Bowl Turning 101

[Steve Schlumpf]

Fellow Creeker, Rich Aldrich, just got his new lathe a week or so ago and I invited him over to cover some of the basics of turning a bowl. We took our time and, hopefully, he came away with a better understanding of the fundamentals. I think he got a kick out of it - especially once the blank became balanced and we could turn up the speed and start creating some nice long curlies!

As per the rules - here's the proof! Also, my wife Colleen took all the photos with Rich and I in them. It was her first time using our new DSLR and she really liked how easy it was to use! Got a feeling that we are going to have a lot of photos of flowers this summer!

145674 White Birch blank that Rich brought with him. Had some bark on it but was a fairly nice piece of birch!

145675 Starting to rough out. OK Rich - here is what you want to do... Rich used my Thompson 3/4" V bowl gouge with Randy's Monster handle that is full of #6 lead shot. The gouge handled rough out conditions beautifully!

145676 Cleaning up the outside curve. Rich has the outside curve starting to produce long curlies! Not sure - but I think this is where the fun started!

145677 Discussing the tenon - how to shape & size correctly and also the need to go back and readjust the outside curve of the bowl after turning the tenon.

145678 Reversing the blank. Note that the tailstock is left in place until the blank is balanced and a lot of the inner wood has been removed.

continued next page...

[Steve Schlumpf]

145679 Starting to hollow. First thing to do was flatten off the face of the bowl. This helped eliminate some of the out-of-balance condition and we could turn the speed up a little.

145680 Getting deeper. We kept the tailstock in place until the gouge was having a little trouble getting clean cuts at the bottom of the bowl.

145681 Tailstock removed. Once we had gone as deep as we could with the bowl gouge, the tailstock was removed so we had total access to the interior of the bowl.

145682 The finished rough out. To get the bowl bottom as smooth as it is - Rich got a couple of quick lessons on how to use a heavy-duty round scraper. Amazing how fine a curly you can get with a properly sharpened scraper!

145683 Rich & his bowl - a little tired but work was worth it!

As always - your comments are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Rich and Steve!

Great 1st roughout!

Great instuctor!

[David E Keller]

I fun just reading the text and looking at the photos... and I didn't even get to make any curlies! Congrats on the new lathe, Rich. Also, it seems you've found a pretty decent instructor as well.:D

[Gary Chester]

A fine bowl and a fine bit of mentoring!

AND I think it's great that you were both wearing your face shields!!!

[Dick Mahany]

Looks like you both had great fun !! Having a mentor when I first got this turnng bug would have been great.

I really enjoy this place for all that it has to offer, inspire and teach !!

[gary Zimmel]

Looks like a fun time was had by the both of you...

Congrats on the new lathe Rich.

[Jarrod McGehee]

Nice work Rich, Good teaching Steve!

[alex carey]

Congratz Rich, not a lot of people get a lesson from Steve, he produces some of the highest quality work on the creek. Glad your first bowl went well.

[Charles Bouchelle]

Nice that you took the time to teach a beginner, the one on one instruction from you saved him hours of fustration learning on his own. And nice photos too.Carpet in the shop???

[John Keeton]

Looks like you all had a great time, and a productive session. Wish I had enjoyed the benefit of some one on one instruction from a master when I started turning.

Great job on the bowl, Rich! And, great job of mentoring, Steve! I think we all appreciate your willingness to contibute, both here on the creek, and in person. THanks!!

[Baxter Smith]

Lucky guy Rich! You probably learned more in two hours than you would have in 2 weeks on your own. Either both of you are pretty short or I need to raise my lathe up. (Another I'm going to get to..) Looks like a lot more comfortable working height than I have with mine.

[Steve Mawson]

Great job to both of you. Steve, want to move a little closer to Nebraska??:) I could use some help from time to time.

[Rob Cunningham]

It's great to have someone there to show you how to begin. Good job Steve and congrats Rich on the new lathe and the tutoring session.

[Rich Aldrich]

Thanks for the help, Steve. Steve is a really good mentor - very thorough in his explaining what is going on and what to look for. I really learned a lot. It is great having someone with the knowledge and patients to start you out.

The wood we used was a piece of white birch that my dad cut about a month ago (my dad is a logger). I was surprised at how wet the wood still is.

When I left Steve's, I went to Menards and got some DNA. I soaked the bowl and now it is drying.

Unfortunately, my bowl gouges will not be here until tomorrow, otherwise we were going to grind them to shape. I have a good idea how to set it up after watching Steve sharpen his gouges.

[Curt Fuller]

What a guy! If I ever make it to the UP, I'd like to sign up for the same class!

[Steve Schlumpf]

If I ever make it to the UP, I'd like to sign up for the same class!

Yeah.... as the instructor!

[Bob Borzelleri]

Very nice little tutorial, Steve.

...Bob

[Bill Bolen]

What a fun read Steve! Found my self grinning the whole time. You guys sure looked to be having some fun there. Now for the big question.....did Colleen allow Rich to walk through the house when he left with curlies sticking to him or did he have to do the mandatory shake down?...Bill..

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bill - we did the shake down and the traditional shop-vac just to make sure!

Baxter - I am about 5' 10" +/- and have the lathe set up higher than most because I turn bowls and hollow forms and find the height is a heck of a lot easier on my back! Measured the spindle height at 46".

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve and Rich looks like you had a great time. Like Curt if I make it up there Steve can give me lesson 101 on bowls and HF's. Great looking first bowl Rich. Make sure you date it, sign it, wood type and save it for comparison down the road.

[John Tomasello jr]

Thumbs up to the both of you's

[Baxter Smith]

Baxter - I am about 5' 10" +/- and have the lathe set up higher than most because I turn bowls and hollow forms and find the height is a heck of a lot easier on my back! Measured the spindle height at 46".
Thanks Steve. I am a couple inches taller and my lathe spindle is 4 inches less. A new eye glass prescription would probably help too!

[Donny Lawson]

I think you done a great job.Now when it dries you will finish and have a beautiful bowl to show off.In the meantime you can make alot more and it gets better each and every time.
Donny

[Roland Martin]

Congatulations on your new lathe Rich, and a great 1st bowl! Learning to turn with Steve, "PRICELESS" This is a great post Steve, interesting & inspiring, the world could use a few million more people like you.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks for the help, Steve. Steve is a really good mentor - very thorough in his explaining what is going on and what to look for. I really learned a lot. It is great having someone with the knowledge and patients to start you out.

The wood we used was a piece of white birch that my dad cut about a month ago (my dad is a logger). I was surprised at how wet the wood still is.

When I left Steve's, I went to Menards and got some DNA. I soaked the bowl and now it is drying.

Unfortunately, my bowl gouges will not be here until tomorrow, otherwise we were going to grind them to shape. I have a good idea how to set it up after watching Steve sharpen his gouges.

Hello Rich,

You did great on your first effort! What a privilege for you to be able to have Steve Schlumpf as a mentor, and what nice gesture on his part to take his time and help you they way he has. Speaks well of him, and it will cut your learning curve quickly and help you achieve better results than most, sooner.

Congratulations!

[Pete Jordan]

Great bowl guys!

I look forward to the final project!

[Thomas Canfield]

That was a good training and he had a large blank to start with.

One concern is the use of a glove shown in the picture and it looks like the cuff is close to the toolrest and possibly getting caught. That can be a serious problem. I have to use gloves due to cold but try to take special care to keep any loose pieces such as cuff well away from any pinch points to be caught and also keep my hands well behind the toolrest.

Now you need to show him how to remount the green bowl to finish it off, but that might be Bowl Turning 102.

[Thom Sturgill]

Great job, both of you. I was lucky enough to hook up with a club and a mentor early on and get some training. Nothing better than having a mentor stand next to you and give direction, explanation and guidance as you work on your first bowl.