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Bobby Smith

Bobby Smith

Bobby Smith

Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
252
Likes
159
Location
Omaha, TX
Hey all from Midland, Tx. I am new to lathing. I've turned a couple Christmas ornaments for my mom and sister and I've done about a dozen ink pens. I love doing the pens but I want to learn more. I presently started a little candy dish bowl. Wow, totally different from pen turning by far. I'm dealing with tool marks and sanding marks and I haven't even gotten to turn the bowl around to hollow. I'm already worried how that will be. I've watched soo many videos and it seems that everyone video I watch, their tools just rake off the wood. Mine don't even come close. I bought a set off ebay that claimed to be HSS M2 steel but came in a "made in china" box. So I'm figuring I got what I paid for. I'm also trying to get sharpening down for them. Still can't get them to that razor edge that I figure I need. I've mostly used my bowl gouges and tried just skimming them on the edges but just can't seem to get that smooth run all the way across. Anyway, I'll post my latest pen I made with some cocobolo wood. Loved that. I'm also including a pic of the bowl I'm working on. I'm a little OCD, want to get rid of these aggravating sand marks, so any advice and tips will be taken with much appreciation. Also, this wood seems to have some stress cracks on one side and wonder will these interfere with hollowing whenever I get to that point? Thanks!
 

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Welcome.
I second Bill’s suggestion.
Lots of great turners in Texas to learn from.
Videos are great but they don’t adjust your tool so that you can feel the bevel on the wood.

The trick is to let the tools do the work while you watch and encourage them.
 
Bobby Smith said:
So is this all the help and advice that anyone is going to offer?
Click to expand...
if you post a specific question in the in the “getting started you will get likely get responses.

I have a few threads in the “tutorials and tips” section that will help you on bowls.
1. Working with green wood includes links to 2 videos from a club demo: turning a wet wood bowl to dry and returning a dried bowl. Also many tips on working with wood from log to finished bowl
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/working-with-green-wood.11626/

2. Turning a natural edge bowl from a crotch. This links to a video of club demo on turning the natural edge bowl with the rims aligned so that it will dry in a few days for finishing
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/naural-edge-bowl-from-a-crotch.11058/

3. Split hollow form seed jar. There is a link to a video of a club demo showing how I turn it. This is a great learning project as you turn two bowls for each one as well as making them into a box. A few little tricks are shown.
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/turning-a-seed-jar-split-hollow-form.13584/

Also I recommend you look at the videos in
http://aawvideosource.org/php/video_detail_view.php

This is a searchable collection of videos that have been reviewed by AAW volunteers for safe practices and effective technique. Several of the contributors to this forum have video list.
 
Bobby Smith said:
Well they already responded. Will have a meeting in a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll be clear of work and try to attend it. Maybe I'll take that bowl off the lathe for now and go back to pens until I learn something more about it. Lol
Click to expand...

Bobby,

I have mixed thoughts on your response. Certainly, continuing to fight something that doesn't come out well leads to frustration, but I doubt it would be unsafe. Hard to call without seeing you work.

But, I find that I spend time turning for enjoyment more often than turning to produce something of value. I enjoy the whole process. The planning, the setup, the turning, and even the sanding. That is my main reason for choosing this hobby.

I usually don't do it for objects (except during the holidays or for birthdays). The days when something blows up on the lathe, or ends up as a very nicely done piece of firewood, are OK. I had fun not working ! And, if I spend time analyzing what I did that went wrongly, it is a great learning experience.

Once you get a coach, keep those failures to talk about with her/him. They may be able to tell you what you should do differently.

Good luck,
Rich
 
Bobby that is not stress cracks, they are due to the drying process or lack of it. Wood turns best green and it responds differently if left in log or half log form as it dries. As to the sanding : use fresh sandpaper (don't stretch it), Don't skip grits, and on at least the last 2-3 grits sand with the grain. Even with all that you will still see some scratches part of the time.
 
hockenbery said:
if you post a specific question in the in the “getting started you will get likely get responses.

I have a few threads in the “tutorials and tips” section that will help you on bowls.
1. Working with green wood includes links to 2 videos from a club demo: turning a wet wood bowl to dry and returning a dried bowl. Also many tips on working with wood from log to finished bowl
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/working-with-green-wood.11626/

2. Turning a natural edge bowl from a crotch. This links to a video of club demo on turning the natural edge bowl with the rims aligned so that it will dry in a few days for finishing
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/naural-edge-bowl-from-a-crotch.11058/

3. Split hollow form seed jar. There is a link to a video of a club demo showing how I turn it. This is a great learning project as you turn two bowls for each one as well as making them into a box. A few little tricks are shown.
http://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?threads/turning-a-seed-jar-split-hollow-form.13584/

Also I recommend you look at the videos in
http://aawvideosource.org/php/video_detail_view.php

This is a searchable collection of videos that have been reviewed by AAW volunteers for safe practices and effective technique. Several of the contributors to this forum have video list.
Click to expand...
I did watch the seed bowl video. Very impressive! I'm a ways from anything like that right now. Just wanting to learn the basics of bowl turning. I'm looking forward to getting with the local chapter here in Midland but I also like to check out videos on it. My bowl is on pause for now until I know what I am doing better. I will post any questions I have from now on in the Getting Started forums. Thanks You!
 
RichColvin said:
Bobby,

I have mixed thoughts on your response. Certainly, continuing to fight something that doesn't come out well leads to frustration, but I doubt it would be unsafe. Hard to call without seeing you work.

But, I find that I spend time turning for enjoyment more often than turning to produce something of value. I enjoy the whole process. The planning, the setup, the turning, and even the sanding. That is my main reason for choosing this hobby.

I usually don't do it for objects (except during the holidays or for birthdays). The days when something blows up on the lathe, or ends up as a very nicely done piece of firewood, are OK. I had fun not working ! And, if I spend time analyzing what I did that went wrongly, it is a great learning experience.

Once you get a coach, keep those failures to talk about with her/him. They may be able to tell you what you should do differently.

Good luck,
Rich
Click to expand...
I have no plans of doing any lathing for a profit. I've been working with wood for 20 some odd years. Mostly crafts, shelves, jewelry boxes, trashcans, of that nature. I bought the lathe purely for my own enjoyment. I've only made a dozen pens but those were for my wife, daughter, mom and sister. The rest are mine! Lol I basically just got here to learn, ask questions before I do something wrong, and to get use to the hobby of turning. As stated, my bowl is being put to the side until I can meet with the local chapter and see what they are all about. Bowls seem to be a much greater challenge than what I've done so far. My intentions are to learn each tool that I use and need, and to lathe something I'm proud of without destroying too much wood or getting hurt in the process. Thanks Rich!
 
Gerald Lawrence said:
Bobby that is not stress cracks, they are due to the drying process or lack of it. Wood turns best green and it responds differently if left in log or half log form as it dries. As to the sanding : use fresh sandpaper (don't stretch it), Don't skip grits, and on at least the last 2-3 grits sand with the grain. Even with all that you will still see some scratches part of the time.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gerald! I bought the wood off ebay and supposedly kiln dried and was wax coated. I did start my sanding at 120, 220, 400 and that's as far as I got. The sand marks look better but I am a little ocd and want to try to get them all out. Lol I'll keep working on it later but for now, gonna just put it away for a bit until I'm a little more comfortable with turning it around to hollow. Not there yet.
 
Bobby Smith said:
Thanks Gerald! I bought the wood off ebay and supposedly kiln dried and was wax coated. I did start my sanding at 120, 220, 400 and that's as far as I got. The sand marks look better but I am a little ocd and want to try to get them all out. Lol I'll keep working on it later but for now, gonna just put it away for a bit until I'm a little more comfortable with turning it around to hollow. Not there yet.
Click to expand...

You won't find any kiln dried wood that is wax coated ... that just wouldn't make sense. The reason for wax coating is to slow down the air drying of green wood. I would choose a different dealer the next time you buy wood.

You might need to drop down a grit or two and start at 100 or 80 grit to get out tool marks and do any necessary surface smoothing and blending of curves. All sanding done after the coarsest grit is only to remove scratches from the previous grit. If you find that you need to do additional surface smoothing then go back to the starting grit. Also, don't skip grits when sanding because you'll never be able to remove coarse scratches with fine grit paper ... so progress through 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400 ... most importantly use sandpaper as though somebody else is paying for it ... meaning that sandpaper does wear out ... a lot sooner than most people realize. Use quality sandpaper, not hardware store branded paper. I like Norton ProSand, but there are other high quality brands. Don't sand with the lathe running at high speed because that will cause heat checking ... a lot of fine cross grain cracks. If the sandpaper gets hot you're sanding too fast.
 
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