# Bowl advise



## thrainson (Mar 11, 2015)

I turned my first bowl today,



 




However I need advise on how to fix a couple issues. First, I had to fasten the block with screws can that be fixed?





Second I had a flaw appear on the side of the bowl, can that be repaired?



Thanks in advance... Also this is a blank I bought from Mike1950, thanks also!

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## Mike1950 (Mar 11, 2015)

Looks good for your first. You will have to ask somebody that uses their lathe for something other then a door stop for your questions.

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## TimR (Mar 11, 2015)

All depends on how much meat on the base if you want to turn it away, otherwise, if it bugs you, turn some little feet to hide it. 
As for the side, how thick and can you re-turn or if not, just leave alone or embellish it. Any attempt to fill it and blend in will likely fail with a light colored wood. Get some fine brass shavings or other colorful stone, but be sure if you go that route and use CA to first apply de waxed shellac around it to seal the pores from staining from the CA. 
But...my best suggestion, learn from it and move on to next piece.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 3


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## Fsyxxx (Mar 11, 2015)

My first few bowls wound up in the fireplace or in pieces. All in all, good first one. My experience is they get better and better, after ten or so they are pretty alright....

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## thrainson (Mar 11, 2015)

Can someone tell me what causes that defect on the side? It looks like pressure??? Also how do you guys mount your bowl blanks to the lathe?


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## TimR (Mar 11, 2015)

Joseph, when you sand, does the paper and wood get pretty warm...to hot? If a piece has any moisture in it, that's a recipe for disaster. Use less pressure, better sandpaper, go thru the grits using numbers that are no more than 50% larger than previous piece. Oh, sage advice given me, use sandpaper like someone else is buying it.

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## thrainson (Mar 11, 2015)

TimR said:


> Joseph, when you sand, does the paper and wood get pretty warm...to hot? If a piece has any moisture in it, that's a recipe for disaster. Use less pressure, better sandpaper, go thru the grits using numbers that are no more than 50% larger than previous piece. Oh, sage advice given me, use sandpaper like someone else is buying it.


Yeah it did get hot... Thanks for that tip! I will remember it.


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## duncsuss (Mar 12, 2015)

thrainson said:


> how do you guys mount your bowl blanks to the lathe?



THIS BOOK -- "Fixtures and Chucks for Woodturning" by Clarence ("Doc") Green gives an excellent introduction to the different ways you can mount a bowl on a lathe. I bought my copy, but I noticed that the local public library system has it. _*Plug for public libraries ... they are a great resource, it's definitely worth checking out what books they have and/or could find in neighboring town libraries. *_In addition to this book, I recommend any books by Richard Raffan, David Ellsworth, Ernie Conover, and Mike O'Donnell. I'm sure there are lots more skilled turners who've written books, those are the ones that I've read.

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## duncsuss (Mar 12, 2015)

oh, forgot to say "welcome to the vortex"  -- nice start


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## thrainson (Mar 12, 2015)

duncsuss said:


> oh, forgot to say "welcome to the vortex"  -- nice start


Thanks


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## Schroedc (Mar 12, 2015)

For the bottoms, You can make a few faceplates to turn the bowl around, jam chuck it, and then turn the bottom down to remove the screw holes if there is enough meat left that way you can also do a decorative foot. For my one lathe I bought a 1x8 tap and turned some threaded maple plates to use that way. The defect in the side could be shrink form wet wood or it could be tearout, is it possible you are getting too aggressive with your cuts? It looks way better than my first bowl so I wouldn't sweat it. It'll be cool to put that bowl next to whatever you do a year from now and see how far you come!


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## imanseau (Mar 12, 2015)

Welcome to Turing bowls, it's a rabbit hole, enjoy. I'll give you my method for dealing with this, we'll avoiding it.

I screw the faceplate where the open side of the bowl will be. I'm not sure on the size of your faceplate based on the picture, they make different sizes.

I turn the outside and flatten the bottom. I glue a block of scrap wood on the bottom. If it's a small bowl I'll use CA glue, if it's large I'll use epoxy. Once dry I'll turn the scrap down to fit in my chuck.













Once you flip it turn the inside sand, sand and sand. Then I use a parting tool to remove the bowl from the block. Save the block you can reuse it. If you have the jaws for your chuck you can mount the bowl to finish the bottom. Shadow cuts on the bottom, I have the bottom slope inward so the when it's on the table it will always sit flat. Unless you can always cut perfectly flat bottoms. Once done finish as desired, I use a buffing wheel.

As for the chunks, looks like tareout on wet wood. Sharp tools, and good sandpaper.

Good luck, enjoy

Ian

Reactions: Great Post 1


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## thrainson (Mar 12, 2015)

imanseau said:


> Welcome to Turing bowls, it's a rabbit hole, enjoy. I'll give you my method for dealing with this, we'll avoiding it.
> 
> I screw the faceplate where the open side of the bowl will be. I'm not sure on the size of your faceplate based on the picture, they make different sizes.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much Ian, great idea I would never have thought of...

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## MikeMD (Mar 12, 2015)

Joseph, first of all, that ain't a bad first! 

Secondly, what you did is very typical of a first time bowl turner...steep sides and flat bottom. Not that there is anything inherently 'wrong' with that, but two things... First, it is difficult to pull off well, and second, a smooth curve from rim to bottom is generally 'preferred'...of course, whatever you intend is what is, naturally, preferred. ;)

Generally speaking, as far as the screw holes go, those are generally made in the inside of the bowl...so they'll be turned away eventually. This method utilizes a chuck. Not sure if you have one, but if you don't want the screw holes, I'd recommend getting one.

As for the blemish, well, you can always 'fill' it with an epoxy mix, glue and sawdust mix, or glue and whatever mix. I typically tend to try to get rid of these types of blemishes while turning the outside before I turn the inside...so I can get rid of them. 

Lastly, not sure if the marks going around the outside are from your tools or from sanding, but make sure you get rid of those. No one wants those buggers keeping beautiful wood from shining through.

Hey, again, I want to say you did a great job on your first. Keep at it. And I'm looking forward to seeing more of you future bowls!

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## Wilson's Woodworking (Mar 13, 2015)

I have only turned one bowl and just finished it last night. I don't have a chuck for my lathe and had to figure out a way to keep from having screw holes in the bottom of my bowl. Then I remembered seeing a show on public television on turning a counter bored bottom and turning a spud on a sacrificial board to fit inside the counter bore. You glue the ring around the counter bore to the sacrificial board and when you are done turning the inside and sanding the inside and outside of the bowl and applying the finish just part it off where it is glued together. The only thing left to sand and finish is where the part off tool cut and your finished.


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## DKMD (Mar 13, 2015)

Lots of ways to turn a bowl. There's nothing wrong with a faceplate, but I think you'll want a four-jaw scroll chuck if you're interested in turning more than the occasional bowl. In fact, you'll probably end up wanting a half dozen chucks if you get really serious about bowls.

I prefer to start most of my turnings between centers(just a preference), and the center mark from the live center makes for a great reference when reversing a bowl to finish the bottom. Even if you start with a faceplate or screw chuck, I'd suggest marking the center on the bottom to facilitate reversing the piece.

That defect could be tear out, but it may also be a drying defect in the wood... I've run across that in big leaf maple more than once.

For a future bowl, try making the diameter of the base around a third of the diameter at the opening... One continuous curve from rim to base. That makes for pleasing proportions and a stable bowl. It also keeps from having that sharp corner inside where the walls meet the bottom... That's a tricky place to cut cleanly.

Keep up the good work!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## BassBlaster (Mar 13, 2015)

To add to what these guys have said, get a chuck whenever you can, even if you don't intend to be a full time bowl turner. Im just beginning to get into bowls but I use my chuck for everything darn near. A chuck is a game changer IMO. I wish I had three or four more so I didn't have to change jaws!


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## MikeMD (Mar 13, 2015)

Dennis, I'm going to sound like a broken record player here, and I want to be clear that I'm not an agent for nor do I get kickbacks for referrals or anything like it, but... Hurricane chucks (found on Ebay or online under thewoodturningstore.com) are substantial and more than fairly priced. I have 8 of them now. The 100 series is plenty big for just about anyone...I've turned 20" bowls with it. I love these chucks.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## duncsuss (Mar 13, 2015)

MikeMD said:


> Hurricane chucks (found on Ebay or online under thewoodturningstore.com) are substantial and more than fairly priced. I have 8 of them now. The 100 series is plenty big for just about anyone...I've turned 20" bowls with it. I love these chucks.


Mike -- do you happen to know if the jaws from any other make of chuck fit the Hurricane 100? (I have several sets of jaws for the SuperNova2 and would prefer to get one that's compatible when I buy another chuck.)


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## thrainson (Mar 13, 2015)

Thanks all for your help and comments, I do have a four jaw chuck, but couldn't figure out how to attach the 8" bowl to the 6" chuck... Lol. Now I do have a plan. I hope to turn another bowl soon. What tool do you recommend for cutting the inside of the bowl? I used a detail tool, but found it difficult to evenly curve the inside.


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## duncsuss (Mar 13, 2015)

Are you using traditional turning gouges or carbide tools (e.g. Easy Wood Tools)? The term "detail tool" makes me think you might be using EWT, but it could mean "detail gouge" which is a different beast altogether.

My recommendation is to get a bowl gouge, ground with swept-back wings, variously called "Irish grind", "fingernail grind", "Ellsworth signature grind" (though that's one very specific form of the grind), "O'Donnell grind", and probably a whole bunch more besides. There's nothing tricky about it, but it requires some investment -- a bench grinder with a decent aluminum oxide wheel (e.g. a white wheel), and a two-part jig to hold the gouge (such as the Wolverine Jig by Oneway, with the Varigrind holder or some equivalent of it.)

If you want to use carbide-insert tools, then either a round or square-with-radius cutter lets you get a reasonably smooth inside curve.

Or a round-end scraper, such as THIS ONE from Penn State Industries ... you'll still need a grinder to sharpen it, though.

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## thrainson (Mar 13, 2015)

I have this tool



And the 1/2" square tool as well. I also have a tool like the one you linked to from Penn State Industries .


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## duncsuss (Mar 13, 2015)

Aha ... the @woodtickgreg detail tool. Not what I'd use for the inside of a bowl. The square tool might do it for the roughing-out, you'd have to change the angle of attack to try to keep from getting steps as you go round the curve towards the bottom of the bowl (a square with a slight radius makes this easier). Then finish with the big round-nose scraper -- the bigger the better, so long as the bowl is bigger than the tool

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## DKMD (Mar 13, 2015)

Wow! I can't believe you made that bowl with that tool! I could turn an entire tree worth of wood and not get a bowl that nice using a detail tool. 

There's a video kicking around somewhere of Richard Raffan turning a bowl... I want to say it's on the fine woodworking site. I'll post it here if I can find it.

Edit: http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodturning/video/how-to-turn-a-basic-bowl-part-1.aspx

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## MikeMD (Mar 13, 2015)

Holy crap, really? You turned that bowl with a detail gouge? EEK! Um, yeah, get yourself a bowl gouge, and learn how to use it. You'll be amazed at how it'll cut an inside curve, and an outside curve, and sheer scrape, and, and, and...


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## MikeMD (Mar 13, 2015)

Duncan, these chucks (from the best of my knowledge...from speaking with Steve at thewoodturningstore) are designed by him. So, as far as I know, no other jaws fit it. Not saying they don't, I just don't know if/that any others do. 

What I CAN recommend is to do what I did. Buy one. If you like it, then sell off all your other other chucks! I HAD 5 or 6 (I think) Stronghold chucks when I decided to go Hurricane. Sold off all my Strongholds and bought all Hurricanes. Now, I have to say that I DO have one small chuck (not sure of the name, but think it is a SuperNova) for my Rikon 12". I like the idea of having a smaller chuck for such a small lathe. But it has Tommy Bars...which I HATE!

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## BassBlaster (Mar 14, 2015)

MikeMD said:


> Dennis, I'm going to sound like a broken record player here, and I want to be clear that I'm not an agent for nor do I get kickbacks for referrals or anything like it, but... Hurricane chucks (found on Ebay or online under thewoodturningstore.com) are substantial and more than fairly priced. I have 8 of them now. The 100 series is plenty big for just about anyone...I've turned 20" bowls with it. I love these chucks.


 I don't want to derail the OP's thread but where is the value? This chuck is $160. The SN2 which may be the most recommended chuck in the world is $164. I do see that they sell a chuck body alone so maybe that's where its at. Besides, my post was wishful thinking. I really cant afford to have multiples of the same chuck just so I don't have to change jaws. Would be nice though! I will be ordering a larger chuck soon because I ordered a lathe with a 22" swing but Im guessing Ill go with a Nova chuck so all the jaws Ive already spent money on will be compatible.


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## MikeMD (Mar 14, 2015)

Dennis, the value is in the chuck! These chucks are every bit as good, in my opinion, as a Stronghold or Vicmarc chuck. Look at their prices! As for the SN2, well, I'm not saying its bad. I've used one. I wasn't wowed by it. And I'm fairly certain it isn't as stout as the Hurricane. Isn't the tighten/loosen on the SN2 backwards? I think it is that chuck, not sure.

I will agree with you that whatever chucks you get, I recommend getting more of the same. If for no other reason than having one key to fit all. That is why I had gotten so many Strongholds. But that is also why I sold them! One key didn't fit all. There was a design change somewhere along the way and the key/gears changed ever so slightly. Inevitably, I always picked up the wrong key for the chuck I was using... Hurricanes use a square drive. Easy-peasy.


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## BassBlaster (Mar 14, 2015)

Not sure, I have a G3. It is backwards though so Id assume the SN2 is as well.


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## DKMD (Mar 14, 2015)

BassBlaster said:


> I don't want to derail the OP's thread but where is the value? This chuck is $160. The SN2 which may be the most recommended chuck in the world is $164. I do see that they sell a chuck body alone so maybe that's where its at. Besides, my post was wishful thinking. I really cant afford to have multiples of the same chuck just so I don't have to change jaws. Would be nice though! I will be ordering a larger chuck soon because I ordered a lathe with a 22" swing but Im guessing Ill go with a Nova chuck so all the jaws Ive already spent money on will be compatible.



The Hurricane is very similar to the Vicmarc chucks in design and build... Tight tolerances with very little of the slop that I found in Grizzly chucks. I've never used the SN2, so I can't compare the Hurricane to it. It's about half the price of the Vicmarc without any detectable difference in quality. For a small lathe, even the small Hurricane is probably overkill... For larger items on a larger lathe, it's my favorite chuck.

As you said though, if you've already got money invested in jaws for one model, I'd likely stay with what you've started.


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## thrainson (Mar 16, 2015)

So I went ahead and finished of the bowl with a mineral oil soak for three days and then a coat of beeswax/ oil to seal it. 



 

 

 

I really like what it does to the grain!

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