Does anyone green turn a normal bowl (not live edge) to final thickness?

[Grey Darrah]

I know that you can turn a green wood live edge bowl to final thickness and let it dry for a week or so, then finish it. Doing this will likely result in some out of round distortion, but because of its uneven top, more often than not, that distortion is either not really noticed, or may even enhance the look of a live edge bowl. What about a regular bowl that is turned perfectly round and flat topped? If green turned down to 1/8 to 1/4 inch, does it become unattractive with a little drying distortion, or does it still look great?

I realize how something "looks" is subjective, I was just wondering if many turners do this with non live edge bowls or if it's typically viewed as taboo? An obvious answer is to try it myself and see what I think, and I may well do that, but I still value the opinion of more experienced turners.

Thanks,
Grey

 

[hockenbery]

A lot of folks do turn them green to finish.

I think they look better with the rim at the bark edge the rim will be sort of wavy and look nice.

When done with the bark at the center of the tree the rim dries with sort of cocked hat look with peaks at the end grain sides.

There are lots of trees with sort of flat sides. These make great one turn blanks. With the rim at the flat bark side.

Also and endgrain hollowed bowl will look ok warp wise when turned green.
I generally avoid end grain bowls. The wood rarely looks as good as side grain
There is a reason furniture makers have been hiding endgrain for 2000 years.

 

[Richard Coers]

I do it all the time, probably turned 75-80 of them over the years. It's popular in my area, because the irregular shape and rim distortion speaks to being handmade. A perfectly round bowl, all sanded flat on the rim, can be purchased at Pier I by the thousands. Large bowls dry oval and also start to mimic dough bowls. I sand them after drying, off the lathe. I have a 20" disc sander to flatten the bottom. This whole stack is a commission of 18" diameter soft maple bowls.

 

[Bill Boehme]

One of the nice things about turning mesquite is that it can be turned green with very little warping. It's often dry by the time that I finish turning it.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Here is one that shows the points Al was talking about. Sanded while wet and then dried and lightly sanded.An then the second was sanded beaded and then dried. So yes a bowl can be aesthetically appealing when warped.

 

[Breck Whitworth]

Grey, I went through a period where I turned green wood into finished bowls. I enjoyed that period quite a bit, but the slightly elongated end grain area created a slightly oval bowl. They eventually sold but I found that as utility bowls go they sold much slower than twice turned bowls. Some of my customers really like them, but mostly for decorative bowls not so much a working utility bowl. Green turned to finish bowls are usually thin walled which is necessary for quick drying. I liked the challenge of turning a bowl without stopping from start to finish without any long breaks in the process. It is so cool to get a completed bowl so quickly. An old wood turner from Belize taught me his method and it works incredibly well, they just didn't sell as well so I quit fooling with them. Light thin walled utility bowls just don't sell well down here.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I do it all the time, probably turned 75-80 of them over the years. It's popular in my area, because the irregular shape and rim distortion speaks to being handmade. A perfectly round bowl, all sanded flat on the rim, can be purchased at Pier I by the thousands. Large bowls dry oval and also start to mimic dough bowls. I sand them after drying, off the lathe. I have a 20" disc sander to flatten the bottom. This whole stack is a commission of 18" diameter soft maple bowls.

Nice set of bowls!!

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I know that you can turn a green wood live edge bowl to final thickness and let it dry for a week or so, then finish it. Doing this will likely result in some out of round distortion, but because of its uneven top, more often than not, that distortion is either not really noticed, or may even enhance the look of a live edge bowl. What about a regular bowl that is turned perfectly round and flat topped? If green turned down to 1/8 to 1/4 inch, does it become unattractive with a little drying distortion, or does it still look great?

I realize how something "looks" is subjective, I was just wondering if many turners do this with non live edge bowls or if it's typically viewed as taboo? An obvious answer is to try it myself and see what I think, and I may well do that, but I still value the opinion of more experienced turners.

Thanks,
Grey

I remember reading Richard Raffan's books long time ago. I was surprised at all the green turned warped bowls in there. Thats when I went thru a period of green turned bowls, If it's good enough for Richard, it's good enough for me... I still have all his books... I usually turn finicky woods like Lychee and Macadamia nut, green. I have been successful at turning them thin and not cracking, too bad, LOL. If you twice turned these two, you find cracked pieces beyond recognition within a few days into the drying process... Turning green wood is fun.

 

[robo hippy]

My favorite wood to turn is Pacific Madrone. Main reason is because it warps insanely. You just never know which way it well warp. The more it warps, the better it sells for me. 'Oh! they are sooooo organic!' Thousands of them.... I just like the warped shapes, and Madrone is a reddish color, similar to cherry. Only difficult part is sanding them on the lathe. I had Brent English help me adjust my converter on my Beauty so the minimum speed is about 15 rpm so I can keep the sander on the bowl as it spins. I do let them dry before sanding... They are totally dry in about a week. If you do twice turn Madrone, you have to boil it. No other way to do it because if it doesn't crack (chances about 99%) it will warp way beyond the 10% dimensions. I turn a lot of Myrtle/California Bay Laurel too, and it doesn't warp nearly as much. I don't bother to sand the bottoms flat either.

robo hippy

 

[Donna Banfield]

I do it all the time, probably turned 75-80 of them over the years. It's popular in my area, because the irregular shape and rim distortion speaks to being handmade. A perfectly round bowl, all sanded flat on the rim, can be purchased at Pier I by the thousands. Large bowls dry oval and also start to mimic dough bowls. I sand them after drying, off the lathe. I have a 20" disc sander to flatten the bottom. This whole stack is a commission of 18" diameter soft maple bowls.

Really nice work, Richard!