# First Bowl



## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Hey folks. Here's my first bowl! It was a lot more work than the tops and the pens.  It's about 7" diameter, 4" tall and 3 1/2" deep. It's made from a 1x8 oak board that was chopped up and glued together with each piece turned 90 degrees. That turn made a nice grain pattern. You can see in the two pictures, that when you turn the bowl, the bands alternate light and dark. The walls are a little thick at 3/8", but I started getting nervous, and I don't have the right tools for a bowl. I was having a horrible time getting the inside of the walls squared up, so I ended up easing the parting tool in all the way from the top to the bottom to square it, then rounded the inside bottom corner a bit with a spindle gouge.

What tools are recommended for bowls?



















I rubbed it down with teak oil a few times. I think when that fully cures, I'll wax it with some orange wax.

Here's the inside.










Whaddya think? :balloon:


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## cwhit (Jan 5, 2009)

The bowl looks great, I think I'll try that with the alternating boards.


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## jporter5333 (Dec 6, 2008)

good looking bowl:yes:


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Nice bowl. A bowl gouge might be in your future. Maybe a heavy side scraper also. Using a spindle gouge down off in there could be a little dangerous.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Ditto on what Slatron said,
Get yourself a decent bowl gouge. Don't use a spindle gouge inside a bowl. Good chance for an big catch. 
Mike Hawkins


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## Barry Ward (Mar 22, 2008)

*First bowl*

Ditto on all.Very nice looking piece,but You should have a bowl gouge (good one) as they are heavier flute and far less likely to snap if you get a big catch.
Ken


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

Very nice for a first bowl!! I haven't gotten that far yet. Might take a class tomorrow.

I like the alternating grain that was created by rotating the boards with each level. I will have to try that with some of the cutoffs in my shop.

Very nice though.....

Fred


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

Very nice bowl. If you look in my photos you can see a few of mine. I have a 3/8 bowl gouge that I use. It has a long handle on it that makes controlling it much easier. I have really gotten into turning bowls. The latest ones I have done are segmented bowls. They are more work to make the blanks but the options are endless.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

The bowl was a lot more turning than anything that I've done yet. Of course, it was a giant chunk of glued wood. :laughing: If I glued some rings together instead, it might not take so long to shape. Having a bowl gouge would probably help, too. 

I'd really like to make cool stuff like a clewes style box. 

This site has some really neato box projects. I'm running out of scrap oak, though.... I may have to make a run to the hardwood store again! :smile:


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## Hhaines (Nov 26, 2008)

Now that you have your feet wet.....go to "Segmented turning" and start looking at some ideas that will really get you hooked.......You have a very nice start.......keep going.......


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## Jeff4woodturning (Feb 1, 2009)

Nice job on your first bowl. like your idea with gluing different wood together. 

A nice bowl gouge and a heavy bowl scraper maybe needed in your future. A member of our turning club over extended a 3/8 gouge doing a bowl, broke 2 fingers and receive 10 stitches. please be careful.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Jeff4woodturning said:


> broke 2 fingers and receive 10 stitches


YOWCH! :sad:

I had a few catches in there, but, luckily, I wasn't putting much pressure on it, and they didn't hurt. Very light passes for me! I also learned a more proper way of sharpening my tools yesterday, so I think that will help in the future. 

I'm gonna have to psych myself up to forking out $60 for a bowl gouge, I guess.

Segmented bowls are was what made me decide to buy a lathe instead of a band saw! :laughing: I'm not sure I will have the patience to assemble an elaborate segmented bowl, but I will probably glue up random pieces of whatever's around and see what I come up with! :yes:


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

Segmented bowls are what enticed me to get a lathe also. I think they are so cool. I have to learn the basics first and live through the patience of glue ups.

Might glue up some scraps like you did today and see how it goes.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

Dano, PT, Segmented turning is a lot of fun. The one thing with segmented turning is that you have to have the angles of the miters right or you will end up with gaps in the joints. That is the part that I find most annoying. I bought the Incra 1000SE miter gauge and that helps a lot. The main thing is to have fun with it and let your imagination run.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I've got some segmented blanks glued up right now for pens, and I can't wait to see how they turn out! 

I'll have to work up the patience to wait for glue to dry on a whole bowl! :yes:


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

I did a thread First Segmented bowl,http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/first-segmented-bowl-8336/ I did a step by step at the bottom. It is all about starting where you are comfortable. The first one was 3 rings and the bottom. The second was 4 rings and the bottom. If you buy enough strap clamps you can glue more rings at once. I only have two strap clamps so I can only do two at a time. Like I say though it is a lot of fun.


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

AZ,
Did you finish the bottom or just leave the chuck cutout? It looked like you mounted the bottom board directly on the chuck. Is that correct?

Did you just come up with the cut dimensions yourself or use a program?

That segmented bowl is really cool.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

PT, I did finish the bottom of the bowl. I have a set of flat jaws for my chuck. I turned the bowl around on the flat jaws and turned the mounting hole out of it.
I did not use a program. I cut the stock 1 1/2" wide and cut the segments. Each ring needs to be a little longer than the ring before. I start with the smallest ring and work from there. The top ring I made quit a bit bigger than the ring before, that enabled me to to flare it at the top. Here are a couple of pics.


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

AZ, Thanks for the pictures.

b00kemdano, How did you finish your bottom?


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Termite! I tried to find that thread a couple weeks ago to show my wife your segmented bowl.... so YOU'RE the one! :laughing:

I must say that your segmented bowl there is the reason that I opted for the lathe instead of the band saw. I had never considered wood turning before I came to this forum, and your bowl cinched it for me. 

PT - The bottom of my bowl is a little thick because it was the first time I used my 4 jaw chuck and my estimate for how wide it would open was wrong. So, there's a large recess that is too big for my chuck, and within that, there's a smaller recess that actually fits the chuck. When I formed the bottom of the bowl, though, I left about 1/8" ring on the outside of the larger recess so the bowl would sit on the ring.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

dano, I'm glad I could be an inspiration to you. If I can make a suggestion to you, you may want to get a set of flat jaws for your chuck. It will allow you to do a lot more. It makes finishing the bottom of bowls easier as well. Here's a couple of pics of the finished bowl.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I'd like a bigger chuck, but I think I'm going to have to get some better tools first. Specifically, some bowl gouges. I know that hollowing a bowl or a box with the parting tool is wrong, but it was the most sturdy tool that worked for me - an indication that I need to find out the correct way of doing it!

What tools do you use for hollowing bowls?


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## EugeneInNC (Aug 18, 2008)

Great looking bowl! I am new to turning wood, about 6 months now. If you get a good bowl gouge and a bowl scraper you will be able to turn bowls much safer and faster. Have fun and be safe.

Eugene


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

I don't have a scraper yet. I do most of it with a bowl gouge and I clean it up with a skew chisel. The scraper is on my list, I just haven't gotten it yet.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I actually bought a prybar at L the other day - it was on sale for $5 - for the purpose of grinding it down into a scraper. I'll work on that today and see how that goes. 

I guess I'll go ahead and order a bowl gouge. I know I need one. I want one. I just don't know which one to get, and for $50+, it could be risky getting a crummy one.


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

I went to the woodstore this weekend and almost bought a bowl gouge. I was told that the bowl gouge is difficult to use at first but once you really learn to use the bevel, it works like a champ!

He actually talked me out of the bowl gouge for now for a good scraper. He recommended using a scraper for the inside of a bowl unless you are turning something really deep.

Any thoughts?


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

PT, Get the bowl gouge. Once you get it practice on some scrap before you dig into good stock. It will not take long to get the feel for it. The scraper will only get you so far. It is more refining the shape of a bowl rather than forming the bowl.

Dano, You do not have to go out and buy the most expensive gouge. As a starter you might look at the ones Penn State Ind. has. It will at least get you started and if something happens to it you are not out that much. Good luck with the pry bar scraper. If it doesn't work look again at Penn State.

I am mostly a self taught turner. It has taken a lot of work to get where I am. I spent a week with my Uncle a little over a year ago and he showed me some things I was doing wrong. You guy's may want to find someone in your area that is willing to show you some "how to". It makes it a lot easier. The few days I spent with my Uncle helped a lot.


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Price wise, you could check out Highland Woodworking's Bodger tools. They've got fairly inexpensive bowl gouges.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I ordered a bowl gouge today from Woodcraft. I wish there was a store close to me, but it's two hours away. 

I also wish there were some clubs / classes / ANYONE near me that I could watch / work with / learn from. There seem to be some small woodworking clubs in my town, but I haven't seen any evidence that there is another lathe within 100 miles of mine. 

Anyhow, I broke my promise to Mike. I wanted to make another jar / lidded box today, and my bowl gouge (that I ordered this morning) hasn't come yet. I'm gonna go post a pic of it.


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