# Bowl chatter



## Korosu (Oct 16, 2014)

So I just turned my first bowl a few days ago and came across some chatter. Trying to figure out why it happened. But it happened when I was hollowing it out, and it was as I was coming down the wall of the bowl and getting to where I wanted my flat spot or the base of the bowl to be. Maybe it's cause of the wood? I'm not sure. I think the type of wood was red cedar. 

Any input would be appreciated.


----------



## Woodychips (Oct 3, 2015)

Probably because of the angle of the tool you were using plus the fact that you were near the bottom where the wood fibres cut differently because of their orientation compared to the sides.


----------



## bond3737 (Nov 13, 2009)

could be the thickness of the bowl as well (Usually anything less than a half inch on most woods for me) If its the thickness you will likely hear it towards the top more so than the bottom. It will sound like a high pitched eeeeeeeeeee. Make sure you're sharp and take light passes. You can put your hand on the outside and give a light pressure while making the passes. It will stabilize the bowl somewhat as you guide the tool down. Make sure your gouge is ground so that your tool can make the cut all the way down. You can check this with the lathe stopped just get in cutting position and check that you are good all the way through. Also, not sure what tool you're using or the size of the bowl but you want to have the least amount of bevel rubbing you can get away with especially for those final cuts. The more steel that is touching the wood the greater the chance of vibration. For anything 12 inches and under i use a 1/2 inch gouge. If you dont have one consider creating a secondary bevel on your gouges ground more acutely than your first. The area where your bevel is actually contacting the wood will be much less than if the whole bevel is making contact. happy turning,
Bond


----------



## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Tools not sharp, too much forward feed pressure and too much pressure on the bevel are frequent causes. Sharpen the tool, relax and slow down to let the tool cut at the rate it wants and try not to push on the bevel. I like to think of it as gliding the bevel rather than riding the bevel. 
Actually come to think of it you didn't mention what tool your using. I assumed a bowl gouge.
Thin large bowls will often chatter. I put a bunch of rubber bands around the outside rim of a bowl one time and was amazed at how much it cut down chatter. This one was something like 12" in diameter and about 3/16" thick so it was a good candidate for chatter.


----------



## dartman (Oct 12, 2012)

When I get chatter or that high pitch sound,I use wide and thick rubber bands to quiet it.I used to run an auto parts store and when I would turn brake drums,There was a thick rubber belt to go around them to stop the chatter.Tried it on a bowl I was turning, and what do you know,it helped.


----------

