Turned my first bowl today!

[Chris152]

The blank came with the lathe so I thought I'd give it a go. I've done a few spindles to get used to the tools and felt a bit more confident, and tbh I'm really pleased with the result. That said, the shape's largely been determined by the various catches I had along the way (there's still the residue of one on the base). The outside had pretty bad turning marks which I sort of managed to remove with the skew on its side as a scraper, and I used a round scraper on the inside/ bottom but couldn't really reach the inside sides. There's tearout, and it wasn't completely centred/ round judging by how the nasty marks don't run right the way round. I sanded and finished with sanding sealer and clear paste wax.

It's about 5 inches diameter and has a few worm holes.

 

[Rockford]

That's very nice and an impressive first attempt! It looks quite different in each of the photos, which one do you think looks most like its 'true' shape?

I don't have space for a lathe but would love to have a go at proper turning - my brother in law keeps teasing that there is one buried at the back of his lockup - maybe we'll get to it eventually!

Best wishes

Rockford

 

[Dave Brookes]

Chris,
Well done, a great first attempt. Glad you are pleased with the outcome.

Dave

 

[Dalboy]

A good first attempt. All the little problems will eventually go away as you get more practice. If you can find someone close or even join a club you will find things will progress at a faster rate, you will also learn how to sharpen the tools to the best effect and how to present them to the wood.
Don't give up keep at it and in no time you will making some very good pieces. Keep this one and in 6 months compare it to what you turn then and you will be very surprised at the difference

 

[Chris152]

Thanks all.

It looks quite different in each of the photos, which one do you think looks most like its 'true' shape?
I don't have space for a lathe but would love to have a go at proper turning - my brother in law keeps teasing that there is one buried at the back of his lockup - maybe we'll get to it eventually!

That's a good observation, Rockford - the answer is that the internal and external shapes are different, I guess! The rim's about 10mm, the bottom toward the base about 15mm as I didn't take enough off. Something to address in future! My advice is to try to get to the back of that lockup asap - turning's incredibly addictive and great fun, based on my limited experience.

Dalboy - following Dave's advice, I joined my local club a few weeks back and have found it incredibly helpful. I didn't turn last night, but watched really carefully with the catches I'd been getting in mind and it helped. One thing I've realised is how many different ways people work to do the same thing, and I think it's easy to get caught between different approaches as I stand, gouge in hand about to make a cut. So this morning I decided on one approach to preparing and shaping a bowl and came up with this -

There's clearly tearout on the inside, but the positive thing was that I didn't get any catches.
I got the tearout with a domed scraper - I think I had it at the right angle, pointed slightly down with the rest about centre height - would it be because I didn't have it sharp enough?

Thanks
C

 

[Lazurus]

Scrapers need a tiny burr on the cutting edge just like a cabinet scraper does, I find straight off my 80 grit grinder they have just enough, as you say many ways to achieve the same result, find your own way............ I sound like Yoda lol!

 

[CHJ]

.....I got the tearout with a domed scraper - ...... - would it be because I didn't have it sharp enough?

Thanks
C

Short answer Yes, but as with most things turning related , perfection in everything is an unachievable aim.

If you can, try and position the edge and direction of tool travel so that you are slicing the wood fibres as opposed to chopping them.

Think in terms of carving Meat or Cutting Bread, no matter how sharp the knife chopping at it won't achieve much, slicing across the meat, or bread, carving, works much better.

A couple of things you can do to improve the 'cut-ability' of the wood is to soak the fibres and make them swell, thus providing more physical support for them and lubricating the cut at the same time.
You can try plain water, Sanding sealer, a finishing oil, or anything that is compatible with your intended finish, leave to soak for a few minutes and try your cut again.
Once Torn or Pulled the fibres may show the damage several millimetres deep so it pays to be aware of the risk.
Even soak the wood before the final couple of gouge cuts to reduce the risk.

When getting near your finished size it can help to coat with sealer which will more than likely highlight any torn areas so that you know where extra caution is needed.

 

[Dalboy]

I will not add anything to what Chas has mentioned. But glad you have joined a club and that you have picked up some tips which you have put into practice.

 

[Chris152]

Ok, thanks - it looks like a combination of sharpness and burr as the first thing to try, then on to making the fibres swell if that isn't enough.
I just had a watch of this video and found it really helpful on prepping and using scrapers, in case anyone else is new to it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq5uUDM ... Ls1lf7SZh0

 

[Dave Brookes]

Well done Chris, there is possibly no cure now for this addiction so just practice, practice, practice and ENJOY!

Dave

 

[JWD]

Looks good Chris!

Best vid i've found so far on catches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOvF5f1phhY

 

[Chris152]

Thanks both. And yes, it's terribly addictive! I did a steamed beech one yesterday and this time got the thickness about right throughout, I think. But I do find reaching the inside sides with a bowl gouge tricky - you can clearly see turning lines in this photo (and some on the rim, which is silly - I didn't notice them til I looked at this photo).

I'm sure greater skill will help with that, but in the meantime is it worth buying a bowl scraper? I plan to continue with bowls and plates, getting larger hopefully.
Also, does anyone know of any videos online that clearly show how to make sheering cuts/ scrapes with a bowl gouge? I've found several that look good but I can't quite make out where the bevel is/ where the fulcrum is as they make the cuts. But I can see it's not the kind of thing you want to get wrong.
C
ps I really like unsteamed beech but steamed far less - is there a reason for steaming it other than changing the colour?

 

[CHJ]

....Also, does anyone know of any videos online that clearly show how to make sheering cuts/ scrapes with a bowl gouge? I've found several that look good but I can't quite make out where the bevel is/ where the fulcrum is as they make the cuts. But I can see it's not the kind of thing you want to get wrong.

There is no bevel support when using the razor sharp edge of a swept back Bowl Gouge for shear scraping, it's the nearest thing you can do to asking for a severe catch if you get it wrong.
Personally I would say it's not for a novice turner to attempt and especially on the internals of a bowl.

.
ps I really like unsteamed beech but steamed far less - is there a reason for steaming it other than changing the colour?

It's my understanding that Steaming is part of the kiln drying routine to reduce the moisture content quicker than air drying, Steam is introduced into the kiln to even out the moisture loss gradient throughout the wood as it dries, like all kiln drying it tends to denature the wood to some extent and reduce the 'softness' feel of the wood.
It can also change the colour with a tendency to even the colour gradients out and look more bland with less obvious figuring in something like Walnut where the darker core wood will stain the lighter sapwood.

 

[Chris152]

There is no bevel support when using the razor sharp edge of a swept back Bowl Gouge for shear scraping, it's the nearest thing you can do to asking for a severe catch if you get it wrong.
Personally I would say it's not for a novice turner to attempt and especially on the internals of a bowl.

You won't have to say that twice, Chas. I can imagine how it would be if it went wrong. The chap whose been helping me at the club I'm going to is really skilled and clearly used to all the mistakes novices can make - I'll wait for him to say I'm ready!
Many thanks, Chris.
ps The sanding sealer reduced tearout on the last one I did - still not good by any means, but I can see how it worked.

 

[Robbo3]

Also, if your bevel is too long not only will it not get round the curve but the heel of the bevel can bruise the wood which is very difficult to sand out.
If that is the cause, the answer is to grind away the heel to make the bevel shorter.

 

[Chris152]

The bevel's at 50 degrees with fingernail shape. I'm sure it's essentially user error, and that's a pretty standard grind, isn't it?

I just completed this one this morning. Still some tearout, in spite of keeping everything as sharp as I could, but far less and I used a few abranet sanding discs folded in half to sand it back (it seemed to work better than sandpaper, no idea why), and that made quite a difference.

It's about 10.5 inches diameter and I used thin masking tape to resist the sanding sealer and wax where I wanted to paint, before remasking and painting. Really happy with the result.

The four I've done so far have all been with round turning blanks. Is it a big step to sawing and using air-dried wood? I assume I'd use stable pieces without too much complex grain/ obvious knotting.

 

[Lazurus]

Using your own sourced and produced blanks is very satisfying and not a hard process, allow 1 year per inch to dry to a reasonable level. Don't worry about grain or knots all adds character when you start to turn the blank. Its also cheaper by far so when you do make a mistake (or produce a design opportunity) the cost of the result is negligible. Plenty of advice about regarding cutting and drying your own timber, the problem woods are Holly and the fruit woods, I struggle with these as they always split. get friendly with or buy from a local tree surgeon and keep him in beer for those good bits that would otherwise be firewood. Nice results above keep it up

Stuart

 

[Chris152]

Thanks Stuart. I can see why the process of collecting and storing unusual pieces of wood is common among woodturners! I think I need to keep the wood structure pretty simple for the time being, I'm still learning to use the tools and anything remotely challenging is likely to get the better of me. But I'm going to set an area aside for those bits that I'll get to in the future. And for the moment, I seem to have fallen in love with sycamore. I obviously need to try others, but for the moment I might go and buy a long slice that's been air dried so I cut to size and crack on with learning.
I see on the net that some people part-turn green wood so it dries quicker - is that a good thing to do?

 

[Dalboy]

Nice job on the last ones. With practice you will find that tear out will become less and less but you still may find it on some wood especialy if it is softer and very dry.
Collecting your own wood will soon become second nature and once you start keep collecting so that you always have wood at various stages of drying.
As for rough turning the advantage of this is two fold the first it allows it to dry quicker and secondly if done correctly will allow the wood to warp rather than split, this does not mean that none will split but will reduce the amount lost through it happening.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks Dalboy. Looks like I'm going to have to get a wood stock moving along now, I just used the last of the blanks I bought last week and now feeling slightly anxious about it! I did this one this morning, smaller again with hickory - initially it tore out lots, seems to be pretty coarse grain, but with careful use f the gouge and scraper followed by some abrasive it finished pretty well. I think part of the tearout problem was removing too much toward the end - the last couple I sharpened the tools before final cuts and only removed a really small amount - really just enough to get rid of the tearout.

I've not used hickory at all before, it's lovely-looking wood and I was lucky to pick up a bit with light (sap wood?) toward the edges. I like the look of the dovetail plinth (rather than nothing/ a recess) but might just taper it in a bit before it reaches the surface it stands on next time - that won't effect the chuck's grip, will it?