First bowl rough out...

[Joe Tedesco]

Well, this was my first attempt at rouging out a bowl. It is a green piece of walnut, and I have to say it kind of kicked the crap out of me getting it round! I cut it the best I could on the band saw, but it was the furthest thing from round when it started spinning. A few questions;

What speed should I initially be spinning it at while it is badly out of round?

Once, it is running true, what is a good speed for roughing out the shape?

I did not have any DNA on hand, so I temporarily put it in a paper bag surrounded with the damp shavings. I will attempt the DNA drying method tomorrow...I sure can't wait months for it to dry on its own :)

-Joe

[David E Keller]

Looks good. I generally turn things as fast as possible without the lathe vibrating... That's one of the big perks of the variable speed on that beautiful lathe you've got. The closer to round you get, the faster the speed can get. More speed means less resistance while cutting.

In my limited experience, walnut is not too bad about cracking as long as the pith is gone from the piece. I've got several rough outs that are nearing dry with no DNA, no bag, and no sealing the end grain.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Joe - speed really depends on the blank you are turning. I usually start off around 500 to 600 unless the blank is so out of balance that I have to turn the speed down to stop the lathe from shaking.

Once the bowl is balanced I turn the speed up to something I am comfortable with - and that will depend on the size of the blank. For small to medium pieces I will turn around 950 - 1050 rpm. Larger pieces are closer to 800 to 850.

Just a suggestion on rough outs - be sure to remove any sharp edges from them as that is where the blank will dry out the fastest and tend to check.

Looking forward to seeing this bowl finished!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joe I roughed out a bowl today that had been rounded with the bandsaw. This is by no means balanced. I started the rough out at around 250 rpm. Once I got it somewhat rounded I speed it up to 500 rpm. Again as I got the shape I wanted I moved it up to 750 rpm. I put the chuck on and turned it around with the tailstock up I faced off the front. At this point is was running decent so I kicked it up to 1100 or little better to finish the inside. Take your time when you first start roughing. It takes time to get some semblance of a bowl. Oh and on the lip of your bowl round the edges inside and out. Make your lip rounded as this helps with cracking. Have fun and stay at it.

[Baxter Smith]

Well, this was my first attempt at rouging out a bowl. It is a green piece of walnut, and I have to say it kind of kicked the crap out of me getting it round!

-Joe
Looks good! Should make a nice bowl. This may be an unneccessary question and if so I apologize!:) Since you said it kicked the crap out of you, did you first even up the end at the tailstock then gradually work your way around toward the headstock? I wouldn't have known to do that a month ago so...

[Chris Stolicky]

One other thing to keep in mind is that just because a blank is round does not mean it is necessarily balanced. Wood can, and does, have different densities and this can cause it to be out of balance. Some woods are different than others. The location of heartwood and sapwood can make a big different on the weight balance of a blank.