Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Andrew Hilton

>As in keeping the bark on? This contrasts with using burl caps, plain burls, and other non-bark edge types of turnings.

I'll assume you mean with the bark as the natural edge trimming. About the only recommendations beyond normal bowl turning for these is to test the bark first before you start. Also do it periodically as you turn it. I try to just pry up the bark in places around the bowl blank a little to see if it's loose. If it's too loose, I'll scrap it or do something else with it. If it's not terribly loose and it looks like a promising piece of wood, I'll try to glue the slightly loose bark down before even turning it round. You might have to do this periodically as you turn especially as you get to hollowing out and getting thinner.

Also, I try not to use really really green (wet) wood in my natural edge (bark on) pieces. The wood will (depending on species, etc.) move and a thin piece of bark around the edge isn't always as accomodating and can crack or just fall off. That usually doesn't look too good

I've never had the same experience as others say they've had regarding using winter-cut wood as being better with natural edge (bark-on) pieces. The bark is suppose to stay on better. I think the reasoning they use is that "the sap is down". Doesn't seem to make much difference in my families' 30+ years of logging experience. If the bark is going to come off, it doesn't matter when it's cut in the midwestern woods we deal with daily. Might be something to it for some other woods though. I can't say I've dealt with all of them.

Watch your fingers!!

KurtK in Indy

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Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>Ezekiel,

One thing that I've learned is that in order to get the bowl even it takes some adjustment when mounting the blank. Mine were coming out with one side higher than the other all the time. Although I don't think it looks all that bad on some of them....I wanted to be more in control of how the final bowl turned out.

Someone showed me a trick one time where you can set a tool or even your finger on the tool rest (lathe off and not spinning)...and rotate the blank so that the cambium, just under the bark, lines up with your finger, or tool, on both the high sides of the blank. When I started doing this, my natural edge bowls started coming out much more symmetric. Obviously you need to be roughing the bowls out between centers in order to be able to make the adjustments. I tend to like using a two prong spur dive over a 4 prong for natural edge bowls. I think they dig in better. I also use a forstner bit the same diameter as my spur drive to seat the spur in through the bark. Otherwise you take a chance of the bark breaking loose and the bowl coming loose between centers. Make it a habit to stop every minute or so to tighten your tail stock too.

Also, it's best to save your fingers and power or hand sand the inside. I lock my spindle and go after the high sides with my power sander. I've nicked my fingers too many times being stubborn.

Another tip if I may, is that I've learned to start off with a clean work area. This way if a piece of the bark does come loose and hit the floor, I can usually find it and glue it right back in place. DAMHIKT : )

Good luck!

Jennifer

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Good tips all around so far.

I'd also add that you might have better success at bark retention if you turn "into the bark" as opposed to cuts that might pull it away from the workpiece.

I haven't had issue with this but I was watching Dave Hout on DIY demonstrate his technique (which I thought looked way harder than it needed be but he has about 30 years more experience than me) and on the exterior of the bowl he was turning the rim from the top down to keep the bark on. He was using a traditional bowl gouge, though, IIRC. I have never had bark pull off in this fashion with a very sharp superflute/Ellsworth grind but perhaps I've simply been lucky.

Also, bark stays on a lot better if it has been first held down with some CA. If you are worried about it, a liberal coat of CA will go a long way towards that goal. Just make sure it is dry before you turn the lathe on or CA will be over everything, including you.

Some people seem to have trouble with the illusion that the bowl is not round, and the turn it down much smaller than need be to get it round. The bowl will not appear round as you view it when stopped on the lathe. Therefore, try to not critique the interior profile, other than for flat spots and thickness, with the lathe stopped. With the workpiece spinning, the illusion that it is not round will not be as strong.

IF you are turning it wet, turn it down in steps, do the entire rim, to final thickness, about one inch at a time, and don't go back over it. The bowl will begin to warp out of round almost as soon as it is thinned. You'll curse yourself for trying to fix something that has warped out of round. This is different than the illusion of it not being round. This is more an out of "true" scenario.

Hope this helps some.

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Joe Herrmann

>I wrote an article for Fine Woodworking many, many years ago that detailed the steps for alignment etc. If you want me to Xerox the article and send it to you I would be glad to do so; email me your address.

Joe

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

William

>Hey all,

I saw the same show with Dave Hout. When he reversed the bowl, he used some type of PVC pipe as a jam chuck. The show said instructions on how to make it would be on the website. Unfortunately, I did not find it on the site.

Anyone familiar with this style of jam chuck and how it is made? Dave Hout makes it look easy to use :)

William

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Mike Schwing from Md.

>William, it appeared to be simply a length of PVC with a soft covering on the end that attaches to the lathe. The other end was put on the chuck and I would guess that the chuck jaws were expanded to hold it in place. I think if I were going to make one I would first mount one end in the chuck and turn a slight dovetail recess into the other end, and then use that end for the chuck, covering the other in something like leather or other grippy, non marring material. Electrical tape works well for attaching things like that to PVC, as I use it on my vac chuck for the same purposes.

Dave's chuck looked pretty simple and effective, a fine example of good engineering.

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Glenn Hodges

>Ezekiel, when you start to turn the bark side of the bowl, stop and take a wood chisel to chisel out some of the bark from the center of the piece. If you need some bark to glue on the edge later you will have plenty, and will not have to be crawling around in the shavings looking.

Re: Natural Edge Bowl Advise

Andrew Hilton

>Same idea as an inside vacuum chuck .... without the vacuum .

He's just using it as a jamb chuck with the PVC edges (covered, I'm sure, with something like hard foam to prevent marring the wood) contacting the inside bottom of the bowl with the tailstock pulled up to the outside bottom of the bowl. It just jambs the bowl between the PVC "chuck" and the tailstock. Alignment is a little tricky to get the bowl more-or-less even while spinning but not usually too hard.

There's no flat, even rim on these natural edged bowls to sit the bowl up against a faceplate or in jaws of a chuck. So, he's just using a long enough piece of PVC to reach down inside the bowl to contact some round, even area in there instead.

Personally, when I don't have my vacuum equipment with me or setup, I don't use the PVC pipe. I just make a rounded spindle turning with a tenon on the other end to fit into my chuck and use that instead. I always have scrap wood laying around to use and can sometimes use what's left of the bowl blank still left in the chuck/faceplate/whatever to do it. Put some foam over the rounded end where it contacts the inside bottom of the bowl and continue the same way as other wise.

Leather

Roger Smith

>I saw that also. He had a piece of leather glued to one end.

I have tried using a piece of PVC pipe and just placed a small piece of a router/sanding pad between the PVC and the bowl. It works great.