Turning without a tailstock...
Brett Sherwood - Richmond, IN
>I have gained enormous respect for all the bowl turners in the world. Today I got a request for 12 egg cups for our Easter dinner table.
As I was getting ready for my production run I got an egg out of the refridgerator for sizing the cups. I didn't have a forstner bit the correct size and really wanted a more elegant form fitting interior for the cups.
I stared at the new Oneway Talon chuck that I had bought recently, but had never mounted on the lathe. Then I looked at my 17 freshly honed chisels and realized I didn't have a single bowl gouge. I removed the tailstock, mounted the chuck, and moved the toolrest into uncharted territory on my lathe.
With my normal stance and holding the gouge with light pressure I proceeded into the end of the poplar round. CHUNK! the 3/8" gouge jerked out of my hands hellbent for the ceiling. Nothing was harmed but it scared the shinola out of me.
With a better stance, and a death grip on the gouge I tried it again. I roughed it out with the gouge and finished it with a round scraper to about 1/16th inch thickness at the rim. Then I reinstalled the tailstock and turned the exterior of the cup.
After finish sanding and maple oil treating the egg cups I can honestly tell you I'm hooked on inside turning. This will sound silly but I just can't stop rubbing my finger on the curvature of the inside of my first "little bowls".
I'm planning on making matching salt wells and napkin rings tomorrow. This post may not impress all the master bowl turners on this bulletin board but I am so excited about this I had to tell somebody.
Happy Turning,
Brett