Bowl #'s 2, 3 and 4

[Warren Gibson]

A week or so back I posted some pics of my first bowl. Here are the next three in order. I've been turning pens for about 3 years now, but I am HOOKED on bowls. I am already obsessed with trying to make each bowl better than the last. I currently have another one on the lathe and another blank ready to turn tomorrow.

The one problem I just can't seem to get past is tear-out. I've sharpened my tools as good as I can but it still doesn't seem to be enough. I guess I have to just get better at sanding :(

Thanks for looking and any comments or criticisms are welcome.

#2 - Walnut with small foot - 6.5 x 4. This block was VERY dry and the grain is really open. Tear-out was really a problem.

180231180228180230

#3 - Katalox with a contoured base and recess in the bottom - 8.5 x 2.5. This wasn't too bad. Wood is really dense and grain really tight.

180224180227180229

#4 - Cannot remember for the life of me what this wood is. I've had it on the shelf for over a year. No foot, just a shallow concave recess on the bottom - 3.5 x 3

180233180232

[Michael James]

Hey Warren, welcome from NM. The pieces look good from here - thanks for posting! I'll put a quarter on orange osage for #4.

[Brian Effinger]

They are all nice, Warren, but #3 is my favorite (mainly for the form). The tool & sanding control will come with practice, as I'm sure it did with the pens.

[Tim Thiebaut]

These look great Warren, I am working on my first bowl now and I hope it comes out looking half as good as these.

[Bill Hensley]

Nicely done on all.

I get my best results on tear out by shear scraping with a sharp bowl gouge making multiple light passes.

[John Keeton]

Warren, looks like you did well on all of these, and particularly the Katalox bowl - very nice form and I like the thinness of it. The walnut bowl is a beautiful color and you did well with the depth of the bowl in getting a good transition. Excellent work!

[Jeff Nicol]

Welcome Warren, The bowls look nice and you chose some great woods to start with your bowl turning. Tear out is something that is inherent to turning and you will find over time the technique you use or tool and how it is sharpened and the addressing of the wood will dictate the amount of tearout. Each type of wood has different consistencies that produce more or less tear out, and the moisture in the wood will change how the wood reacts at any given time. The tried and true methods of having no or very little tear out are many and will work for some and not for others, but the most important one is patience. When you start to get to the finished bowl that is where you need to take lighter cuts and re-sharpen or hone your tools to make sure they are cutting the best they can. Then make sure to make your last cuts, if you can from rim to bottom in one continuous cut. Starting and stopping can get you into trouble at times if the tool does not pick up the cut correctly. If that is a difficulty now it will become second nature as your muscle memory keeps you moving fluidly, but if you need that smooth as can be cut a freshly sharpened shear scrape will let you take off wisps of wood with as many passes as it takes to get rid of the tear out.

I could ramble on some more, but good luck and it will come with practice,

Jeff

[Fred Perreault]

Warren, great looking start. As you surmised, time is going to show you the way. What Jeff Nicol said is sound. After you get tired of sanding so much, and tend to see what it takes to get a better finish off of the tools, you'll be having more fun than your wife will allow.... :) :) I like the #3 walnut a lot.

Good luck

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Warren. Those are great looking bowls. I do like the form and wood of #2.

[David E Keller]

Welcome! Nice looking bowls. I'd pick the katalox as a favorite, as I like the open form and the proportions best. Looking forward to 5, 6, 7....

[Jim Burr]

Nice job Warren! That Calabash style mystery wood has a great curve to it.

[Roger Chandler]

Nice bowl, all of them..........Welcome to the Creek, by the way! I have found that walnut, especially black walnut is prone to tear out. If you use a log and cut a blank, if the wood is at all a little punky, then tearout is almost inevitable. Jeff Nicol gave you good advice.........light cuts, resharpen you bowl gouge for the last two or three passes and use a shear cutting angle, which will give you hair like fine curlies, and smooth the surface.

[Jon Nuckles]

Really like bowl #2, and will have to look for katalox. Very pretty.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Warren - glad to hear that you are enjoying turning bowls! They can be a lot of fun - especially when roughing out green wood! Wait till you give that a try!

Really like your Katalox bowl! Pretty wood and a really nice form!

Tear out depends on a lot of factors - too many when you are first starting out! You have to contend with everything from the grind on your bowl gouge to speed of your lathe. Best advice is to get with your local turning club and have someone with a lot of experience show you - on your lathe - some of the various ways to deal with it.

Good luck and have fun turning!

[Greg Ketell]

Man I wish my first few bowls looked that good! Great job!

[bob svoboda]

Very nice, especially for your first. Jeff and Steve both gave some great advice on tearout. I would also recommend viewing Bill Grumbines video showing both the shear scraping and what he calls the tangent cut. Also, if I have a small amount of tearout left, sometimes wet sanding with BLO to with 320, 400 and 600 grit will get rid of most if not all of it. Glad to have you posting here-keep 'em coming.

[Warren Gibson]

Thanks everyone for all the comments and compliments. I absolutely plan joining my local turning club. I was actually planning on going to the last meeting, but it was the same day that we returned from vacation and I completely forgot about it. I was very upset when I realized it would be another whole month before I would be able to attend a meeting. :mad:

Regarding the tearout, I have something to try. I was able to spend some time today in the shop of fellow penturner. He just got a Tormek-style sharpener so we sharpened all of our tools. They are now SCARY sharp compared to even my best efforts with the Wolverine/slow speed grinder set-up. Hopefully this may help a little.

Also, I turned bowl #5 yesterday. It is the best one so far from a technical standpoint. Thin bottom. Thin, even walls and almost zero tearout. I'll start a thread once I get some pics.

Thanks again everyone.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Pretty good looking bowls Warren, the Katolox one appeals most to me, though all three are well done pieces ;-))

[Ron Stadler]

Really nice looking bowls, but I do favor the second one.