My first bowl

[Jarrod McGehee]

Ok so today not wanting to do much in the school shop I figured I could use the time I had to practice with my new Robert Sorby 3/8" bowl gouge. I had a black acacia blank that I got for free laying around. I had some trouble getting the outside turned without catching on the base of the bowl. but I guess that will be fixed with just more turning. and finally on to the inside. It is a NE bowl which I forgot to mention and it was a pain. I drilled the center out with a 1" forstner and turned it from there. I was constantly getting catches and it was hard and after a while I finally landed on a knot that was on the face I was turning and it blew a fat chunk into orbit :eek: So after seeing a new type of UFO and my frustration growing :mad: I called it a day and dismounted it without sanding or finishing.

So basically, after turning (trying to turn) my first bowl I was left with a lot of questions...

How do I not get a catch so easily on the inside of the bowl?
What should I use to shape the outside?
How should I mount the bowl rather than a screw on faceplate? and there are a few more but I can wait.

...But, I sure did like the new gouge!!!:D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jarrod - sorry to hear that you got frustrated with your first bowl. Biggest suggestion I can offer is to get with your local turning club and have someone demo how to turn a bowl. It will save you many hours for trying to figure it out for yourself.

Next best thing would be to get Bill Grumbine's DVD Turned Bowls Made Easy. In my opinion probably one of the best bowl turning videos out there!

Next time you turn a bowl - make sure your gouge is sharp and take light cuts. Best of luck to you! Bowls are a lot of fun - but a lot more fun once you have turned a few! Have fun - be safe!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Just do as what Steve suggest, I agree with that very much, as to your problems, looks like you turned it end-grain wise, as opposed to sidegrain, that does make things much harder to do with a bowl gouge, even though it can be done when doing it correctly, some hands on lessons will help a lot ;-))

[Jarrod McGehee]

Well thanks you Steve and Leo, you guys are pretty knowledgeable so I'd love to slowly pick your brains on here and I constantly learn more and more. I, like you said, plan on going to the turning club meeting this weekend. I would have the last 2 months but it was in the middle of wrestling season and I was preoccupied with that. and I will order that DVD soon as my mom says yes. Thank you Steve.

And Leo, I did have it mounted on face grain and I think one problem I had is that I used too much pressure like Steve said. I did catch a knot that was on the face and that's what blew off that chunk and that was possibly end grain so that may be the problem.

I appreciate all the help. You guys really are great.

[Jarrod McGehee]

Oh and Steve, or anyone else that can help, when I tried to cut down the side of the bowl on the inside, I kept getting a catch. Is that because I maybe tried a NE and that's hard to do to start or because I'm holding the tool wrong? the tool cuts nice but it was hard to dig down the sides to make it deeper.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jarrod that was probably caused by the way you held your gouge. Bill's DVD will show you all the cuts and you will be able to see easily what you are doing wrong. The first is always the hardest but will get easier as you go. Light cuts and sharp tools are in order.

[Cyril Griesbach]

Jarrod,
First thing to do when you get to that club meeting, after joining of course, is to ask one of the officers about a mentoring program. Most clubs will have one and you will most likely get all the help you want. Also ask about their club library. They may have Bill Grumbine's DVD available for loan and it's a highly regarded tutorial and very well produced.

[Jeff Nicol]

Jarrod, the piece of wood you chose for your first bowl attempt has all the the things you don't want in a first bowl. The NE is hard because you are in a hurry trying to get it right the first time. With the NE you are turning air half the time to start and that takes time to get te feel for. You acacia blank had the big limb growing in it and that means lots of different grain directions in a small area. So each time you hit the knot the hardness of the wood changes and the tool cuts differently. So find a pretty solid piece of softer wood (like the stuff that is on it's way to you!) and try that to get you technique down. Then work your way up to the more radical crotch wood and figured grains. It will get easyier as you progress.

Jeff

[Robert McGowen]

But at least you did not spend $30 on a bowl blank to have this happen to you. :D:rolleyes::D It seems like you are learning in the correct way!

[Tim Cleveland]

I have never seen Bill Grumbine's DVD, but have have seen good reviews of it. Another great DVD that I have seen is Mike Mahoney's Bowl Basics DVD.

Tim

[Jarrod McGehee]

Alright thanks for the help and Jeff I'll be trying out what is on the way. Thanks for the help all you guys. And yes I will talk to the club members about joining the mentor program and I will try to get out all of my questions that I have.