Turning Question

[Donny Lawson]

Hopefully next week I will be trying my hand at my first bowl and was just wondering about how long it takes to turn a bowl? I'm talking about a 8 or 10" regular bowl.,nothing fancy.I know it takes time to dry the bowl but I was wanting just the initial turning of the blank into bowl form.The blank will probally be wet so I know that helps.Just courious.The wood will probally be maple.So what do you think?
Donny

[John Keeton]

Donny, why not get some dry stock to try your first one on?? That way, you can take it all the way to finish and get that....Ahhhhh!! feeling when you stand back and look at it!:D

More to the question, I think it took me about an hour to do my first little 5" cherry dish thingy. But, it was dry, and the cherry was easy to turn.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Donny - I like the idea of starting out learning how to turn a bowl using green wood. It's a heck of a lot easier to turn and flinging water is all part of the entertainment package!

Best advice I can offer is to not worry about time! Concentrate on learning how to use the bowl gouge, different cuts, sweeping curves, cutting downhill, etc. and just having fun with it. If you worry about completing a bowl for show & tell - then you make to much effort and lose out on the teaching aspect of learning on green wood - and by that I mean turn a bowl, experiment with your cuts, then grab another chunk of green wood and do it again!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Donny,

I'm going to land right between Steve and John.

It's easier to turn green wood....easier on the tools and the body. Problem.....is getting it to the finished stage. Depending on the climate where you live can really have an effect on what measures you need to do to get it finished without cracks etc.....plus....there can be a significant time difference.


Turning some dry wood....you'll have to sharpen more often....it is tougher on one's body.........you don't get wet snot-slung curlies shooting over your shoulder but as John says...you take it to finish without having to wait and pray for it to dry without cracks.

Most importantly...enjoy the process and remember to keep the emotions out of it and learn......

Enjoy!

[Michael Jasani]

Hi Donny,
Green wood is much more forgiving and gentle, I started 'green' but now I prefer dry wood because besides other things I can see the grain patterns more clearly which helps me decide what kind of form to give. But I agree with Steve, enjoy the time you spend on the work, enjoy the exitement of waiting for the bowl to dry and "re-turn", I bet you, you will cherish every moment of it! Good luck

[Mike Peace]

To answer your question, I would say one to two hours.

I am on the turn green side for the reasons already offered. It is also easy to get green wood. Turn it to finish and let it go organic on you. I would aim on something a little smaller than 10" to start. Me, I like turning. I like to practice new things. I would encourage you to take a piece of green wood and go at with the idea of practicing your cuts without the pressure of even thinking about producing a finished product the first time. Make shavings and have fun.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have to agree with the green wood. It is easier to turn. My best advice to you is don't worry about time. Since this is your first bowl I would worry more about technique, tool control, trying different cuts, etc. and forget time. That will come with practice and experience. Have fun and enjoy.

[Reed Gray]

10 or more years ago when I was starting, a bowl that size would have taken me about an hour to turn. Now, some 8 to 10 thousand bowls later, it is 5 minutes. Time isn't important unless you have to budget your time in the shop. I prefer green wood as well, but if you have to stop for a while and then come back in an hour or two or a day or two, it can have warped and/or cracked while you were gone.

robo hippy

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Turn green wood, cost less or is free wood, so you don't have to worry about an expensive piece of wood you are wasting.
Green wood turns much nicer, and you don't have to worry yet about drying, heck you could turn it right to finished size and have a good look at it when done.
This is learning, not producing, so the important part is to do just that, learn, not the time it takes or if the wood will survive, it will be much more fun to turn wet wood with the nice long shavings rather than hot dry dust.
I remember 50 years ago, when I took a piece of nice dry cedar to turn a bowl from, it sure wasn't fun eating that dust and I couldn't get a decent cut on it no matter what I tried, very frustrating, of course in those days the bowl gouge wasn't invented yet, so scrapers was all there was for turning bowls, boy you will have it easy with a nice bowl gouge and a nice green piece of wood, have fun :D :D :D

[Richard Madison]

Donny,
When turning green, if you get the outside turned and have to stop for an hour or two, or overnight before doing the inside, wrap the bowl snugly an a couple layers of plastic to keep the outside from drying and cracking. I would even leave it wrapped until you get the inside turned. Then continue with your preferred drying method.

[GLENN THOMAS]

Donny,

I agree with the majority here in that you should start off with green wood. These guys here on the Creek know what theyre talking about. As far as time taken, I guess it depends on how much practice you have had. It seems like my first bowl took all day, the last bowl took about 15 mins. I just watched a guy on youtube turn one from green blank complete with bark to finished bowl with details on the foot in about 5 mins. With practice not only will you get faster but you will make less mistakes and have fewer catches too. Green wood is free and all you have to do is look for it so dont be too concerned with making mistakes.

Be sure to post some pictures.
GT

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You guys turned your first bowl in an hour? It took me all afternoon for my first..... It still takes over an hour. I must suck..... Takes more than 5 minutes to do a finishing cut...:eek:

[Reed Gray]

Kyle,
LIke my Kung Fu Teacher said, "10,000 more times." If you can find some one who knows pretty much what they are doing, and spend a day with them, you can shave a lot of time off that hour, because they can show you a lot of tricks that you haven't figured out yet. This is where clubs come in. Next best after a mentor is some good DVDs. You can't stop them and ask them to clear up some details, but you get more ideas on what to try. Then it comes down to practice. You will get better.

robo hippy