first bowl disaster

[Batfink44]

Well i had a go at turning my first bowl today I only had a piece of 4" cubed bit of pine witch came off an old fence post.
It seemed to start off ok although i couldn't get a nice finish on the side of the bowl (i think this was due to the timber as i've only turned green sycamore before a few times.

I got myself a little confused, when setting up for a bowl should i mount the faceplate to the end grain or should i have the end grain on the sides of the bowl?
I set up with end grain on sides of the bowl and i managed to get a good 2 inch deep with walls about 4mm thick when i noticed a crack appear and thats when it all went wrong... as it was only a small crack at the top of the bowl i thought i could just take the top down 1/2 inch and just re adjust my design. But no every time i tried the rack just got longer after a couple attempts of rectifying it i got fed up called it a day and went indoors to sort out "myfarm" on facebook. don't judge me on that my wife got me hooked on it.
Hopefully tomorrow i can get some more sycamore off my friend and ill have another go..
I have a 4" faceplate what depth screws should i use bearing in mind i cant turn too big a bowl about 12" max i think and should i set up with end grain on side of bowl or grain on faceplate? or does it matter with green wood?

 

[Bodrighy]

You can turn a bowl end grain on but it is more usual to turn so that the end grain is at the sides. (Just to complicat matters if you turn with the grain running along the lathe bed it is classed as spindle work)

If you have the faceplat going into the end grain the screws won't hold as well so you will need longer ones or with a coarser thread. I don't bother much with faceplates though and would probably turn the blank between centres and put a tenon on one end to hold in the chuck. If you don't have a chuck then a faceplate would be needed.

If you are using green wood remember that the cntre is softer than the outside so again turning end grain on isn't advisable with a tenon as it can shear easily IME.

Hope this helps

Pete

 

[PowerTool]

I normally use a faceplate ring to go with whichever chuck jaws I'm using,and normally 20mm screws into side grain (seasoned blanks,though)
End grain (such as goblets) I do the same as Pete - turn a tenon between centres and grip in the chuck.

Andrew

 

[Batfink44]

Ahhh yes the chuck!!

there are soooo many out there i dont really have a clue which to buy all i know is i would like to do bowls goblets pens etc so do i need to get a large or small chuck? whith or wihtout a dovetail jaw? whats a pin jaw? etc etc ARGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I've watched some woodturning videos on you tube and i can see that they really are the way forward but by god theres a multitude of them axminsters alone in there catalogue has 7 pages on chucks.

 

[Bodrighy]

Bottom line any chuck will do the job, some better than others. I use a Supanova2 with I think thwey are 50mm haws that come as standard with it. You can get chucks for about £40 upwards but you get what you pay for. You need selfcentring ones and the jaws come with it usually. different jaws such as pin jaws are extra.

Best thing is look at Axminster chucks and the different jaws you can get for them to get some ideas of what is available. I don't do pens so can't really help beyond the fact that you need seperate bits of equipment (mandrels) which may not need a chuck but fit into the morse taper on your headstock. Someone will be along to let you know on that one no doubt.

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Batfink.
Take a look at CHJs link on the front page on HOW TOs.
Bob Chapaman shows you how to turn a bowl without a chuck.

 

[Batfink44]

Cheers paul didnt see that. Seems like a good guide ill have to buy a live centre and some callipers for accurate measuring but thats a lot cheaper than a chuck for now, I'll have a go again soon and post some pictues this time hopefully it wont be a mess like the first one :lol: