting are both things that are outside my comfort zone and I clearly have more to learn about hollow turning as well.  I guess the best way to judge a project is: would I do it again?  Well... I have this idea to add some texture to the scales...