1st bowl, actually first turning other than a pen

[Erik Johanson]

Wanted to share with all my first bowl that I just finished. It is butternut, at least that's what the tree guy said when he cut it down out of the back yard, and is 5 3/4" wide at the rim, about 6 3/4" around the widest part and sits 3 1/2" high. It sits sanded to 600 grit with one coat of BLO.

My goal with this bowl was to break in my newly acquired Rikon mini lathe and new turning tools. I was also just trying to work on my cutting skills and tool approach to the material. I have a few areas of significant tear out mostly on the end grain that I need to work on for the next one. The nicest area of the whole bowl is the inside of the foot. I saw one of the Creeker's recommend Capt. Eddie's videos on YouTube and watched his video on how he does a foot, not too hard to follow and it turned out quite nice. After finishing this bowl I think I now understand why a lot of guys orient their bowl blanks so that end grain is on the side of the bowl and not the ends, so much easier taking cuts on the outside than trying to hollow out on the inside I presume.

Comments and Critiques are encourage, hoping for a starting point for the next one in hopes of perfecting my technique until I have the time to take some more classes at the local woodcraft again.

Thanks.

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[Betty Fox]

Sharpen, sharpen, sharpen!!! I have a devil of a time with tear out because I have yet to master the sharpening techniques. Nice bowl. I find that a more curved top is more pleasing. Kinda make the top fold back into the bowl. It's a harder cut to get but...........sharpen, sharpen, sharpen.
:)

[charlie knighton]

Erik, welcome to the learning curve, everyone's journey is different, be sure to keep this bowl it has some nice grain, enjoy

[Tom Winship]

Erik, like you, I'm just getting started in bowl turning. Talk about deficit spending!!!!
Very nice looking bowl. You're hooked, I can tell.

[Prashun Patel]

"After finishing this bowl I think I now understand why a lot of guys orient their bowl blanks so that end grain is on the side of the bowl and not the ends, so much easier taking cuts on the outside than trying to hollow out on the inside I presume."

Yes! Hollowing the end grain is hard. Once you do a 'sideways' bowl, you'll be amazed how much easier it cuts.

Also, I've *read* that endgrain bowls are in general weaker and at risk of having the bottom break.

Your bowl is well done, though. Welcome to the slope.

[Erik Johanson]

Also, I've *read* that endgrain bowls are in general weaker and at risk of having the bottom break.



This bowl Should not have any problems with weakness, I left it quite thick towards the bottom and even at the top its easily 1/8" and gets thicker towards the bottom. I was getting nervous and didn't want to take any more off. Hopefully I will gain more confidence as my skill increases. This one came out of the chuck two or three times as is. Learning to turn is not the only learning curve I have.

[David E Keller]

Looks better than the first bowl I turned! Congrats and welcome to another part of the vortex! Looking forward to seeing your sidegrain version soon! If you want to take a peek at a solid bowl turning video, Bill Grumbine's first video is worth watching.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice bowl on a tough grain orientation for your first one. Hope you post number 2!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice first bowl. Make sure you sign and date it. That way you can look back in a 1 or 2 yrs to compare where you were to where you are.

[John Beaver]

I left it quite thick towards the bottom and even at the top its easily 1/8" and gets thicker towards the bottom..

Erik, I applaud your first effort. The outside shape is nice.
The problem you will have with leaving the bottom thick is the risk that it will crack at the rim. With end grain turning it's beneficial to have the walls thin and a consistent thickness.
I'm not sure how you turned this, but with endgrain you kind of need to work backward from face grain, starting at the center and working towards the rim.
Keep practicing. You're off to a good start.

[Joe Watson]

Can't complain with a first bowl turning out like this - looks good.
One of the first things i turned from a tree/log was mounted off the end-grain. While in the middle of hollowing it out, i tried different speeds and different gouges and it made matters better and worse - dont rember what combination worked the best, but experimenting was good.

Have fun...

[Donny Lawson]

Looks like a great first bowl to me. I really like the grain design in it. Now jump back out there and start another one.

[Paul Heely]

Very nice first effort. I'm not sure my first ten survived, but I did have plenty of wood funnels around.

With the grain orientation you chose the direction of you cuts will be different than a side grain piece. On the outside this is really just a big spindle, so cuts are from the larger diameter to the small. So for the outside you would be cutting from the rim to the foot. On the inside it's like John said, cut from the center to the outside. If you were cutting as if this was a side grain bowl, then getting the right direction of cut may help with your tear out.

Now go put another piece on the lathe an make another.

[Erik Johanson]

Thanks all for the great responses, I will definitely be taking your advice when I turn the next one. I think it might be time to get that slow speed grinder and wolverine set up.

[Betty Fox]

+1 on the grinder!!!!!!!!

[James Combs]

A nice first effort Erik. I like the grain pattern. Another thing to consider when orientation your blank as you have is that the pith of the blank(or center of log) is included in the more or less center of the bowl bottom. Wood tends to start cracking at the pith. Looking closely at pic 2 you can see what already looks to be a crack. Most turners will cut their blanks so that the pith is removed. That is what gives most blanks the side-grain orientation rather then the end-grain orientation. The previously mention Bill Grumbie video is a good reference and highly recommended.

[Jim Burr]

That's a great first effort Erik!! I applaud you for posting it! You will build confidence as you go...just like pens. Make sure you sign and date it. Later as you progress, you may re-chuck this bowl and rework it...it's fun to watch your skills grow!!