Hello everybody, in a recent thread the problem of making undercuts on bowls in a fixed head lathe was discussed. Unless the lathe has a short, very short lathe it can be difficult. I'm right handed and found that using the lathe in reverse makes this cut very easy, almost natural. This is true also for finishing push cuts done with a gouge on the ouside of a bowl. The problems with reverse rotation starts in the transition line in the undercuts and to a point dictated by the shape in the outside finishing cuts. Here it is better to go back to the normal dire tion of rotation.
Here are pictures of a shallow bowl I was turning today with a shight undercut as part of a nested bowl set.
Here are pictures of a shallow bowl I was turning today with a shight undercut as part of a nested bowl set.