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I’ve never been much of a turner. It’s mostly because I’ve only had a lathe for the last few years, and until recently, my tools were the worst on record. I like to save a few bucks as well as the next guy, but when it comes to turning tools you get what you pay for.
Of course it also helps to be able to attend workshops at a place like Conover Workshops. Learning with the help of a true master like Ernie Conover will greatly reduce the time it takes to learn how to use your lathe.
Recently, I must admit I have taken a real liking to bowl turning. These two projects help to illustrate why.
The first is a bowl turned from a wet cherry log. The blank was chucked in a faceplate and supported by the tailstock until round. Then I swung the head of the lathe over and turned the general outside shape you see here. A tenon was turned on the bottom to fit a four jawed chuck. After the outside of the bowl was sanded and a coat of Minwax antique oil was applied, and the bowl was remounted to the four jaw chuck, the faceplate was removed and the bowl was placed back in the lathe so the inside could be turned. More Minwax was applied after the inside was turned and sanded. Then the bowl was jam chucked so that the foot could be finished.
At some point in this process there was a crack that formed which was filled with super glue. This process is quite simple and will save you from throwing out perfectly good projects.
Alongside the bowl is a small platter turned from kiln dried, soft, curly maple. Turning dry wood is different than turning wet but just as satisfying. A face plate and glue block were glued to the backside of this piece (with a piece of paper shopping bag sandwiched between the two) and the platter was turned without re-chucking. I started by making it round, then I did the underside of the lip. The inside of the platter was shaped and flattened with a bowl gouge followed by a flat scraper and a sanding disk in my drill. The glue chuck was removed with a few taps from my fist and the back of the platter was cleared of all traces of Kraft paper and glue with my random orbital sander. The platter was also finished with Minwax antique oil.
If you’re worried about eating off something finished with solvent based finishes you shouldn’t be. The solvents evaporate leaving no residue. Any metallic driers that are present are in such low quantities that you would have to peel the finish off and eat it, several hundred times at least, before it would have any effect. I’m probably not going to eat my cereal in the morning out of this cherry bowl, but I have no problem putting candies or chips in it.
One of the drawbacks to setting out on an adventure like this is, just when you think you own every tool known to man, you learn that you don’t. I look at it as an opportunity to make use of a machine that hasn’t had enough use in my shop but, in order to get my money’s worth out of this lathe, I needed to spend a little on the proper tools required to make a good job of it. It’s not necessary to own drawers full of lathe tools – five or six will do. However, to get any satisfaction at all out of turning, you hve to use good quality tools that are sized appropriately for the job.
As King Heiple, one of my tutors, has said, "woodturning is the only type of woodworking where you can go from rough lumber to finished product almost instantly." He’s right. Bowl turning is where I head when I want instant gratification from woodworking. I highly recommend it to anyone.
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