• April 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn an Egg! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Kelly Shaw winner of the March 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Ellen Starr for "Lotus Temple" being selected as Turning of the Week for 21 April, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

The Art of Turned Bowls

Emiliano Achaval

Emiliano Achaval

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
3,351
Likes
4,480
Location
Maui, Hawaii
Website
hawaiiankoaturner.com
Many years ago, too many to care to count, I was told by my mentor to buy Richard Raffan's book on design. That copy is worn out, stained, dog eared, scribbled, coffee spilled, and more. Unbeknownst to me, there is a newer edition from 2006. A revamped edition of the original from 1987. Looking through our photo gallery, I can't help to think that some of you should definitely own a copy of this great timeless book by one of the world's best teachers of woodturning. I just got a "new" one for my woodturning library. As I was reading it again, I had forgotten how funny Richard could be. My wife asked me what was so funny; I just laughed so hard a few times. Once you can tell your bowl gouge what you want to do, it is time to think about design, to try to make an aesthetically pleasing-looking bowl. I can remember when the design was the further thing in my mind. I was just happy to make a dog dish without getting hurt. Thinking back, Cole, my mentor, was to polite to tell me my bowls were horrible, so he politely told me about Richard Raffan's books and where to get them. That's when I found the eureka moment of my career. I saw in a catalog a bowl gouge that had an owner's manual, the David Ellsworth signature bowl gouge, and its accompanying VHS video. And the rest is history. No matter how many years you have been turning, if you don't have this book, you need it.
 

Attachments

  • Raffan.JPG
    Raffan.JPG
    538.6 KB · Views: 17
Emiliano my first 4 books that I got were Creative Woodturning Dale Nish, Artistic Woodturning Dale Nish, The Art of turned Bowls Richard Raffan and Turning Wood Richard Raffan. I was lucky to take a weeks course with Richard in Utah where on Wednesday night we were invited to visit Dale Nish and view his collection. One of the memories from that was Dale showing us the "Nail Dish by Dale Nish" :) Along with those memories I have this photo. I was also lucky that in a WoW Exchange my exchange partner was Richard Raffan.
 

Attachments

  • IMGP0934.JPG
    IMGP0934.JPG
    524.9 KB · Views: 41
Any time someone asks for book recommendations to look at shapes, styles, etc....I always show them my copy of the Richard Raffan book that Emiliano posted. And there are others. Bill mentioned. I would add "To Turn The Perfect Wooden Bowl" -by Ron Roszkiewics butt he book is about Bob Stocksdale. Fantastic story and pictures.
I may sound prejudicial - but I believe the BEST references are from the masters of turning that were published BEFORE the Interest came into being. That time period coincided with a timeframe in history which required participants in wood turning to actually practice, and learn and if they were truly good - their reputation and demand grew. They became famous for the beauty and quality of their work.....not being "performance artists" on Youtube...
 
Tim Tucker said:
Any time someone asks for book recommendations to look at shapes, styles, etc....I always show them my copy of the Richard Raffan book that Emiliano posted. And there are others. Bill mentioned. I would add "To Turn The Perfect Wooden Bowl" -by Ron Roszkiewics butt he book is about Bob Stocksdale. Fantastic story and pictures.
I may sound prejudicial - but I believe the BEST references are from the masters of turning that were published BEFORE the Interest came into being. That time period coincided with a timeframe in history which required participants in wood turning to actually practice, and learn and if they were truly good - their reputation and demand grew. They became famous for the beauty and quality of their work.....not being "performance artists" on Youtube...
Click to expand...
Rather than the simply "like", I'm compelled to express my agreement with your words in written form.
Modern technology has a place, it offers great benefits, but IMHO Youtube cannot replace the classroom!
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
Many years ago, too many to care to count, I was told by my mentor to buy Richard Raffan's book on design. That copy is worn out, stained, dog eared, scribbled, coffee spilled, and more. Unbeknownst to me, there is a newer edition from 2006. A revamped edition of the original from 1987. Looking through our photo gallery, I can't help to think that some of you should definitely own a copy of this great timeless book by one of the world's best teachers of woodturning. I just got a "new" one for my woodturning library. As I was reading it again, I had forgotten how funny Richard could be. My wife asked me what was so funny; I just laughed so hard a few times. Once you can tell your bowl gouge what you want to do, it is time to think about design, to try to make an aesthetically pleasing-looking bowl. I can remember when the design was the further thing in my mind. I was just happy to make a dog dish without getting hurt. Thinking back, Cole, my mentor, was to polite to tell me my bowls were horrible, so he politely told me about Richard Raffan's books and where to get them. That's when I found the eureka moment of my career. I saw in a catalog a bowl gouge that had an owner's manual, the David Ellsworth signature bowl gouge, and its accompanying VHS video. And the rest is history. No matter how many years you have been turning, if you don't have this book, you need it.
Click to expand...
I recently purchased this in digital form from Amazon. I liked this format because it cannot get coffee stained or dog eared;). It is always by my side in my shop tablet as a ready reference
 
I too have early versions of Richard Raffin’s books, but not the latest versions. I had the good fortune to participate in two weekend workshops by him about twenty years ago. He was an amazing teacher. He could be working with one of us and hear bad cuts from one of the other four lathes across the shop and immediately go the rescue. In one of the workshops, the only grinder had no platform, nor any other tool support. Richard sharpened of the tools for us students free-free hand.

BTW, there is an excellent Bio of Richard on Wikipedia.
 
Daniel Henry said:
Rather than the simply "like", I'm compelled to express my agreement with your words in written form.
Modern technology has a place, it offers great benefits, but IMHO Youtube cannot replace the classroom!
Click to expand...
Thank you Daniel. There are SO many benefits from in person learning that cannot be experienced via the Internet. That is not to say the internet is without value. To the contrary. But the issue I have is that there are no "qualifiers" on info available on the 'net. So - we have many potential turners that get frustrated and drop out and worse - too many people are hurt every year due to in complete learning due to their thinking the Internet was all they need.
 
Daniel Henry said:
Rather than the simply "like", I'm compelled to express my agreement with your words in written form.
Modern technology has a place, it offers great benefits, but IMHO Youtube cannot replace the classroom!
Click to expand...
So true
After you get a certain level of experience you can watch a live demo or web demo and use what you saw in the demo with a high degree of accuracy.

Until you get that experience be mindful-

A video cannot hear your mini catches
A video cannot correct your tool placement and posture
A video cannot see your curve or the bump you left.
A video cannot see the dip in your grind….

A good instructor will fix these and so much more…..
And there are so many side benefits from classmate interactions
 
Last edited:
Emiliano Achaval said:
Many years ago, too many to care to count, I was told by my mentor to buy Richard Raffan's book on design. That copy is worn out, stained, dog eared, scribbled, coffee spilled, and more. Unbeknownst to me, there is a newer edition from 2006. A revamped edition of the original from 1987. Looking through our photo gallery, I can't help to think that some of you should definitely own a copy of this great timeless book by one of the world's best teachers of woodturning. I just got a "new" one for my woodturning library. As I was reading it again, I had forgotten how funny Richard could be. My wife asked me what was so funny; I just laughed so hard a few times. Once you can tell your bowl gouge what you want to do, it is time to think about design, to try to make an aesthetically pleasing-looking bowl. I can remember when the design was the further thing in my mind. I was just happy to make a dog dish without getting hurt. Thinking back, Cole, my mentor, was to polite to tell me my bowls were horrible, so he politely told me about Richard Raffan's books and where to get them. That's when I found the eureka moment of my career. I saw in a catalog a bowl gouge that had an owner's manual, the David Ellsworth signature bowl gouge, and its accompanying VHS video. And the rest is history. No matter how many years you have been turning, if you don't have this book, you need it.
Click to expand...
Emiliano, I couldn't agree more. I look at mine often
 
I started turning 2 1/2 years ago -- bought a lathe, a bowl gouge, a sharpening setup and Richard Raffan's book on bowl design. I've picked up a few other things since then, but those four items were foundational to my ability to learn, grow, and find success with bowl turning. You can learn a lot about technique from the internet, but very few people (that I have found) teach bowl design. The book is part of the minimum essential toolkit.
 
Peter Jacobson said:
I started turning 2 1/2 years ago -- bought a lathe, a bowl gouge, a sharpening setup and Richard Raffan's book on bowl design. I've picked up a few other things since then, but those four items were foundational to my ability to learn, grow, and find success with bowl turning. You can learn a lot about technique from the internet, but very few people (that I have found) teach bowl design. The book is part of the minimum essential toolkit.
Click to expand...
I always warn beginners to beware of the YouTube "masters". I recommend that if they can't find a club or find a mentor, even then, watch videos that have been vetted. The AAW main site has a list of approved videos. They look for technique and safety. One hour one on one with a mentor equals 1000 hours of YouTube.
 
Seeing the curve is vitally important, but so is feeling the curve. Fingers find small things that the eyes miss, particularly on the dull surfaces of a work in progress. Examine with the eyes, and when you think you have it, examine with the fingers. People like to caress turnings. You dont want them finding small bumps or flat spots etc, and these become more noticeable with more gloss as the piece is finished. Much more difficult to fix after finish is applied.
 
Back in the 1990's when I was trying to teach myself how to scrape and sand my way to a bowl I was mesmerized by Raffan's VHS tapes. I devoured the few books I found, but actually watching someone do something on a video was a huge learning leap; and even bigger one was when I attended an AAW symposium and joined MN Woodturners club and actually got so see techniques live. Still, Raffan's comments and thoughts are a little voice in the back of my head whenever I turn a bowl.

A quote from his Bowl Design book continually runs through my mind - "Because all wood fades and mellows with age, I focus my attention on form and tactile qualities. Eventually, they will be all that's left, and if these aspects are found wanting no one will bother to keep the bowl."
 
Ron Solfest said:
Back in the 1990's when I was trying to teach myself how to scrape and sand my way to a bowl I was mesmerized by Raffan's VHS tapes. I devoured the few books I found, but actually watching someone do something on a video was a huge learning leap; and even bigger one was when I attended an AAW symposium and joined MN Woodturners club and actually got so see techniques live. Still, Raffan's comments and thoughts are a little voice in the back of my head whenever I turn a bowl.

A quote from his Bowl Design book continually runs through my mind - "Because all wood fades and mellows with age, I focus my attention on form and tactile qualities. Eventually, they will be all that's left, and if these aspects are found wanting no one will bother to keep the bowl."
Click to expand...
You defiantly picked a top of the line source for videos.
What years were you a member of the MN Woodturners? I joined in 1989 and was the third president in about 1994 or 95. I went to my first symposium in 1992 but the line up for Raffan's demo were so long that I never did get in.
 
Don,
I think I joined AAW in the late 1990’s and attended my first symposium sometime around 2000? I was on/off again the lathe in the 1990’s and 2000’s with a young family etc. I don’t think I joined MN Woodturners until ~2010ish when I started to spend more time turning. After retiring in 2014, and especially after moving to TN a few years ago, I’ve turned LOTS more (in between RVing half time ).

I don’t recall ever meeting you, but wish I had.
Ron
 
Ron Solfest said:
Don,
I think I joined AAW in the late 1990’s and attended my first symposium sometime around 2000? I was on/off again the lathe in the 1990’s and 2000’s with a young family etc. I don’t think I joined MN Woodturners until ~2010ish when I started to spend more time turning. After retiring in 2014, and especially after moving to TN a few years ago, I’ve turned LOTS more (in between RVing half time ).

I don’t recall ever meeting you, but wish I had.
Ron
Click to expand...
I moved out of the metro area in the summer of 2006 and dropped my membership in MWA, then joined the min-dak club that meets in Moorhead MN and was also one of the founding members of the MN Lakes Woodturners. In January 2020 I was in Minneapolis for follow up on my aortic valve job and stayed over the week end and attended my first MWA meeting since moving to the Lakes area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top