First Bowl

Re: First Bowl

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Congratulations Roger. Looks like a fine start to a terrible, terrible hobby.

How about sharing with us what you like or don't like about your bowl and what you think you'd do differently or keep the same for your next one? I think our own critiques are very valuable as learning tools. They make us think about our own work in a detached way. After you do your own critique, ask the folks here for specific ideas on improving those areas you would like to address.

What tools are you using? How did you apply the finish? What caused your catch and how will you avoid it happening again?

Nice start, better than mine for sure.

Re: First Bowl

Ron in Drums PA

>Nice for your first bowl. What type of finish did you use.

Re: First Bowl

Roger Smith

>Mike, Thanks for both the comments and also for making me think about my own work.

The blank had been rough turned and soaked in a 50/50 mixture of dish washing soap and water before drying for 2 weeks. I think I needed more time to dry.

I do not like the finish. I am both impatient and a perfectionist. I applied 4/5 coats of Tung, then a sanding sealer before 3 coats of poly. I know I hurried that process. I am going to redo the finish before I give the bowl to the coworker that gave me a truck load of wood.

I am not sure about the shape. I read enough to know that I needed to make the base about 1/3 the size of the rim and I did that. I wanted the thickness to be less, but I was getting a lot of tool chatter and stop at a 1/4 inch.

Tools used were 1/2 inch bowl gouge, 1/2 and 7/8 round nose scrappers (both home made) and a skew.

The catch occurred because I stuck the tool into the wood and it was not on the tool rest. The piece bounced several times across the floor. I rechucked it and savaged what I could.

Re: First Bowl

Roger Smith

>Tung oil and poly.

Re: First Bowl

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Excellent. Thanks for taking my response as it was intended.

I agree about the finish. It appears to be a glossy finish that was not rubbed out and returned to glossy. IMO, glossy finishes should be optically flat, and that takes a LONG time, which is why my quick finishes are not glossy. That said, high gloss might not be the best choice for this type of bowl, especially if it will see use as anything other than a display object. You could probably rub this one out to satin with steel wool and beeswax/oil and be satisfied with it.

The chatter might have come from a still wet bowl (2 weeks is probably still a little wet) or from tool pressure exerted on the area near the rim. Light cuts, which you'll learn with practice, will decrease this problem, and you'll have better luck "stepping down" the interior an inch or so at a time, and not going back over it after that.

If I may give you another few words - don't spend too much more time on this one, and if I were you, I'd keep it for yourself. It is a great thing to have your first few pieces to look back on to see how far you've come. And you'll be more pleased with the results from your next few - you'll be proud to give them away. Some of my first pieces are in others' hands and they haunt me when I see them.

Glad to have you here. Show us your next one, too!

Re: First Bowl

Phil Lieberman

>Well done, for your first cant get much better! Mike i think said it all, and i will be thinking about my stuff as well. You might want to find some soft wood, only cause its more forgiving when your just learning

Re: First Bowl

Bill Hale, Woodspinner

>Great first piece. Phil sugested using soft wood while you learn. Soft is a relative term.

I teach and use soft maple that is fairly, another relative term, soft but cuts clean and works well. The very soft woods like the Poplars generaly do not cut as cleanly and are less forgiving of poor tool controll. Some tend to pull instead of cutting and tend to make the beginner think that they are not doing right.

Welcome, good turning and be safe

Bill

Re: First Bowl

RonZ

>That's a very good first bowl. You're off to a good start down that slippery slope called woodturning. =o)

Re: First Bowl

Roger Smith

>Phil, thanks for the response. I have two reasons for using the elm. I think it is a pretty wood, but most important for a TWA man, it was free. I got ten blocks (24+ inches each)to use.

I also have some large blocks of Bradford pear and found it tore rather can cut clean.

roger

Re: First Bowl

Glenn Hodges

>Wow Roger, you did a super job. Keep up the good work and keep sending us pictures.

Re: First Bowl

Tug Fork Bob

>Roger

Nice bowl

I second, third, fourth, etc. etc. Mike's suggestion to keep this one. I kept my first turnings (a spindle-oriented goblet and a face plate oriented small bowl made from the same log)

only because my wife liked them. I use them now to display and talk about at craft shows but it would take LOTS of $$ to buy them just because of the sentimental value.

Bob Achenbach

Re: First Bowl

Barry Turner

>Most people try to make finishing way too complicated. I sand to 400 grit. Well, actually I start with 80, then 120, 180, 320 and then 400. I slop on a heavy coat of Minwax Polyurethane. I let it soak in for about 10 minutes, then wipe it off and let it dry overnight. If it is still mounted on the lathe, I sand again with 400 or use 0000 steel wool, then apply another coat of poly and wipe off. If the piece is still on the lathe, run the lathe on a slow speed and burnish the finish in with an old t-shirt. The heat speeds drying. No need for 2 or 3 different finishes on one piece. You will be surprised how good 2 coats looks.