Just Messing Around

[Tom Winship]

I was just killing some time last week and turned a square bowl from mesquite. It was a little sad for me because the place where I have bought my mesquite for the last 2-3 years burned in the Bastrop fire last month.
Anyway, I like the interrupted cut. It is about 5" square and 2" high. Sanded to 400 and finished with beeswax.

Comments and criticism always welcome.

[David E Keller]

Pretty stuff, Tom! Sorry to hear you lost your dealer... I thought that stuff grew on trees down there in Texas!

It may just be the photo, but it seems like you're getting a few tool marks on the inside of the bowl... They look like burnish marks from the heel of the gouge. If so, you might try grinding a little micro bevel(or relieving some of the heel of the tool) at the grinder... It'll help you get around those tight turns without the heel of the gouge marking the wood.

[Thom Sturgill]

Aren't those square bowls fun? Especially at the corners? I did one with a smooth flow into the bowl rather than the sharp cut you have. It requires a straight grained wood with high contrast (I used zebra wood) to show the curve well. Your design works better in a less distinctively grained wood.

I used to live south of you in Bay City, but did not turn back then, so I've never turned mesquite.

[Tom Winship]

David, there are actually two things you might be seeing on the bowl. One of the rings is actually where the chuck spun when I was removing the tenon. (I open the chuck, cover it with the plastic shelf liner and put the tail stuck in the center of the tenon and remove. The other thing you see is the bottom of the screw holes from the face plate being attached. I was afraid to go much deeper to remove them. That being said, I have thought I needed to put another bevel on the tool. A lot of the time when I am cutting out the inside of the bowl, I get a pretty good vibration and have thought maybe it was the heel dragging.
I actually have a mesquite tree in my yard, but the wood for furniture/turnings is from further south. I've seen 20-24" logs from down there. Massive.
Thanks for you comments.

Pretty stuff, Tom! Sorry to hear you lost your dealer... I thought that stuff grew on trees down there in Texas!

It may just be the photo, but it seems like you're getting a few tool marks on the inside of the bowl... They look like burnish marks from the heel of the gouge. If so, you might try grinding a little micro bevel(or relieving some of the heel of the tool) at the grinder... It'll help you get around those tight turns without the heel of the gouge marking the wood.

[Jamie Donaldson]

OK Tom, now the challange is to make the next one about 3/16" thin from edge to edge! I wish mesquite trees grew in KY.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Pretty bowl Tom. Love turning mesquite. Sorry to hear about your supplier.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Tom- did you first mount with a faceplate on the back, rather than a chuck? I start almost all my turnings between centers, and with squares I mount the top against the chuck jaws, and bottom is held in place by the tailstock live center. I rough the bottom shape and turn the tenon for the chuck, then reverse in the chuck to turn the top.

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice bowl Tom!

[John Keeton]

Nice form on this one, Tom, and the wood is very nice. New techniques will come to you in time, and that will make the process much easier.

[Tom Winship]

Jamie, I mounted the faceplate on the top, turned a tenon and shaped the back, then reversed the tenon into the chuck to turn the top. John Keeton has suggested not using a faceplate but rather waste blocks for tenons. I intent to try this.
Thanks for the tip.

[Primvs Aebvtivs]

Tom, You are my God in living person (no offfense meaant to anyone)! I LOVE square bowls, but haven't made one yet... Still learning (only had my lathe for 2 months), so turning 'round' stuff to get the hang of the tools! I intend to make (and mount centrally) some walnut I have, but I think I'll practice on pine first (have plenty of scrap lying around). I got the same problem with holes from faceplates too, the first few times I tried it. Now I've got a 4 jaw chuck, I'm going to try the advice as given above.

[Tom Winship]

I had never seen or heard of using the 4 jaw chuck to drive the square stock, just by jamming the piece into the chuck with the tailstock. John Keeton also recommended this to me. Can't wait to try it on a square bowl. I have volunteered to build a box for our church and spent the day re-practicing cutting thru dovetails. (It has been over a year since I cut some)

Hopefully, finsih that project tomorrow and will get back to spinny things.

[Jamie Donaldson]

209275209274209274I do it all the time when the top surface is flat, and the pin in the live center/tailstock prevents the balanced square from flying away. Start at a slower speed until the corners are balanced, then speed up as necessary. This is the largest I have made to date, a 21" square cocobolo bowl which sits suspended on the 4 corners, so I call it a 4 Foot Bowl!

[Chris Burgess]

Tom that looks GREAT. I have not had the nerve to turn a square bowl. Fear of getting complacent and breaking a knuckle I guess.