which tool

[mark hankey]

hi,
which tool do i use to turn the inside of a bowl,
i have got - parting tool,skew,roughing gouge,10mm&6mm gouge.
can i use these tools or do i need a specific type.
the wood im using is chestnut,& i cant seem to get a good finish on it,
also where would i start on the bowl inside!
from centre outwards or other!

hank!

[Andy London]

You should consider a bowl gouge, I prefer a 5/8" myself with an Irish/Ellsworth grind. Until you are comfortable using it, keep your tail stock up to the blank while you hollow out the bowl, helps in the event of a catch. Many turners, perhaps most turn from the rim to the centre, personally I turn from the centre out except for the last few cuts, I then turn from the rim to the centre. If your tool is sharp, you can make cuts that will leave little to no sanding.

Now my son, who does most of the turning, hollows the bowls out using this big radiused scraper and it works perfect also, really, really quick and leaves little to no tearout.

Andy

[Chris Lee]

Mark,

You might want to pick up a bowl gouge. They vary widely in both design and price. A lot of people like a bowl gouge with the fingernail profile for turning bowls, but a regular bowl gouge will suffice.

For the inside of the bowl start slightly to the left of center with your right arm extended as far out in front of you as you can and pull your right arm back towards you while guiding the bevel in and towards the center of the bowl. All this time try and keep the beveltilted about 45 degrees to the right. Listen to the wood and adjust the angle as needed.

Have you ordered Bill Grumbines video yet. If not I highly recomend it.

Chris

[Ken Salisbury]

Mark,

Have you ordered Bill Grumbines video yet. If not I highly recomend it.

Chris

I also recommend Bill's Video. You can order it here:

http://www.wonderfulwood.com/dvd.html