newbie turner

[Dan Beckman]

230629
I'm a new turner and completed my first project today. This is a cherry bowl that measures about 5" by 3". I turned it from a dry log. I learned a lot form this project, including the fact that I have so much more to learn!! I finished it with sanding sealer, then 5 coats of spray clear Deft Wood Finish. I woiuld appreciate your comments and suggestions:
Here are a few of my comments and questions:
1. The bowl has a small rough area which I believe is end grain tear out on both sides. How do I avoid this? I thought I could get rid of it through sanding, but it's still there.

2. I learned the hard way that the natural edge can draw blood on my knuckles.

3.I have some tool marks on the inside bottom of the bowl. I used a scraper in this regoin, and thought I had a smooth surface. I thought that sanding would smooth the finish, but I can still see some light tool marks through the finmnish. Oh well, gives me something to work on next time. Any suggestions?

[John Keeton]

Dan, welcome to the vortex! You took on a lot with your first project - natural edge, and a deep form. You actually did a pretty good job with this one. Tearout is nearly impossible to sand away, particularly when it is as deep as this appears to be on the outside. I suspect your gouge may not be sharp enough and that the tool presentation might not have been good for dealing with the tearout. On the inside, your form is a particularly difficult one and the transition area in the bottom where the sides meet the bottom is very hard to deal with on a bowl this small. There simply is not enough clearance to get proper gouge presentation. You may want to post pics of the grinds on your gouges, too, as that may help others provide guidance.

All in all, great result!!

[Thomas Canfield]

John gave good review. You did a good job. The deep shape is difficult and done best with two different grinds on the bowl gouge. That is one reason that shallower forms are recommended when starting and then working your way to deeper forms with experience. Hanging on to the bark is also a lot harder than turning a more conventional bowl. If you can find some green wood, that makes for the best practice since you are usually turning a rough shape to return later and finish is not critical, but you can work on your techniques and get a lot of experience. You often will also find out about need for sharp tools as the soft wood can tear. Keep at it.

[charlie knighton]

welcome to the creek, enjoy your move across the learning curve

[Breck Whitworth]

Dan You really started out sprinting. For a first bowl your natural edge is great! To avoid the tear out practice a shear cut to slice the wood. You will need a very sharp gouge to accomplish this effectively. A book written by Elsworth that has pictures will show you how to make the cut. You can research the cut and may find a u-tube video on it. Once learned it works great on the outside of a bowl. It looks like you tried to get the biggest bowl you could from the piece of wood you had. A very common young turners choice, myself also in the beginning. Consider the outside shape so the inside will be easier to hollow out and make the transition cut easier. (So the inside is not almost a square bottom look) Please don't think I am not impressed because I am. Anybody who could do this on his first bowl will want to be great at this one day. Best of luck
Breck

[Jason Ritchie]

Great first bowl!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I am envious. I never finished my first bowl. Or the second. The third was very marginal. VERY nice work for your first attempt.

[Jamie Donaldson]

It's almost universal that a first bowl will resemble a mug, a very difficult form to complete because of the quick transition at the bottom. For a next bowl, make the form more open, and an Oriental rice bowl is a good model to copy. The fact that you kept the bark on the rim for a first bowl is astounding, so you're apparently doing very well with tool control, and the more you practice, the luckier you become!:D

[Baxter Smith]

Great job on bowl number 1 Dan! You definitely didn't start with a simple one!

[Ed Morgano]

Dan,
Great bowl. I wish my first was that good. Actually, I'm working on making the ones I'm doing now that good.

[Rick Markham]

Dan great first bowl! Welcome to the vortex! Sharp tools and lots of practice, it's your best bet against tearout. Looking forward to see what you make next!

[John Aspinall]

From a fellow newb: you're leaving me in the dust! Awesome bowl.

[Dan Beckman]

Thanks for all your comments. I didn't realize this was such a difficult shape when I began, but it makes sense now. I spent a lot of time and experimentation (and catches) on the inside corner. I did some research on-line about the shear cut to eliminate the tear-out. I only have one bowl gouge, and it has a standard grind. Looks like I need more of a swept back grind to do the shear, is that right? I guess I need more tools!! I hear you on the need for sharp tools. I could definitely see the difference when my gouge began to lose it's edge. I've still got a lot to learn on grinding my tools.