1st Bowl - Help Please!

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
G

glwalker

Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2009
Messages
103
Location
Tampa, Florida
This is my 1st bowl ever and I'm pretty happy with it. BUT, as you can see in the close-up pic I had a problem I could not overcome. You can see on the inside edge of the close-up pic that there are groves which are very noticeable (and ugly). I tried for a whole day to get them out. I tried agressive sanding, using my basic scraper tool and everything else to remove these groves. They just wouldn't come out. So for fear of damaging the bowl more, I just gave up.

First of all I can't figure out how they got there in the first place. I used the same tools on the whole inside if the bowl and had no probelm elsewhere. The bowl, having an irregular and natural edge may have contributed to the problem, but I don't know why. Again, same tools used and I applied thin CA glue generously over the bark edge and into the actual wood. (The wood was green/wet, so I continuely sealed everything to avoid cracking. I was successful doing this.)

Should I use a special tool for this part of the turning? Is this problem common? Do I need to use a special "technique". I'm stumped but I'm hoping there are easy answers to this problem so I can avoid it in the future.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 

Attachments

  • IMG_bowl5.JPG
    IMG_bowl5.JPG
    55.4 KB · Views: 134
  • IMG_bowl6.JPG
    IMG_bowl6.JPG
    55.7 KB · Views: 156
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I usually use a scrapper on the insides after most the turning. This cleans up the scratches / grooves allowing for final sanding. Hard to tell from the picture if the lines are scratches in the wood or CA glue that discolored the wood in those areas. Beautiful bowl. I really like the wood. What kind is it?
 
One thing I learned early was to do the inside in stages. Get the whole thing bowl shaped but still thick walled, then reduce the thickness of the rim and first couple inches while leaving some mass nearer to the bottom. This alows you to have some support for the rim area and reduces the vibration and flex that cause much of that grooving that is so difficult to work if your whole bowl is thin. A bowl steady is supposed to be a big help but I have not spent the $ for one yet, it's on my wish list. Beautiful work by the way, much nicer than my early bowls turnied out. you are definately on the right track.
 
That is a very nice lookng first bowl. The problem you described is a common one until you get lots of practice and more experience in keeping your tools very sharp in the process.

The bowl gets thinner as you work and there is a slight vibration that may not even be noticable, but it can cause the ridges that you describe if you are too aggressive with the bowl gouge. The key is light, light cuts and sharp tools as you hollow the inside of the bowl. This is more critical at the lip to 1/4 down the side of the bowl. Green wood usually won't crack if you turn it thin enough and the CA glue is not necessary except possibly for the bark. The bowl will still warp with drying, but this is not noticable with a natural edge bowl.

However with a regular shapped bowl turned with green wood you should turn it with the walls approx 10% of the diameter in thickness. Put it in a paper bag with its shavings and let it dry a couple of weeks. Then take it out of the bag and store it for a few months on a shelf. The lip of the bowl will become oval shape (some wood species more than othere) If the bowl is completely dry and the thickness is sufficient to turn out the oval, you will have a perfectly round and stable bowl.
 
Last edited:
When I get it thin it is easy to distort and I have to take the bowl off the lathe headstock (I have a steel rod that fits into the banjo with threads so the scroll chuck can remain on the bowl. I use a random orbital air sander (lightly with mineral spirits as a lubricant - but wax also works) and an old fashoned cabinet scraper to work the final surface.

Thin is nice but means flexible. Finish is very slow and having magnification helps a lot.

This presumes you can vacuum chuck or similar for doing the base. (also very very light cuts)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom