# sanding inside of bowls



## bent nail (Sep 13, 2010)

I like to turn green wood bowls from start to finish. I seal them as soon as I'm done and haven't had many problems with cracks. However, they do deform which makes them difficult to sand when I put them back in the lathe. Any insight on the easiest and best way to address this problem would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Bent,
When you turn a green bowl from start to finish and end up on the thin side, the warpage is unavoidable. That's what makes them neat. Sometimes you can watch your bowl turn into a gravy boat in a half hour. Whenever I turn a bowl like this, I don't plan on rechucking it. 
Mike Hawkins


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I sand with the lathe off using a sanding pad and hand held drill. I rig up a way to keep the wood from moving and then use the drill to sand. Here's one place to buy the pads.
https://www.thesandingglove.com/Sanding-Mandrels-And-Disc-Holders.asp
To keep the wood from moving is interesting. I used to use a wedge between the hand wheel and motor on my lathe. It works but I would occasionally knock the wedge out if I rotated the sander the wrong way. 
Then I tried putting a web style band clamp around the chuck and the lathe bed. Put enough tension on it that it keeps the bowl from moving but you can move it by hand. That worked but was a little slow to install and you didn't want to leave it on the lathe of course.
Then I had a friend drill my hand wheel with index holes. I rigged up a bracket that swings out of the way when I don't need it but locks into the handwheel in 1 of 24 positions when I do. This works great. If your lathe already has indexing then your a step ahead.
You can buy index wheels that will work from www.ironfireLLC.com they are inexpensive and work for other things like routing on turnings or drilling equally spaced holes for numbers in clocks.


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## bent nail (Sep 13, 2010)

*sanding inside bowls*

Thanks Mike and John for your input. Mike I saw one of your turnings with a light showing thru from the outside. I've been turning bowls like that for awhile and haven't found a good way to sand the inside when they're dry enough. 
John, I am able to chuck the bowls but, they are so deformed that sanding them while turning is impossible. I have used the drill/disc method, but was hoping for something better. I've noticed that when I turn large bowls with thickness of 3/8" -1/2" they are easier to sand with the lathe running.
I've been reading your threads for awhile and I value both of your comments. Thanks Bernie


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## Dave Pannell (Jan 17, 2011)

You can search up "foam ball sander" on google. I can't remember his site, but he has plans to make a round sanding pad for your drill. I made a couple, and they have made a world of difference. I've been using it with the lathe off, due to my having poor quality sanding pads, and it still outperforms my foam backed pad, or my regular little sanding pad. 

It's much easier, in my opinion, to sand curves with a ball. There's not any "walking around" of the pad while you're sanding with one either.

John, i just went to your sanding pad link, and i have to say, those look mighty cushy and surely would work just as well. I want some, lol.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I do by some products from Thesandingglove but I actually buy my pads from Craft Supplies www.woodturnerscatalog.com and buy interface pads and mysandpaper discs from www.vinceswoodnwonders.com
I usually sand the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of thin bowls under power. When I can feel the sanding pad start to skip then I turn off the lathe and sand the last parts with the lathe off. 
I've actually got my cutting skills down to the point that on smaller bowls say 6" and under I just hand sand with the lathe on. I can usually start at 220. I've worked hard to get to that point because sanding is such a chore.
On larger bowls it's a sort of swap. I can spend quite a bit more time trying to make the last few passes perfect so that I don't have to sand, or I can stop and just start sanding with 120 or 150 grit. Kind of depends on how I feel that day. The larger bowls are almost always power sanded because it's just quicker.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

bent nail said:


> Mike I saw one of your turnings with a light showing thru from the outside. Thanks Bernie


Bernie,
That pic with the light shining through was a bowl that I cut too thin. That was not intentional. It was thin enough in that one area for the light to shine through. Doug Thompson turned a cowboy hat one time at our club demo. When he gets done, the hat, which started out as a green piece of wood, weighs 8-9 ounces. His final shaping and thinning down is done with a light inside the hat shining throught the wood. When he gets close to his finish thickness, the light will change colors from red to yellow. That's how he knows when to stop. Pretty neat to watch.
Mike Hawkins


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