Shopsmith Forums

Several months ago, while on the way back to work, a tree removal company was removing some maple trees from an apartment complex. I wound up with an 18" section of trunk, that the tree guy was willing to halve for me on the spot. Most of the other trunk sections and larger limbs were already claimed by a guy looking for firewood, and he did not want to share (what a waste).

Anyways, I don't own a chain saw (yet) so I sealed the ends and let this sit until I would have the time to work on it with hand saws. In late June, I had some time and it wasn't too hot yet, so I went at preparing a blank for turning. Trimmed the length to approximately square, marked the center, drew as large a circle as I could, then cut the corners off so I could get it on my lathe.

I did the basic turning on July 10th, placed it in a brown paper bag with some of the shavings and let it sit for 2 months. I took it out and used a Jam chuck to turn the tenon round again.



I didn't leave enough meat on the side walls to turn the whole bowl round again, so I just trued up and rounded the bottom portion. I'll do things differently with the next bowl. I'll either turn it to finish dimensions, let it warp naturally and then true the bottom and apply the finish when finished drying, or leave enough meat on the sides to make it concentric and finish when dry. I had to spend a lot of time with a 40 girt skew at very low speed to remove the tool marks from the first turning, then some with 60 grit, progressively sanding through the grits until I go to 220.

Once I got to 220 and could not see any more tool or sanding marks, I applied the first coat of General Finishes "Wood Turner's Finish", I like this finish, it's easy to apply and leaves a nice glossy finish. One issue though, if you have never used a water based finish, this one will raise the grain. the next time out, I'll raise the grain first with some water sand smooth then start applying finish. I had to sand at 150 and 220 after the first application, 220 after the second, 320 after the third and 400 after the 4th and 5th applications. It was a hot day (about 100 degrees or so and the finish dried quickly between applications (10-15 minues or so). After the final sanding, I let it stand for 1 hour or so and finished it off by buffing with Tripoli and white diamond compounds.


Comments and Critiques are welcome.

Finished bowl is approximatel 11" diameter (top rim) x 6" tall


same bowl with differnt lighting. It's amazing to me how lighting effects appearance.


signed and sealed.

Pic 1 Kitchen Table incandescent overhead and natural light from window.

Pic 2 fluorescent overheads on kitchen island.

Good idea on the species in the sig. I got another suggestion to use a finer point pen as well.

Nice job! I especially like how you worked thru your situation, enabling you to complete the bowl.

I would offer the following, pick up a moisture meter when you can, and like previously stated....when turning green wood, allow 10% of diameter for wall thickness before bagging the wood in the bag. This will give you ample room to finish the wall thickness down the road.

You also might consider using a small engraving tool to sign your product, then going over the engraving with an ink pen, etc.


FlashbacPT
John

Very cool! In fact I've never seen a bowl mounted on the lathe that way before. Way to go!

Thanks for the kind comments.

I'm well aware of the 10% guideline, for concentric bowls. I was trying something different and it didn't go as planned (Or I didn't plan properly is perhaps more accurate), so I had to do a rescue. I hate 40 grit sandpaper!! It took me hours to get this thing sanded.

PP planning means PP execution!

Many bowls are turned green to finish dimensions and allowed to warp into their final shape, especially, the "Art" pieces, I've seen some really pretty examples of this style, perhaps the next bowl I'll do just that and let nature do the final sculpting.

I'm actually growing more fond of this bowl, and It will probably see use as either a popcorn bowl on movie nights or a salad bowl. (It may yet be gifted, holiday season is right around the corner and I need to get busy.)

The chucking method is called a jam chuck and is pretty old school. I've seen it in late nineteenth/early twentieth century turning texts, and I'm sure it dates back much further than that. I figured if it worked then, it will work now.

One of these days, I'll get a moisture meter as well, but my scales work fine in the meantime. When it stops losing weight for a couple of weeks, it's ready. Again, not on my top ten list of things to get for the shop.

Thanks for the engraving tip. One of these days, finances allowing etc. Sharpies are cheap and plentiful, I should have used a finer point though. As of right now, I don't sell my work, it is either gifted or turned into a dust collector. (SWMBO is getting tired of dust collectors, while she does appreciate my efforts, the dusting is getting to be a bit much), so fancy neat engraving is not even on my list at the time. Perhaps if I start doing art/craft shows or the Etsy thing.

If I did sell bowls, this one would have gone to the burn box or turned into a shop bowl before sanding was even attempted as the time it took to sand it down could never have turned a profit.

Lesson learned: Leave the turning as ready to finish as possible before you set it aside for drying!!

What type of finish did you use? A membrane (poly or laquer type) finish or an oil finish? I ask because membrane finishes are not well suited for bowls that will be used and washed again and again. Here are the reasons: With a membrane finish food staining can get under the finish, making it impossible to remove; Membrane finishes can wear down in spots over time and need to be refinished, which is hard to do on the bottom of a finished bowl (can't remount it on the lathe properly as it will need to be sanded again). Also, they are toxic until the finish is completely cured and dry.

An oil finish is very easy to apply again and again as it wears down, just wipe it on and let it soak into the wood. Using a natural oil finish such as walnut oil is best. A vegetable oil finish will turn bad. They also sell oil finshes made especially for wood projects that will be used with food and can be hand washed.

Also, do not wash the bowl in a dishwasher unless you want it to crack. Handwash only.

[quote="woodburner"]What type of finish did you use? A membrane (poly or laquer type) finish or an oil finish? I ask because membrane finishes are not well suited for bowls that will be used and washed again and again. Here are the reasons: With a membrane finish food staining can get under the finish, making it impossible to remove]

General Finishes "Wood Turner's Finish"
http://www.generalfinishes.com/retail-products/water-base-top-coats-sanding-sealers/wood-turners-finish

I've never heard of finishes referred to as "membrane" finishes I have heard of film forming finishes (poly, lacquer, shellac, etc.)

WTF is a film forming finish.

This bowl will most likely see very little use by my family and will spend most of its life collecting dust.

Thanks for your input.

Poly, laquer, etc. are referred to in both terms. Membrane sits on the surface while oil is absorbed.

Everything about is just wow! From the color, wood used and its finish!