My First Attempt at Bowl Making

[JPG]

Really nice! Finish looks great.

Has been a struggle, but that makes them more special!;)

[fredsheldon]

Tonight I finished turning the last 4 bowls that have been in bags for several months.

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Three of these bowls are from the Bodark (from Bois d'arc (AKA Osage Orange) wood that I received from a friend several months ago. The top center bowl is the last pin oak bowl which came from the same log as all my previous bowls displayed. These didn't have any cracks but they were out of round which shook all my fillings loose when I was sanding them My next experiment will be to turn green wood down to the final size before bagging them so I won't have to deal with out of round issues.

[saminmn]

Fred, I love seeing your progress. Did you plan to do primarily turning when you got your SS? Great work.

[fredsheldon]

Fred, I love seeing your progress. Did you plan to do primarily turning when you got your SS? Great work.

Sam,

I decided last year that I need to start preparing for a retirement hobby. I don't want to sit in front of a TV for the rest of my life. I have always wanted to get into woodworking but I don't have a shop, just 1/2 of a garage. So I went on a SS buying spree while I could still afford it and have just about everything I think I need. I have already finished several projects to support my current hobby, radio controlled sailboat racing. I built 2 sail rig carrying cases, 3 boat stands, and a carry all platform for my Red Rider wagon.

My first turning project was to make 50 pen and letter opener kits for Christmas presents this past year.

Since I found wood turning lots of fun and a great way to relax I decided to bump it up a notch. I have now turned 11 bowls, 1 from dry wood and 10 from green wood. I have enough wood waiting in the wings to turn another 15 or 20 bowls.

So, I guess you could say I didn't get my SS with the goal of turning bowls, but that's where I am now. I plan on turning enough for Christmas presents this coming year. Will I get burned out turning pens and bowls. Only time will tell. But it sure is a fun way to pass the time and the results bring lots of smiles on the faces of those on the receiving end.

[beeg]

My next experiment will be to turn green wood down to the final size before bagging them so I won't have to deal with out of round issues.

You know those bowls are GOING TO WARP and be OUT OF ROUND. You WON'T have a chance to return them back to round.

[fredsheldon]

You know those bowls are GOING TO WARP and be OUT OF ROUND. You WON'T have a chance to return them back to round.

Bob, I guess what I meant to say was that I don't need to remount the dried bowls for the purpose of additional turnings. I will just sand and apply finish and let it go at that. I know the final product won't always end up round, but I guess that will give them character.

[terrydowning]

You know those bowls are GOING TO WARP and be OUT OF ROUND. You WON'T have a chance to return them back to round.

This is when turning bowls starts to become art.

It is only our modern paradigms that dictate a bowl must be round and symmetrical. The best part about turning green wood is that every piece is different, not two are ever the same so each blank is a new challenge.

Turning to finish size and letting them "do their thing" is just allowing the wood and mother nature to play their part in our craft.

Fred, I really like the natural edges. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[fredsheldon]

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First I cut out the heartwood and create two blanks.

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Next I draw circle.

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Then I trim it close to round on the band saw.

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Then I mount it on the lathe and turn it round.

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Here is the finished product turned to it's final size. This will be my first attempt to turn a green bowl to it's final size before beginning the drying process. The total time from start to finish was 4 hours. This included rolling out all my tools after moving my wife's car out of the garage, hauling a log from my backyard, adding oil to the electric chain saw, taking a couple of breaks, sharping my turning tools seveal times and then cleaning up all the shaving and sawdust before storing all the equipment and moving the car back into the garage.

So, if you were thinking about trying your hand at bowl turning, I say go for it. Just keep your tools sharp and use green wood if possible if you don't mind waiting several months to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[fredsheldon]

Once you get the hang of this you can pop 1 of these bowls out every hour or so once you are all set up. These are from green wood and turned down to their final size before going into the bags for a few months. I'm hoping the 8 that I now have drying don't crack or warp too bad. I'm well on my way with my plan to make bowls for Christmas presents this year. I will need at least 12 bowls if I only give one present to each family rather then each member of the clan over the age of 18. That would require over 30 bowls like I did with the pen and letter opener sets last Christmas

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I set up at noon today and just finished with the 3rd bowl at 4:30. If I wanted I could probably turn 6 of these out a day. That includes hauling a log from the backyard, cutting it in half and again in half lengthwise to create 4 blanks. I trimed all four blanks close to round on the bandsaw first. I attached a 3 inch faceplate and turned a tenon, then mounted in my chuck to finish the turnings.

[fredsheldon]

So far so good, the first 7 bowls that I turned from green wood all the way down to their final size before bagging haven't cracked or warped yet. I was encouraged by that so I turned and bagged 6 more today. I started at noon and finished the last bowl at 8:30 this evening.

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The only tool I used to turn all 6 bowls was the 1/2 " Roundnose chisel. I found it does a great job as long as I keep it sharp. I usually have to sharpen it about every 15 minutes.

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Generated two full 30 gallon bags of chips/shavings.

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Thanks to my folding containment walls, keep the shaving from flying all over my shop.