Walnut Bowl Problems

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Barry, this is an issue I suffered with a bit as a brand new bowl turner. What the problem turned out to be, for me, was two fold. One, I did not have the bowl mounting thing down well, and the bowl was moving as I applied force to it to cut with the tool. Part two was I didn't really know how to use the tool to cut without applying so much pressure.

Also, wet bowl blanks spinning around tend to get dry real fast, fast enough to warp as you turn. That means that the surface you just made nice and smooth and round won't be before too long.

This is why I don't spend so much time on the surface of a bowl blank that is being "twice turned". I just get the basic shape and leave it at that, wax/seal the blank and set it aside for drying, returning to it a few months later for final turning.

I don't turn wet bowls to final thickness much, but they present a different issue and often/always have to be sanded smooth just about as quickly as they're turned. They later can be hand sanded more after they've gone out of round.

Now, since you said you haven't hollowed the interior yet, I guess that what you're seeing is a combination or one of the two things mentioned at the top. If its the latter - tool use, the lighter touch you said you tried should have corrected it, but since it didn't, it sounds like the bowl is moving on you. Check your mounting method carefully.

One final possibility - with a slow lathe speed, ripples occur in the cut when the tool movement doesn't match the rotation speed. Speeding up the lathe, (or slowing down your tool movement)if safe to do so, can solve this problem.

Let us know what you wind up with.

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Barry Turner

>It's nice to hear from someone who has had the same problems. I have been turning for a couple of years and have some experience with the use of a bowl gouge. I still think I should just rough the bowl and let it dry in a paper bag for a while, then come back to it. As I haven't hollowed it yet, I can't believe it is moving all that much. Maybe I could speed up the lathe a bit. I had the blank mounted on a screw chuck, so I don't think it was the mounting method allowing it to move. I wasn't applying all that much pressure either. I'll let you know what I finally figure out. Thanks.

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Keith Tompkins

>Hi Barry, try bringing up your tailstock for a bit of extra support. If that helps, the screw chuck is not holding securely. Make sure the tool is truly sharp with a consistant bevel.

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Actually Barry, the screw chuck was the method I was using when I had the problem. Stopped using it, never went back to it. I know others use it almost religiously, but it just doesn't do it for me. I now use faceplaces and compression tenons.

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Richard Allen

>Don't worry about it. Turn the bowl about 1" thick, wax it and forget about it till next year.

For me, the real pleasure of turning wet wood is the way the ribions fly off the spinning wood.

I am always surprized at how quickly the roughed out bowl turns after it is dry.

The ripple thing? I get that from time to time. For me, it is usualy the result of forcing the cut instead of letting the tool make the cut. I find that sharpeing the tool has a big impact. I am not sure if the sharp tool or the pause to sharpen has a bigger impact on the improvment of the cut. Some individual pieces of wood can contain "stuff" that dulls my tool fast (as quick as 30 seconds from freshly sharp to butter knife dull).

Good Luck

Richard

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Brad Vietje

>Hey Barry,

All the suggestions you've received so far are good ones.

IF the wood is drying out a little (and this is more likely than you may think, especially if you are power sanding), you can give it a little mist of water every few minutes from a spray bottle. You can also wet sand with lots of water and wet/dry paper.

I agree with Mike that you are probably getting just enough wobble that the cuts aren't perfect, and with Keith that trying the tailstock sounds like a perfect solution.

Also, as Richard suggests, you may be pushing the tool against the wood a little too much. I had a similar problem when I was rubbing the bevel a little too much against the wood, leaving a somewhat shiny, burnished surface. While this looks good and smooth, due to the burnishing, the problem is that the bevel keeps following the ripples that are there, and just transferring them to a new depth of wood. The solution may be a tiny bit of tool rotation, a little raise of the handle or a slightly different angle between the tool and wood, or trying a shearing cut with the handle aimed dowm toward the floor. See Mike Schwing's post from a few days ago if you want to see how that's done.

If none of these help, you could try a very gentle shear scrape with a bowl scraper, or even a skew (tool rest below center on the outside, and tool handle held up a bit, with cutting edge very gently scraping the wood at 45 - 75 degrees to the rotation). Or, just hollow it out, leave it thick, put some wax or oil on it, and put it in a bag for 6 months...

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Walnut Bowl Problems

Barry Turner

>But a screw chuck is just so easy.............