Poplar Bowl - Newbie

[eemer]

I finally completed my first larger bowl. It measures about 7" in diameter and stands about 4" tall. It is not a real thing-a-beauty, but i don't think it came out too awful bad either. I do not have any bowl gouges yet, so it was all done with spindle gouges, skews and a round nose scraper. I just picked up a 3-piece bowl chisel set that has a 1/2" bowl gouge that I will be using on the next one; Spalted White Birch!

The finish right now is 3 coats of Watco, natural. I will be trying my home-made buffing system on it this weekend. I don't have any Carnuba wax, but have plenty of beeswax, I was wondering if it would work just as well as the Carnuba?

Thanks for looking and any help with how to keep the inside from getting "fuzzy" where the end-grain portions are exposed would be greatly appreciated. I also know that I need to work on my finishing skills, I can still see some tear-out in some places and I couldn't for the life of me clean up all the tool marks on the inside of the bowl.

LOML has already staked claim to this one, so I guess it ain't all that bad. I think the color didn't come out bad either - it has real character. I plan to let her have it and keep it around to look at and compare with when I have made quite a few more bowls.

 

[chippypah]

Hi Emeer,
Very good for your first try and yes keep it as time go's by it will always remind you of how you started, the tear out is really down to two things technique and sharpness of you tools. Sometimes you do get the odd bit of tear out but if you give that area a few coats of sanding sealer and let it dry, and then re cut it the fibres will be stiffer and you will get a much better finish.
Good luck and well done
Pete

 

[Jim Carroll]

Beeswax as a finish on its own is not a good idea as it does not harden properly. If you get a warm day the wax goes tacky on the peice. Carnubra wax is the opposite it is very hard . Most waxes commercially bought have a combination of beeswax and carnubra wax to make them work together properly and give you a permanent finish.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Nice job on your first medium bowl Eemer. It will be a lot easier to do the next time with a bowl gouge.

Two tips
1) Get a good grind on your gouge, ensuring that the corners are ground back.
2) Ride the bevel of the gouge and you will get a lot less tearout.

Warning, this can be an addictive hobby. Here's what happens when you get sucked into the woodturning vortex (my main stack of roughouts):