Problems with the inside of a bowl

[Donny Lawson]

I am new to bowl turning and I am having a problem when hollowing out the inside at the center point.I ride the bevel all the way to the center but when I get there I cannot seem to get that little nib in the center to cut cleanly.Most of the time it sticks out and I have to fight to get it to come off and this doesn't always work.I know it's something simple but what?Is my toolrest too high or to low.? or have i got the wrong angle with the tool.I'm using a 1/2" bowl gouge.
Donny

[Allen Neighbors]

Donny, many of us have the same problem. I have a benign familial tremor, that puts my hands in vibrate mode the minute I get out of bed, and it's hard for me to get a smooth cut anyway, but I've just about mastered that. The center nib is hard for me to get in the same plane as the rest of the bottom, so I usually use a small scraper for that last bit. Then an 80 grit gouge takes care of the rest of it. :o)

[John Keeton]

Donny, it will be interesting to see the suggestions you get. I have the same issue, and usually end up with a scraper cleaning up the bottom a bit, and the rest comes off with the sanding.

Maybe it is just a beginner's plague!! We are members of the same club.

[Scott Hackler]

Donny,

I do several things for this. One way is that I make a final super light cut from the center out, paying careful attension to the edges of the gouge so you dont get a catch. Most the time I will use this method and I do so with the gouge angled around 30* to the left and push straight into the "nib". Once the depth is reached that equals the ajoining bottom ogf the bowl, I start the usual light sweep towards the sides. Most the time I do NOT continue up the sides because of the catch possibility.

Another is the scraper method and frankly a easy touch with the ole scraper into the dead center will get that little nib, but be carefull because the scrapers have a mind of thier own and they want to take out a whole lot more.

Getting that smooth bottom is a tough one to learn but once you master it it will come natural and ease how much sanding will be needed. I hate sanding inside (and I use a right angle drill wit a sanding pad), so I try to get as smooth a finish as I can before I stop cutting inside the bowls.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Donny I take my cut right thru the center. It is hard to explain but I don't stop until I have gone just past the nub as I call it. A scraper will work right below right below the nub, raise the handle and then in the same motion a sweep cut to your left lightly.

[Wally Dickerman]

You've had some good advice. Most of us use a scraper to smooth out the nib. What you must realize is that while the center of the bowl is turning at whatever the RPM's are, the wood surface is barely moving. Because of that, the cutting action is a lot slower, so handle the tool accordingly.

A suggestion....with the lathe running, make a pencil mark in the exact center of the bowl. This is helpfull when applying the tool to the wood.

Wally

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I use my gouge and my scraper but...the scraper is the most assured method to doing it.

My best scraper is a Sorby inside extra heavy duty scraper. Lost of mass so it has little vibration...... I put a fresh edge on it and use it with a light touch.

[alex carey]

I am with Bernie, not sure how to explain it but if you position everything correctly your sweep of the bowl with the gouge can include going past the nub.

If all else fails then a scraper will do the job quite easily.

[Donny Lawson]

I thought I was the only one having this problem.,but I see we all have this problem at some point.Hopefully with these answers that it will help others that come upon this.
Donny

[Steve Schlumpf]

Donny - like everything else - it comes with doing.

I use the same technique as Bernie and Alex - use the bowl gouge and sweep slightly past the nib. And - as Wally mentioned - the wood is turning really slow at the center - so slow down your cutting action and don't force things - allow the tool time to cut.

[Scott Crumpton]

When I've got the tool rest in the correct position it's not a problem. When it works, the cut goes like this... Entering at the edge, the gouge flute is nearly horizontal. As I proceed into the curve I lower the handle, raising the cutting tip, and rotate the gouge so that the flute is a bit more vertical. The gap between the bowl and the tool rest is greatest here. Then as I'm heading across the bottom the tip of the gouge follows an arc toward the center as the gap decreases and I again find the flute to be nearly horizontal as I reach center. Now if the tool rest is properly positioned -- nice and close at the edge of the bowl, nice and close just past the center and just a bit lower than half the width of the gouge -- I get to ride the bevel the whole way and cut that nib off right at the center of the gouge flute as I hit the bowl center. When it works it's sweet.

[Bob Borzelleri]

During the three days I spent with Jimmy Clewes, one of the many questions I asked Jimmy was how to go about getting the nub in the center of the bowl without feeling like I had ten thumbs. His answer was pretty much along the lines of Bernie, Steve and others and he added another suggestion that has helped me in many areas.

"Don't look at the cutting edge of the tool, look at what the cutting surface is doing to the wood." Following this one suggestion made all sorts of difference for me in getting cylinders without tapers, smooth skew finishes and wiping out the nub with confidence.

It took a bit of reprogramming to begin to consistently look at the top of a spinning spindle instead of fixating on the blade (but then again, I didn't have much learned behavior to overcome). It's clearly important to start out looking at the tool when setting the edge up to begin the cut, but from that point on, it's eyes to the effect of the cut for me. Works for bowls too.

[Richard Madison]

Alternative bowl gouge technique is to bring the gouge nose up from directly below the nub, rotate gouge CCW about its axis while pulling from center outward. Seriously doubt if it is doable from these words, but works well. Can even cut all the way across the bottom to beginning of curvature to the sides. The cut starts as a scrape with the nose and changes almost immediately to a shear scrape with the nose, from the center outward.

[Reed Gray]

The inside center is a difficult area to get perfect. It seems like there is always a nub or a small tear out. As others have said, the wood is spinning very slowly. The rpm is the same, but the fpm (feet per minute) is a lot less, so you seem to cut a lot slower. The problem for me is coming off my bevel, and riding the heel of my gouge. There is an art to being able to feel the gouge going across the bottom of the bowl and getting it flat, without ripples, almost exactly like what you do if you are using a hand plane on a flat board. If you have a nub, which is a raised spot, you are more on the heel of your gouge, and not on the bevel. This is easier to show than to describe, but angle your gouge a bit more to the nose of it. You also need to be at dead center heught with your cutting edge.

If you are getting a torn out spot, you are pushing too hard. The grain is all running straight across, and the nub can break off before you cut it off, and this leaves a torn spot. Do be careful about pushing through the center. If you hit the upward moving wood on the other side of the center, your gouge can make a quick half circle back to the proper side of the tool rest, and slam down onto the tool rest, some times breaking the tool rest, and smashing fingers, and this after making a big gouge in the wood. Very light pushing on your gouge.

A scraper works nicely too, and there is less tear out when using it across the flat grain of the bottom of the bowl than there is on the side grain where you cut through flat and end grain. If you tip it up to a 45 degree angle, you get a nice shear cut. I never have the scraper flat on the tool rest for any thing other than roughing cuts.

I do have one small inside scraper with a swept back design (ti the left side) and it comes almost to a point. It looks like half of a swept back gouge. I can ride the bevel of it across the bottom of a bowl for a really clean shear cut, rather than flat on the tool rest.

robo hippy