Trying to get off on the right foot.

[Josh Bowman]

As I've gloated, I got a new lathe. I've mainly only have done spindles and turned a new handle for an old Buck chisel last night and compared to the shop smith I have the Jet 1642 is wonderful.
Well it's bowl time.......how do you get started? I found some maple scrap and face glued 3 pieces to create a stack about 6" high and about 8x8. I'm I on the right track for my first bowl?

[David E Keller]

There's nothing wrong with a laminated blank, but I'd probably suggest something a little more shallow. At six inches deep and eight inches diameter, you'll be required to do some fairly deep cuts across the bottom. If you're up to it, great. If I were to pick a starter project for bowls, I'd shoot for something shallower(2 or 3 inches deep). Even better, find a chunk of something wet and free and give it a go first.

Looking forward to seeing whatever you settle on.

[John Keeton]

Well it's bowl time.......how do you get started? Josh, my best recommendation is to take a close look at your budget and determine if you can live on half your income for the next 6 months!!!!:D:D;) Then, with checkbook handy, start buying all the neat stuff you will need for bowl turning!

Back to your glue up - can you resaw that blank on the bandsaw into two blanks - each 3" thick minus the kerf? As David said, the proportions on that will be much easier to get "right" and the cuts will be much easier, as well. I find that a ratio of 3:1 - width to height works out pretty well most times. The 3" blank will give you room for a recess or tenon.

What bowl accessories do you have for the 1642?

[John Hart]

If it were me Josh....I'd be all excited right now. Chompin' at the bit to get going. I'd throw caution to the wind and mount that big boy up and let'r rip. Then after I got beat up by my gouge catching all the time and getting smacked in the face with my scraper handle....I'd shuffle over to the 'puter and ask someone on SMC, "what am I doing wrong?"

That's me. In fact...it's so much "me"...that I STILL do that!!

But that's the wrong way. Don't get me wrong....It's fun...and it hurts....but it's wrong.

Now I'm going out to the shop and see what I can break. :)

[Kyle Iwamoto]

... and getting smacked in the face with my scraper handle. :)

Suddenly I don't feel so all alone.....

I'd also try some scrap free green wood. Maple cuts well, but I'd rather "learn" on something free. I never finished my first couple bowls. Wasted a very nice piece of wood.....

[Bernie Weishapl]

Josh I would also suggest getting Bill Grumbines Turned Bowls Made Easy and Mike Mahoney's From The Tree To The Table. I would watch these two DVD at least twice each. Both will show you a lot of what you need to know.

[Thomas Canfield]

Turning green wood is a great way to get started. The cost is usually free, and it cuts much easier than dry wood. You can develop a lot of control skills and see nice shavings giving a sense of accomplishment. I also recommend turning shallow platter or saucer shapes at first and then going deeper since turning the bottom of deeper bowls often requires a different grind on a bowl gouge to do it right. They say you always need to keep your #1 bowl for reference, but to me there can be several practice pieces before you make the #1 claim. I found that turning some standard 2x4, 2x6, and even bigger material to serve as practice pieces and make me learn to sharpen my tools and learn tool control.

[Wally Dickerman]

I'll agree with others...6 inches deep is too tough a challenge for a beginner. A blank of 3 inches deep x 6 or 7 inches is perfect.

I urge you to take a class in bowl turning. You'll learn more in a few hours with a good instructor than you will in months of turning on your own. If there is Woodcraft in your area, they have turning classes on a regular basis.

Good luck and have fun.

Wally

[David DeCristoforo]

"I never finished my first couple bowls. Wasted a very nice piece of wood....."

Why am I laughing? Because after several days at the lathe reducing several pieces of wood into piles of shavings and dust, my wife asked me "Aren't you supposed to turn them into something?" Actually I have produced a couple of mildly successful turnings of which I will post some pics tomorrow. I have sworn off buying any more tools for the rest of the year so I don't break the bank! But I'm having a lot of fun and finding that, as usual, the best way to learn is to do. With SMC there to provide tech support and inspiration, you can always get help trouble shooting. But as several have said already, practice on some generic wood and save your good stuff for when you feel you have a grip on what you need to do to make what you have visualized. I have found, so far at least, that diving in with no idea of where you are going might just produce one of those shaving piles and little else.

[Roland Martin]

You're smart to ask questions Josh. This is an awesome place to learn, from some very talented people. I learn daily here, these guys are great. Green wood is not only free, but it is much easier to turn, therefore easier to learn a little technique at the same time. It's very wise to start fairly small and equally as fun. Welcome to the vortex, life will never be as it once was:)

[Josh Bowman]

Well, it's done. Don't expect FWW mag. to put it on the back cover, but learning I did. I didn't get hurt, but being a spindle turner, I'm having a fit figuring out how to get inside and not cut the bowl in half or beat myself to death with a gouge.
John you asked "What bowl accessories do I have?" Just a set of basic turning chisels that I've used for years.....they came with the shop smith, Buck made them I think. A few months ago I bought a medium size set of vintage Craftman chisels. I also got a Oneway talon chuck. I captured one of the suggested DVD watches. Are there any books that will help. Getting to the bottom and sides seems very awkward! Thanks for all the help. BTW the lathe is now very dirty! The included pictures makes it look a little rough. Actually the maple has worm holes (or bug holes). It's just scrap from a bench I built. The finish is very shiney and I had trouble with the flash reflecting. But you get the general idea.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Josh - congrats on your first bowl! Be sure to sign it and keep it as there is only one first! You will be amazed at how much your turning changes in the next year or so!

I also suggest getting in touch with your local turning club! You may be able to have someone actually demo how to turn a bowl or even be able to check out the DVDs that Bernie recommended. Also, in your list of turning tools - I didn't see where you mentioned having a bowl gouge. When turning bowls - be sure to use a bowl gouge as it is the only safe way to fight the rotational forces you will encounter when hollowing!

Have fun turning! Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[John Keeton]

Josh, getting that deep with a bowl gouge is a challenge!! Looks like you pulled it off pretty well.

[David E Keller]

Good grief! In a matter of 5 hours, you asked a question on the forum, acquired a DVD listed in one of the replies, turned your first bowl, made photos of said bowl, and posted the whole thing on the website where you started. Don't you ever eat or use the restroom?:eek: You're not sniffing that lacquer stuff that gets some of the guys on here all hyped up are you?

Nice work on the first!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Josh - bowl gouges are heavier, made out of round bar stock and are built to withstand a lot more abuse than a spindle gouge.
A lot, not all, of the spindle gouges are made out of flat stock and use a tang to secure the tool to the handle. They are designed to be used in spindle turning - meaning the grain of the wood is running parallel to the bed of the lathe - and, as such, will not encounter the same stresses as when turning a bowl. When bowl turning you have 2 changes in grain direction with each rotation of the blank and that does create some stress on the tool!

[Josh Bowman]

I'm sorry for my ignorance. But how is a bowl gouge different from a spindle gouge? I've posted my hodge podge collection of tools for reference. Are any of these a bowl gouge? The 4th from the left on the 1st picture and shown in profile on the 3rd picture is a very narrow gouge, is that a bowl gouge? John, there is your PSI mini set in the second pic.
Also you can note that the new Jet is now dirty in the 4th picture!;)

[David E Keller]

The third photo looks like a bowl gouge to me... It has a deep flute anyway. It's awfully skinny to be reaching out 4 to 6 inches for hollowing unless you've got a rest that extends down into the piece.

You might look at Doug Thompson's website for clarification... He's got great pictures of all of his tools that you could use for reference.

[Tim Rinehart]

Josh, I expect there are quite a few woodturning clubs in your area, as the mountains of eastern TN and western NC are a hotbed of talent and schools.

Do yourself the favor of visiting with one of the clubs and someone there will be more than happy to demo some techniques, likely at the club lathe at the very least.

I wish in hindsight that I had done that...I wasted a good bit of spalted poplar not knowing better.

[Karl Card]

If it were me Josh....I'd be all excited right now. Chompin' at the bit to get going. I'd throw caution to the wind and mount that big boy up and let'r rip. Then after I got beat up by my gouge catching all the time and getting smacked in the face with my scraper handle....I'd shuffle over to the 'puter and ask someone on SMC, "what am I doing wrong?"

That's me. In fact...it's so much "me"...that I STILL do that!!

But that's the wrong way. Don't get me wrong....It's fun...and it hurts....but it's wrong.

Now I'm going out to the shop and see what I can break. :)


I resemble that remark...

[Tim Rinehart]

When I took my lathe intro class at Woodcraft (highly recommended), they spent most of the day on basics and spindle tool useage...and rightly so. Most of us can't use a skew to save ourselves, and only drag it out to use it as a point tool. Good use of spindle tools does provide foundation for bowl/vessel work...but then alot changes.

What I remember from that class, was that I really wanted to turn bowls when I walked away from it, and we spent perhaps 30 minutes as we watched our instructor just peel away material from inside of a walnut blank after roughing the outside. Just looked so easy.
At the end of the day, I was helping clean up and the instructor was taking the walnut blank off that had really only been roughed out and asked if I wanted it. Well...of course.

I had some bowl gouges from a Benjamin's Best set and every time I tried cutting a new cut on that walnut, it would catch like the dickens. I decided right then, I hated walnut. I was able to salvage a little platter out of that bowl blank.
I went back to turning poplar and sanding it like crazy to make up for my not applying correct technique.

Then...I discovered the local clubs. As I watched them close up, going thru setup and sharpening, etc....a light bulb went off, and I discovered walnut wasn't a bad wood...I just didn't apply my tool right.

I think if I hadn't discovered the wealth of knowledge and guidance of the local club members... I may have given up and not realized how fun this is.

Bottom line...if it doesn't come easy at first, realize it can eventually, and I actually DO like walnut now.

Keep us posted.

[Mike Peace]

Here is the first of three Youtube videos of Nick Cook showing how to turn a bowl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqPuDFtz_-Y&feature=PlayList&p=EA02B28B4A80F70E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=2

I do not believe that third gouge in your picture is a bowl gouge as it appears to have a flat tang. It is probably a continental spindle gouge and if so, I would recommend NOT using it for the inside of the bowl as the tang is too weak and thus be dangerous. As a novice turner I would not recommend using it on the outside either as you learn to avoid catches.

[Josh Bowman]

Help!!!!! I've fallen into a hole. Well I lucked out and the local Woodcraft had canceled a bowl turning class.......but if I could get there by 3 the teacher said for the same price he'd give me a 6 hour course.....private! 1 hour and 85 bucks later, I was learning how to turn bowls. Of course this was a little intense. I took notes and can't wait to try what I learned. I now know the difference between a bowl gouge and spindle gouge! It's like comparing a tire iron to a screw driver.
I gave into some goodies. I decided to buy and use tonight the Sorby Sovereign system. I hope it will save a little in the future. I got one of their smocks, which made the strings of wood flying a lot more pleasant.
Folks, I want to thank you for all the help. He also suggested a local turning group that I can join.
Attached are the bowls I turned tonight. The first looked no better that a plug, it's in the front. He let me learn a good lesson on the bottomless one......don't go to thin. Again no real prizes here, but I think I'm now off on the right foot.

[David E Keller]

Congrats on the lesson... Looks like a lot of fun.

I see that you made your first funnel as well... That's another big step!:D

[John Hart]

Help!!!!! I've fallen into a hole. .... but I think I'm now off on the right foot.

Yeah...and your left foot is caught in the vortex. There is no escape. Congratulations Josh. ;):)