# I aint done yet... Mesquite bowls



## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

Im not sure if im ever done,since I like taking turnings off shelf and putting them back on lathe for touch ups and adjustments.... Wet for a look into what they will become. Black dye epoxy filler.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

Waiting for Nova cole jaws in mail....


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## duncsuss (Dec 17, 2015)

Bluestingray said:


> Waiting for Nova cole jaws in mail....


Others may have a different opinion, but I don't think the first one (with the in-turned rim) is well suited to Cole jaws. You'd need the extra-long pegs to reach out as far as the widest diameter of the bowl -- couldn't set them on the inside, as that's sloping the wrong way (I think -- not easy to tell from the photos.)

I'd use a jam chuck -- not really a chuck at all, just a lump of waste held in the chuck and shaped to contact the insides of the bowl in a kind of donut ring around the bottom. Put a rag or towel over it, put the bowl onto it, and bring up the tailstock with a live center to hold it secure. The friction from the jam chuck will turn the piece. You have to take very light cuts. The center dimple in the middle of the bottom helps enormously in getting the piece centered, but you still might have to wiggle it a bit to get it running true, then tighten the tailstock.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

Hmmm. Thanks Duncan! I honestly don't like the bowl bottoms Im making. Looking forward to what I produce later on, can't wait actually.


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

I don't believe the lathe should have a procedure imprint on the final product. Something like the procedure part it was never there.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## duncsuss (Dec 17, 2015)

There's always the wish/temptation to try to include every last millimeter of the blank depth in the finished item ... sacrificing a half-inch or more to the tenon (or recess) by which you hold it in the chuck is painful, especially if you paid good money for the blank.

But you have to do it -- the bowl sides have to start turning inwards much sooner if the bottom of the bowl is going to be clear of that recess. It's going to hurt

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

think im gonna flatten it out smooth with a rim and laser my emblem/date on it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## duncsuss (Dec 17, 2015)

By coincidence, I've got a dish on my desk here that's almost the same profile as yours. I made the bottom very simple, just a bit concave so it sits on the outside rim.

(Sorry about the poor gilding job I did on it, it was my first try with "Rub and Buff".)

Reactions: Like 3


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

Jerry - I do like that skeet! I have yet to turn any I got from you. That first one looks amazing without the finish and whatever is beyond amazing with the finish.
I agree with Duncan on the cole jaws. I think that bowl is way too heavy for them to be safe. You top out about 600 rpm with cole jaws anyway. With the additional weight I think it would be less. Duncan's method is exactly what I do if I'm not using a vacuum chuck. ( except I use leather instead of a towel)

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## ripjack13 (Dec 17, 2015)

Very cool turnings! 

Oh leather? I have been using the non slip pads you put under rugs n such. Not much to em. I've been looking into other things. I have a few scraps of leather round here somewhere...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

Hey Scott. Thanks for the techniques. I turned a second bowl from that lot. Just as i decided to keep it, same day it was gone! A dentist bought it. Check it out, see pic.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 4


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

ripjack13 said:


> Very cool turnings!
> 
> Oh leather? I have been using the non slip pads you put under rugs n such. Not much to em. I've been looking into other things. I have a few scraps of leather round here somewhere...


The leather you can dampen to get more "grip" and therefor more torque. It also protects the finished bottom of the bowl more.

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

"tailstock with a live center to hold it secure" 

Could you kindly post a picture of that Duncan?


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## barry richardson (Dec 17, 2015)

duncsuss said:


> By coincidence, I've got a dish on my desk here that's almost the same profile as yours. I made the bottom very simple, just a bit concave so it sits on the outside rim.
> 
> (Sorry about the poor gilding job I did on it, it was my first try with "Rub and Buff".)
> 
> ...


That's pretty much how I finish all my bottoms, Just create a slight dish as i part it off, then clean it up as necessary with a carving chisel. Don't own cole jaws, and don't see the need. I'm sure I'm in the minority here, most turners like to finish the bottom, put grooves in it, etc and remove all artifacts of turning. I'm convinced this is kinda like going real thin, to impress other turners, not necessarily the end user. My epiphany came when I realized that even very fine pottery and ceramic turnings, (basically turning in reverse) have rough bottoms and it is no detriment to their value and beauty... To me, finish turning the bottoms of pieces is like ironing your underwear Let the flame throwing begin

Reactions: Funny 1


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

Well....
I'm really having to rack my brain to find a parallel to the analogy I would like to use...


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

BRB


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

I like mine finished from top to bottom. The whole package. 





Otherwise


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

Its kind of like meeting a beautiful woman


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## Nature Man (Dec 17, 2015)

Awesome inlays in that last bowl! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2015)

And you go to kiss her hand and find rat claws







The first impression is just a bit tarnished at that point...


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## barry richardson (Dec 17, 2015)

NYWoodturner said:


> Its kind of like meeting a beautiful woman
> 
> View attachment 93184


Do you check her teeth? Lol

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

"Its kind of like meeting a beautiful woman" 

I'll sculpt my own! None could be better than that brought forth from my own rib! 

They call it Chainsaw carving. I have experience removing excess from turning blanks.


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## duncsuss (Dec 17, 2015)

Bluestingray said:


> "tailstock with a live center to hold it secure"
> 
> Could you kindly post a picture of that Duncan?


I'll try to set it up tomorrow and take a pic ... nothing complicated, just use the live center (which is in the tailstock) to apply pressure against the bottom of the bowl. It has to be tight enough that the the drive turns the bowl even when you start taking shavings off the wood, but not so tight that it splits the bottom of the bowl.

I usually start with it applying gentle pressure and increase (by cranking the tailstock quill) if it slips when I bring the gouge to the wood.


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## Bluestingray (Dec 17, 2015)

Thanks Duncan! I look forward to seeing that. I think I want to keep the sides for future changes or polishing. I need a polished true surface for the laser signiture, so not sure about tail stock in the way. Laser is in the mail... after I order it.. after I raise cash to pay for it... after someone shows me how to use one. I got a Mac though on Black Friday!

Reactions: Like 1


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## GeorgeS (Dec 18, 2015)

This isn't my pic but what Duncan is saying to do is something like this.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Dec 18, 2015)

George nailed it with that photo -- almost exactly what I would have re-constructed.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bluestingray (Dec 22, 2015)

Mesquite bowl, thick and hearty! Finished with a few coats of urethane.

I know my flaws and I know my rebellion. Its the dark side I tell ya

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1


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