What's a good average bowl blank size

[Roy Hennagir]

I'm new to bowl turning. I know the obvious answer is no bigger than will fit on the lathe. I'm looking more towards something I can gift or trade. I have access to a lot of wood that changes on a weekly basis. There is a tree cutter about a 1/2 mile from me with a tree lot. It's free if you don't count any of the equipment, time and effort involved in getting it.

How important is it that it's a uniform thickness?

Is it worth making it flatter than the chainsawed face, or leave that to the final turner?

Is a square blank preferred over a round one?

What is the best book to identify the type of wood from only the bark and the end of the log. This is just. A big pile of City wood so everything gets dumped in there.

The picture shows an example of what's is there and depending on the weather this pile changes all the time. What you can see is that the pile goes 50-70 meters to the west as well.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

IMHO, That is a lot of food for thought Roy. If you are looking to sell/ trade the blanks, then I'd say that the important aspects to keep in mind are uniform thickness, ballace of heartwood/ sapwood, and stability against checking. Obviously, species and age are value calculated as well. Shipping costs for green (heavy) wood are another factor.
Chainsawed face should be fine. Square vs round shouldn't matter, as long as the piece is balanced.

Am I right learned masters?

 

[Owen Lowe]

Chain-sawn is fine.
Sq vs. round: it is very important to me when splitting a round to ensure the cut is done in such a way as to ensure the pith ends up equidistant from the bark edge. This often causes the maximum depth of the pair of blanks to be different. When the only consideration in making the cut is to halve the round, the pith very often ends up off center and makes the blank worth far, far less for my uses.

 

[Jamie Straw]

Random thoughts:
There should be no pith actually in the blank.
Flat Rate USPS is often the most cost-effective shipping method.
Personally, I greatly prefer wood that was Anchorsealed soon after it was cut.
Most of the turners I know have more local wood than they have time for, but are always looking for woods from outside their area. For instance, Big Leaf Maple is ubiquitous here in Puget Sound, people only pay for it if it's special (burl, figured, perhaps spalted if it's not punky). Fruitwoods are fairly common here, but Mesquite? Yep, I'd trade or pay for that and several other "exotics" from other US states.

It's free if you don't count any of the equipment, time and effort involved in getting it.

Trust me, that = "not free"😀😀 I'm almost finished processing a largish (28") maple tree, and a tall (~60') timber cherry that were "free." Bar oil and fuel were probably $30-$35. Body wear and tear, and time spent? can't even calculate. A labor of love, that.

 

[Richard Coers]

Cutting blanks to gift, trade, or give to someone else is risky business. First off, turners are incredibly frugal, and can often get all the wood they need for free. From a tree guy just like you can get. Then some want end grain for hollow forms, and others want face grain or end grain for bowls. Some want face grain natural edge blanks so the center axis of the log is at the bottom of the bowl, and the next turner wants a flat rim, so center axis is at the top of the blank. Some stay at least 2" off the pith, others get closer. It's a crap shoot is what I am saying. Last caution, city trees are full of steel. I've even hit concrete in rotting forks, and bricks in stumps. About all I see there is silver maple.

 

[Owen Lowe]

There should be no pith actually in the blank.

Exactly. Just to clarify, when I said I want the pith equidistant, I am referring to the initial planning for the cuts to either side of the actual pith. It’s not in either “half" of the finished blank.

 

[Bill Boehme]

View attachment 22411 I'm new to bowl turning. I know the obvious answer is no bigger than will fit on the lathe. I'm looking more towards something I can gift or trade. I have access to a lot of wood that changes on a weekly basis. There is a tree cutter about a 1/2 mile from me with a tree lot. It's free if you don't count any of the equipment, time and effort involved in getting it. ...

That's really a great opportunity that most woodturners can only dream about. 😀

... How important is it that it's a uniform thickness? ...

If you're referring to finished bowls, uniform thickness is not an absolute rule, but bowls usually look better and feel better if the inside and outside follow the same curve at least as far as you can feel with one hand. Sometimes the bottom needs to be a little thicker so that you don't wind up making a funnel when you are turning the curve inside the foot. If the shape allows you to see the inside and outside at the same time, then the curves should reasonably follow the same path. If you rough turn green wood, uniform thickness helps assure minimum problems while drying. It also seems to help if the green rough turned bowl is a little thinner on the bottom than it is on the rest of the bowl.

... Is it worth making it flatter than the chainsawed face, or leave that to the final turner? ...

I usually just mount the rough chainsawed hunk of wood on the lathe. It takes less time that making it look pretty at the bandsaw. However, it depends on what you are wanting to do with the wood.

... Is a square blank preferred over a round one?...

Same answer. The pieces that I put on the lathe are half logs with the bark on it. Sometimes I knock off the corners with the chainsaw.

... What is the best book to identify the type of wood from only the bark and the end of the log. This is just. A big pile of City wood so everything gets dumped in there. ...

The best book is "Identifying Wood" by R. Bruce Hoadley. You can preview some of the material in the book at the Amazon link. He has another book, "Understanding Wood" that is also a very useful text. I consider it essential. There is a free publication by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory that is also an excellent text, Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material". You can download the entire book (the first item near the top of the page) or download individual chapters. This is the revised centennial edition and for anybody who is still using the original edition, the revised edition is worth downloading.

 

[Roy Hennagir]

I can't see there is not a simple answer to this question. Seems to rank right up there with how to sharpen a bowl gouge. The more I read the more confusing it gets.

It appears as though most of you have access to as much wood as I do and prefer to process it your selves.

I was thinking it was like the pen turning world. A pretty common thing is to throw a box of blanks together and mail them to a fellow turner. I realize a bunch of 3/4" x 3/4" pen blanks are quite different from a bowl blank. That is the purpose of the question. No point in sending something that is not useful. It's best to save those gifts for Christmas and family.

City wood is a challenge, I have three metal detectors as I cut a lot of this stuff. I don't find a lot of metal but it's there occasionally. I slab a lot of wood for campfire tables and chairs, at the end of the year they mostly get burned too. It's just a different way of storing firewood, it's stored on wood legs.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, more questions than I can answer at one time, but I have a bunch of bowl turning videos up on You Tube... The more 'roughing' of the blank you can do before it goes onto the lathe, the less roughing you have to do when it is on the lathe, so the faster your turning goes. That means parallel sides and rounded. A chainsaw has it limits. Sizes, anything from 3 or so inch diameter for putting keys or pocket change in, up to 14 to 16 for family sized salad bowls. Plain white does not sell well, but the warmer browns like apple or the 'olive' ash, and red like cherry sell very well.

robo hippy

 

[Roy Hennagir]

Well, more questions than I can answer at one time, but I have a bunch of bowl turning videos up on You Tube... The more 'roughing' of the blank you can do before it goes onto the lathe, the less roughing you have to do when it is on the lathe, so the faster your turning goes. That means parallel sides and rounded. A chainsaw has it limits. Sizes, anything from 3 or so inch diameter for putting keys or pocket change in, up to 14 to 16 for family sized salad bowls. Plain white does not sell well, but the warmer browns like apple or the 'olive' ash, and red like cherry sell very well.

robo hippy

I've been watching your videos. Frankly some of what I have seen on YouTube is downright scary stuff. I've narrowed down who's stuff I watch based on recommendations here. Im just letting them warp. Interesting study of wood that you don't see with kiln dried flat work.

I've been turning the same size blank each time so I can learn with the least amount of variables. I'm not to concerned with getting a bowl, I'm more concerned with learning. I've had some violent catches and I immediately stop, check everything and then try to figure out the "why" part of the catch. I'm positive the mistakes teach more than the success. Sometimes I think the success may be just getting lucky. Doing the same thing the same way many times and suddenly getting a catch makes me stop and figure it out.

I'm working through this one right now and it has challenged me. I did not see the grain pattern until I got into the bowl. I knew something was up by the way the tool was cutting. It felt like the tool was sharp then dull then sharp. Sounded different as well. This chunk of Elm is the driest wood I've turned as a bowl.

This is also why I was asking about a standard size. Learn to turn those and go up and down from there.

 

[hockenbery]

This is also why I was asking about a standard size. Learn to turn those and go up and down from there.

10-11" diameter 5" tall is a good size to stick with for the first 5-10. The size is one that yeilds a hemispherical shaped bowl you can finish the turning in 2 hour class if it is your first one. The size makes a nice bowl. If you mess one up you haven't lost much time or wood.

For turning cut rim bowls in one turn letting them warp, I look for a section of log with a flat side. I then orient the bowl with the rim toward the bark ( flat side of the tree ) and bottome toward the pith. The rim will then warp with sort of a symmetrical pleasing wavy edge.

Bowls turned with the rim toward the pith I like to double turn because the rim warps with two peaks at end grain ends. This just doesn't look good to me. The second turning when warped and dried trees the rim and makes the bowl round.

Also usually ripping parallel to the bark produce the best symmetrical grain patterns.
Crotches I rip,through the pith as the feather grain is centered on the pith.

 

[olaf Vogel]

There is a tree cutter about a 1/2 mile from me with a tree lot. It's free if you don't count any of the equipment, time and effort involved in getting it.

I'm jealous.....

How important is it that it's a uniform thickness?

Is it worth making it flatter than the chainsawed face, or leave that to the final turner?

Is a square blank preferred over a round one?

What is the best book to identify the type of wood from only the bark and the end of the log. This is just. A big pile of City wood so everything gets dumped in there.

The picture shows an example of what's is there and depending on the weather this pile changes all the time. What you can see is that the pile goes 50-70 meters to the west as well.

Its hard to predict what someone will do with a blank. I rarely know myself when I get the wood. So I would leave it as large as possible. Cut it down, when you have a gameplan.

Normally I cut the corners off with a chainsaw - saves time and effort on the lathe. But it depends on the style of bowl. Also, I often ignore the nice logs and go for the craziest crotch pieces.

Most people like the nice smooth grain. I like the most messed up pieces with lots of character. That includes spalting, wood rot etc.

If you are looking to just trade, then you are in an enviable position. Congrats!
🙂

 

[Mike Johnson]

I was waiting for someone to bring up the concept of it really is not the size of the blank that counts.
First would be the quality of the color, grain, spalting, figure, complexity and contrast of the wood.
Second would be the shape of the piece that catches the eye.
Third would be the quality of the finish.
A small quality piece can impress more then a large plain piece.
Where as an extremely well done plain piece can score high when it is done flawlessly.
I always try to harvest the largest wood blanks possible from my logs when possible.
You can always cut a wood blank down to size, using my wood stretcher seems to never work well.
There are plenty of other items to turn other than wood bowls, you might want to harvest some longer
spindle blanks when possible to increase the variety of blanks you have when they dry. The longer pieces
come in handy for cutting segments along with a multitude of other wood turned "spindle" items.

 

[Bill Boehme]

.... I've been turning the same size blank each time so I can learn with the least amount of variables. I'm not to concerned with getting a bowl, I'm more concerned with learning. I've had some violent catches and I immediately stop, check everything and then try to figure out the "why" part of the catch. I'm positive the mistakes teach more than the success. Sometimes I think the success may be just getting lucky. Doing the same thing the same way many times and suddenly getting a catch makes me stop and figure it out.

I'm working through this one right now and it has challenged me. I did not see the grain pattern until I got into the bowl. I knew something was up by the way the tool was cutting. It felt like the tool was sharp then dull then sharp. Sounded different as well. This chunk of Elm is the driest wood I've turned as a bowl.

This is also why I was asking about a standard size. Learn to turn those and go up and down from there.

I love large photos that enable me to see minute details, but I would recommend resizing the photos to something that fits better in a browser window. 🙂 Your photo is 1920 pixel high which is the maximum allowed, but from a practical perspective, it makes more sense to have something that fits on a screen without the need to scroll around ... something like 1200 pixels is more reasonable. Also, some members have slow Internet connections and large images take a while to load.

If you're getting catches, here is a hint that helped me way back when I was getting catches: A force in the direction that the wood is moving (straight down towards the tool rest) is exerted on the cutting edge of the tool. In order for the tool to be stable and not twist in your hand, the point where a round tool is making contact with the tool rest needs to be directly in line with the force that the wood is exerting on the cutting edge ... that is known as a supported cut. Otherwise, the tool will want to twist one way or the other and that will often lead to a catch.

When you are using a gouge, beginners often get information overload when trying to concentrate on hand position, tool angle, stance, lathe speed, and whatnot. I think that it can be simplified to looking at the tool bevel and how it is meeting the wood. Put the bevel to the wood where the edge isn't cutting and then raise the handle until you get shavings. Then make sure that the cutting edge is being supported so that it doesn't have a tendency to twist.

Besides twisting, you can get a catch if you let the tool come way off the bevel ... for example just poking the nose of a gouge straight into the spinning wood.

Also, work on shape because a smooth constant curve is easier to navigate without getting a catch.. It's hard to tell the shape of the bowl in your picture since it is a head-on photo, but it appears that it has a fairly flat bottom and goes nearly vertical near the rim and maybe a fairly tight curve to blend the two together. Al suggested a hemispherical shape and I think that is a great idea because the wall has a constant curve. It doesn't even need to have a complete hemisphere ... just make a spheroid section ... in other words a small slice off a larger sphere like the bowl in the foreground below.



The green bowl in the background and the and the one on the right are examples of spherical bowls that are closer to being hemispheres, but I usually make my bowls a bit shallower than a full hemisphere. Those are some of the bowls that I donated to the Empty Bowls Project a couple years ago.

 

[Jamie Straw]

Exactly. Just to clarify, when I said I want the pith equidistant, I am referring to the initial planning for the cuts to either side of the actual pith. It’s not in either “half" of the finished blank.

Yep, I figured that's what you meant. Wish I had 100% success at that!😛

 

[Bill Boehme]

Here is a sketch that I made that hopefully shows what I meant by supported cut in my previous post. If the cut isn't supported then the tool is liable to rotate and cause a catch.

 

[Roy Hennagir]

Thank you to all of you for taking the time out to help me and explain things.

 

[Roy Hennagir]

Here is a sketch that I made that hopefully shows what I meant by supported cut in my previous post. If the cut isn't supported then the tool is liable to rotate and cause a catch.

View attachment 22415

Bill,
1. Thank-you for breaking this down to "Potato Head" for me. As a retired Marine "Potato Head" is good because using force seems to complicate the issue so my prior training has failed me. That picture will soon be on the wall by my lathe to remind me. Seeing it like that makes it a simple concept in print, practice will be quite another thing.

2. How do I resize a photo? Speak "Potato Head" please. I use an iPhone for pictures and an iPad for posting.

 

[Roy Hennagir]

I was waiting for someone to bring up the concept of it really is not the size of the blank that counts.
First would be the quality of the color, grain, spalting, figure, complexity and contrast of the wood.
Second would be the shape of the piece that catches the eye.
Third would be the quality of the finish.
A small quality piece can impress more then a large plain piece.
Where as an extremely well done plain piece can score high when it is done flawlessly.
I always try to harvest the largest wood blanks possible from my logs when possible.
You can always cut a wood blank down to size, using my wood stretcher seems to never work well.
There are plenty of other items to turn other than wood bowls, you might want to harvest some longer
spindle blanks when possible to increase the variety of blanks you have when they dry. The longer pieces
come in handy for cutting segments along with a multitude of other wood turned "spindle" items.

Mike,
I get what you are saying. I'm leaving all the crotch stuff I drag home alone. I want to get the basics down before I try the more advanced stuff. I'm mostly looking for straight even grain so I'm not fighting the wood as well as my lack of tool handling skills.

I forget now who did the video or I'd give them credit. I cut the pith section out and harvest the quarter sawn blanks from each side on the bigger stuff for spindles. There is a lot to learn doing this. I was naïve to think I could just turn a bowl. Now I'm hoarding brown paper bags.

 

[robo hippy]

That looks like Elm. Nice piece. Bill's drawings are excellent. I use a prop, that is a half round piece of board stock about 1 inch wide so it will stand up by itself. I have a black needle in the center that is loosely fitted onto a pin so that when I roll it, like in the pictures, the needle points to the part of the tool that should be doing the cutting. Cutting with the part that the needle isn't pointing to, like in drawings 4 and 5 make for an unbalanced tool. Probably the primary reason for catches. The other would be biting off more than you can chew and/or hanging out too far off the tool rest. Brendan Stemp, an Aussie I think, has a 2 part clip up about no catch bowl turning. Not bad, but it needs more explaining, at least to me. I am working on one to explain 'tool presentation' so you get clean cuts, and no catches. Bill's drawings apply to the skew chisel as well, but not as much to 'non bevel rubbing' cuts. They do apply to shear scraping as well. Well, maybe more to shear scraping with scrapers as in with a round nose scraper, drop the handle so you can not cut on the top half of the tool...

robo hippy

 

[Roy Hennagir]

That looks like Elm. Nice piece. Bill's drawings are excellent. I use a prop, that is a half round piece of board stock about 1 inch wide so it will stand up by itself. I have a black needle in the center that is loosely fitted onto a pin so that when I roll it, like in the pictures, the needle points to the part of the tool that should be doing the cutting. Cutting with the part that the needle isn't pointing to, like in drawings 4 and 5 make for an unbalanced tool. Probably the primary reason for catches. The other would be biting off more than you can chew and/or hanging out too far off the tool rest. Brendan Stemp, an Aussie I think, has a 2 part clip up about no catch bowl turning. Not bad, but it needs more explaining, at least to me. I am working on one to explain 'tool presentation' so you get clean cuts, and no catches. Bill's drawings apply to the skew chisel as well, but not as much to 'non bevel rubbing' cuts. They do apply to shear scraping as well. Well, maybe more to shear scraping with scrapers as in with a round nose scraper, drop the handle so you can not cut on the top half of the tool...

robo hippy

It Is Elm. I have a very large tree at my disposal. Perhaps not the best wood to practice on but I was sawing limbs to burn and made some blanks.

I just turned another small one and practiced as best I could what Bill depicted in the picture.

Huge difference.

I found that I'm not yet capable of doing it 100% of the time.

It has altered the way the butt of the tool swings.

I need to develop the ability to use my body in conjunction with the tool.

Death Grip, I start not doing it but by the end I'm locked in a death grip with my tool.

I'm starting to feel like I'm learning some sort of ballet with a tool.

I can't fit my head into the bowl with safety glasses and a face shield.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Roy,

Now we know why you were asking about the size of the bowl. 🙂
There are blind wood turners that learn to see by the feel of the tool.
Once you have turned for a time and have gained muscle memory you will be able to
feel your way inside a bowl without trying to look in the hole. Each tool has a sweet spot
while turning, learning the angles of each new tool takes time.
Those nasty tool catches are no fun especially when they throw the wood blank out of the chuck!
It helps to keep your body out of the line of fire when you are turning large wood blanks starting out.

 

[Bill Boehme]

There are permanent handprints embedded in some of my tool handles because I gripped them so tightly when I was learning. 😀 When I quit doing the rigor mortis thing my turning improved immensely.

If you aren't familiar with the ABC rule:

• A -- Anchor the tool on the rest
• B -- make Bevel contact with the wood. This means the bevel is flat against the wood so that the cutting edge isn't cutting.
• C -- slowly raise the handle until the tool begins to Cut.

It occurred to me that it's the sharpened end of the steel and not the handle that cuts the wood. As a result I decided to pay more attention to the cutting edge and how it meets the wood. I discovered that the tool handle orientation took care of itself without my needing to stare at it. Catches decreased dramatically, rigor mortis went away, my use of colorful oaths almost completely went away, and I was free to refine things like body movement and create forms that weren't in constant flux because of catches.

A deadly sin of woodturning is wanting to make the biggest thing possible out of the piece of wood mounted on the lathe. Verily I say, it's far better to make the best thing that you can. For starters make it easy on yourself by keeping the form shallow and try to get a constant curve from rim to center. In the beginning the curve may not be perfectly constant, but it's good training in using a bowl gouge to shoot for a curve that perfectly matches a basketball, bowling ball, or crystal ball.

For resizing images when using my iPad, I use a free app called SimpleResize by Tekunodo. It is intuitive and easy to use. Being free means that it has some small non obtrusive ads on its main screen. There are many other photo resizing apps ... Just search "photo resize".

 

[hockenbery]

Bill has some great advice.
Anchor, Bevel, cut.

Also the light grip. If you played any game with a stick baseball, lacrosse, golf....
You know you can't hold the stick tight and make it move when you swing.
Same is true for turning the tool has to be able to roll an slide over the tool rest to maintain the bevel contact.

Often too tight a grip causes a catch. Then we grip tighter an get a catch and grip tighter yet.
A thumb and forefinger are sufficient grip for most bevel riding cuts.

Heavy scraping often requires a little bit of force so a grip to apply the force is in order.

 

[robo hippy]

Bill, on the C part, you say 'raise the handle until the tool starts to cut'. To me that is what you do with a spindle roughing gouge when cutting spindle blanks, but not what you do with bowl gouges on bowls, both inside and outside. That is the primary reason why people get those nasty catches with the SRG on bowls because the second the tool comes off the bevel by raising the handle too far, you have an unsupported edge pointing up into the wood. Think about what would happen if you tried that cut with a scraper... With bowls, generally you pivot the handle till it starts to cut. Rub the heel, and pull the handle towards you till it starts to cut. The handle can be level or dropped.

Al, I am trying to figure out how too tight of a grip can cause a catch. I do remember in my early years having catches, and then gripping tighter and tighter, and still getting the catches. The didn't go away because I didn't change the presentation of the tool.

When doing heavy scraping, I don't use a tight grip either. It really doesn't want a heavy grip for cutting any more than a gouge does. I don't use scrapers more than 1 inch wide any more for heavy roughing. Your lathe can only take off so much in a pass, and using a big heavy scraper puts you at risk for getting way too much metal into the wood at one time. Other than that, I think catches come from starting on the outside edge rather in the center, especially if you have a chainsawn blank instead of one that is cut with parallel sides and rounded up on the bandsaw. All those ghost spots (wood/air/wood) require you to go very gently, and it is easier for me to start in the center where the wood is moving more slowly and with less force, then nibble your way out to the edge.

robo hippy

 

[hockenbery]

Al, I am trying to figure out how too tight of a grip can cause a catch. I do remember in my early years having catches, and then gripping tighter and tighter, and still getting the catches. The didn't go away because I didn't change the presentation of the tool.
robo hippy

A catch happens when the wood can drive onto the cutting edge.
With the ABC the bevel is in contact before the cut begins. The cutting edge of a gouge is engaged by the levering it into the wood with the handle and/or rolling the tool. I describe this as lifting the handle toward the flute. When the flute is at 0 degrees it is more pulling or pushing than lifting.

A tight grip keeps the tool from rolling and freely moving over the tool rest.
When hollowing a bowl I begin with the flute is at 0 degrees and handle level on entry then the gouge rolls up to 45 and the handle drops a bit as it cuts toward the bottom where the handle is raised to level to cut center. Too tight a grip and the tool doesn't turn which runs the cut onto the unsupported wing or rolls the tool counterclockwise as it goes over the tool rest.
On the outside the tool is used with the flute at about 45 and too tight a grip can have the effect of rolling the tool in a clockwise motion engaging the unsupported wing for a catch.
With a loose grip the bevel riding cut sort of locks in and the lever action of the handle changes the depth of cut the forward hand holds the tool against the rest.
In the pull cut, a tight grip will often pull the tip of the tool into the wood for a catch.
In the advanced shear cut too tight a grip is instant catch.

 

[robo hippy]

We need a play date....

robo hippy

 

[Roy Hennagir]

It is clear that there are varied approaches to most any subject. My original question was brought out because I wanted to box up a couple blanks and gift them to folks who have been helping me out. Not because they are or are expected but because I could.

It has turned into an instruction thread and I have learned a lot. Turning a bowl looks simple and the wood is free. It does look simple when you see a YouTube video like robo hippy has produced. It a whole diffent animal when you are on the butt of that tool. Something as simple as the center spins slower than the outside of the bowl. That's a simple statement here in words. How that little bit of knowledge effects turning a bowl is a whole series of complexities that only experience can teach.

Finding just the basics is difficult. Look at spindle turning. Buy a 2x4, rip it in half, round it, and turn 10 beads in a row. Now do the same with coves. You are not making anything, it's just practice. You get criticism based on technique not on the object you made. The key is your not making anything except fancy shaped firewood.

You can't really practice making bowls without making bowls. Now you are making something, it's judged and critiqued as a whole. The wood choice, the color, grain pattern, shape, the size, etc. so where is the standard blank for practice work like the split 2x4 in spindle work? That 2x4 is practice work that even the beginner recognizes as just that, practice.

Perhaps the end of the lesson needs to be sawing the bowl in half. Make the best bowl I can and then have the discipline to saw the bowl in half in order to study it.

Bowlwrecker.
A video that's broke down to potato head, a simple bowl turned with no intent other than basic instruction and then sawed in half to explain the why and how with the wrecked bowl. Tool basics and techniques and that's it.

Leave the drying, finishing, thickness, who sold me the tool, specialness of the wood, and the space aliens abducted my dog stuff for another video.

I'm sawing the bowl in half so my objective is practice. I'm a "bowl wrecker".

Seems simple typed out here. In reality it's a Unicorn, we all know what it is but they just do not exist. Just a happy little Unicorn. It's all I want.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Bill, on the C part, you say 'raise the handle until the tool starts to cut'. To me that is what you do with a spindle roughing gouge when cutting spindle blanks, but not what you do with bowl gouges on bowls, both inside and outside. That is the primary reason why people get those nasty catches with the SRG on bowls because the second the tool comes off the bevel by raising the handle too far, you have an unsupported edge pointing up into the wood. Think about what would happen if you tried that cut with a scraper... With bowls, generally you pivot the handle till it starts to cut. Rub the heel, and pull the handle towards you till it starts to cut. The handle can be level or dropped.

Al, I am trying to figure out how too tight of a grip can cause a catch. I do remember in my early years having catches, and then gripping tighter and tighter, and still getting the catches. The didn't go away because I didn't change the presentation of the tool.

When doing heavy scraping, I don't use a tight grip either. It really doesn't want a heavy grip for cutting any more than a gouge does. I don't use scrapers more than 1 inch wide any more for heavy roughing. Your lathe can only take off so much in a pass, and using a big heavy scraper puts you at risk for getting way too much metal into the wood at one time. Other than that, I think catches come from starting on the outside edge rather in the center, especially if you have a chainsawn blank instead of one that is cut with parallel sides and rounded up on the bandsaw. All those ghost spots (wood/air/wood) require you to go very gently, and it is easier for me to start in the center where the wood is moving more slowly and with less force, then nibble your way out to the edge.

robo hippy

Reed, there is more than one way to skin a cat ... uh, let me rephrase that. 😀 There is more than one approach to accomplishing something. If I remember correctly, you have said that you usually use a bowl gouge on centerline and held horizontal. You may be thinking that raising the handle makes the cutting edge behave like a scraper cutting below centerline. That isn't how I do it, but regardless if you approach the wood with the back of the handle low so that the back edge of the bevel is rubbing and then slowly raise the handle or rotate it depending on what part of the edge you are using, you will first make full bevel contact, but not really cutting the wood because the bevel is only skating on the wood. Raise the bevel just slightly more and then you will see thin shavings appear. At this point there is only perhaps a hundredth of an inch of the bevel biting into the wood. Really, it's no different than when you adjust a handplane to take shavings. Obviously, you can go overboard and poke the edge into the wood at a steep angle and get a catch.

When I'm turning the exterior of a bowl, I generally use a pull cut and have the handle dropped very low and roll the tool into the cut if using the wing of the gouge. If doing a push cut, I will have the tool closer to centerline. On the inside, I will either use the tool horizontal on center and use the wing just to the left of the nose or drop the handle and have the tool rolled to the right so that it is cutting to the right of center and arc towards the middle of the bowl. This verbal description is probably about as clear as mud.

Obviously, you need to come to SWAT this year. Al will be here as a lead demonstrator and maybe we can teach each other how to turn. 😀

 

[Bill Boehme]

It is clear that there are varied approaches ........

Do you feel the force drawing you in? Resistance is futile. 😀

It's true that you get critiqued on your technique when making beads and coves in lumber, but I'm sure that you know why. It's all about skill building. When the "aha moment" using the skew happens, you will know that you have control of what is happening rather than hanging on for dear life at the back end of the tool.

 

[robo hippy]

I wish I could come down to SWAT some year, but it always happens at the same time as another event I do. About 200 plus of us will have our 37th annual gathering...

Oh, I heard the original saying was 'there is more than one way to skin a cat fish'.... I do like kitty cats...

robo hippy

 

[hockenbery]

The AAW chapters that run SWAT do a terrific job and have a great event every year.
I plan to be there.

 

[Roy Hennagir]

Do you feel the force drawing you in? Resistance is futile. 😀

It's true that you get critiqued on your technique when making beads and coves in lumber, but I'm sure that you know why. It's all about skill building. When the "aha moment" using the skew happens, you will know that you have control of what is happening rather than hanging on for dear life at the back end of the tool.

The skew. Alan Lacers videos are what sent me on the correct path with those. I'm still not good with them but I can diagnose what I did wrong. The death grip creeps in there too. The thing about a skew is it keeps you humble, you think you got it and in a split second you have more hand crafted fancy firewood.

The problem with this bowl thing has quickly become storage. Not of logs, but of blanks. I can't help myself I just keep making more of them. I just got another gallon of anchorseal. I know eventually I'll become selective but for now it's fun. I heat with wood and neither of my wood burners care what shape the wood is that I feed them.

I've also come to realize my lathe is to high. I suppose I could add three foot handles to all of my tools so I can anchor them to my body. I think It will be easier to weld up a lower lathe stand.

No Sir, I do not feel like I'm getting drawn into this. It seems quite normal to have a couple thousand into tools to make a $9.99 bowl, after all, I saved $9.99 didn't I?

 

[Bill Boehme]

That's right, none of us are tool-aholics. I can quit whenever I want to. It's just that I don't want to quit right now. I think that I'll stop by Rockler Hardware this afternoon to see what new toys they have. I promise to only look ... I won't touch anything ... maybe.

 

[Gretch Flo]

That's right, none of us are tool-aholics. I can quit whenever I want to. It's just that I don't want to quit right now. I think that I'll stop by Rockler Hardware this afternoon to see what new toys they have. I promise to only look ... I won't touch anything ... maybe.

I told the basement restorer when looking at the wood clutter I have, "I am a woodaholic and proud of it"!!!!!

 

[Roy Hennagir]

So having firewood cut in round blocks looks odd to people?

 

[olaf Vogel]

That's right, none of us are tool-aholics. I can quit whenever I want to.

I can, and I do...several times a day.
My late night drooling over the Lee Valley catalogue has nothing to do with it....

 

[Mike Johnson]

 

[Roy Hennagir]

That's one heck of a lot of popcorn!

 

[Roy Hennagir]

I let the branch I used determine this one.