Turning Between Centers—Or not!

W.C. Turner asked: I have begun to start bowls between centers, to prepare them for a chuck. Can somebody explain the advantages of being able to move a blank around in between centers?

Mark Wollshlager replied: You might want to move the blank, after you have removed some of the outside. You may have found a bark inclusion, crack, or knot that would be better off removed by changing the blank a bit and re-turning it round again. You also might re-center the piece to get better grain orientation and then turn the tenon.

John Lucas wrote: I do it for several reasons. As was mentioned, sometimes you want to either get rid of or adjust the position of a significant feature in the wood. I also move the wood when I see the grain is going to be off center. I either want it centered or very off-center but not off just a little. You are right in that if you move the wood very much it throws the bowl out of round and you have to true it up which makes it smaller. For this reason try to make your decicions early.

You don't have to move it at all. There's nothing wrong with just turning the bowl, but, what if you want to. If you've used a screw center or screwed it on a faceplate you can't, or at least it's more difficult.

I adjust the wood all the time when doing a natural edge bowl. I like the sides to be the same height and sometimes just moving the center 1⁄8" will noticeably change the height of one lip or the other.

Brad Vietje confessed: I am one of the guilty parties who suggested starting every bowl between centers, whenever possible—at least, that's what I do. I often move one end or the other to give the piece the best balance and to show off the figure best. Yes, indeed, that means removing a little more material to true up the bowl, but I'm almost always going for quality of bowl, not quantity of bowl.

As mentioned, there are sometimes hidden flaws that can be removed from an otherwise usable blank (or should that be otherwise un-usable?). This can be a safety factor, as in a crack or inclusion, and an additional safety factor is that a blank held securely between centers isn't as likely to fly as many other mounting methods, although the blank still has to be mounted with care.

All these aside, I think the biggest reason is the beauty of the end product, and I'm being a picky perfectionist here. The difference between a good bowl and a truly great bowl is usually attention to these little details that set one's work apart, like turning the bottom of the foot, or the inside of a lid. This is especially true of natural-edged bowls and vases. If the opposing edges are way off, it looks intentional—if they're just a little off, it looks sloppy and unprofessional.

In my mind, the difference between a $500.00 gallery bowl and a $75.00 craft show bowl is an accumulation of these small differences. I've seen (and made) a number of bowls that were nice enough, but missed-by-that-much. I am not offended to see high prices on truly excellent work, but feel really cheated and put out when someone puts the higher price on a piece that is really only so-so. This does a disservice to the entire turning community, just as putting $35.00 on a bowl that your professional turning friend is selling for $350.00. 'Nuff ranting —that's my 3 cents…