First Big Bowl Off The New Nova

[Dick Parr]

Well I was feeling better yesterday so I dugout this box elder log half and made a blank. This is the first really Big bowl I have ever tried as it started out at 14-1/2". It finished at 13-1/2" x 5" and 1/2" thick.

This is some of the first box elder from last October and it was pretty much bone dry already so I didn't try to soak it. I turned it yesterday and sanded and finished it today. I used Tung Oil and Bees Wax for the finish.

Now I see what Jim Ketron was talking about sanding big bowls, wow my hands and wrists hurt from all day sanding. :eek: I always had a hard time with box elder tearing out anyways, but without a steady rest for this lathe, the tear-out was terrible on the outer edges. Way to much sanding for my likes.

I need to get the Kelton video on coring because this bowl would have been bigger if I knew how to core correctly. I was almost done with coring the inside of it when it snapped the tenon on the bowl. :( So to make a new tenon, it made the finished bowl smaller. But I am happy with it and so is Mickey.

Thanks for looking

[Ernie Nyvall]

That box elder is some nice wood and you did a darn good job on it Dick.
Thanks for sharing.

Ernie

[Karl Laustrup]

That's really a nice bowl.

Looks like it would a great size for popcorn. That would make my wife happy. :D


Karl

[Chris Barton]

Hi Dick,


Great looking work! Glad to see you are spinning the wood!

Chris

[Kent Parker]

Dick,

Very nice shape. Simple yet has a very distinct upper edge and a great base.

Makes me want to get a lathe and start spinning! :)

Cheers,
KP

[Keith Burns]

Great looking bowl. Great form. Got to get me some box elder.

"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints."

[Jim Ketron]

Awesome Bowl Dick!
Beautiful form and finish, Love the bottom got to try one like that sometime;)
Yep sanding sucks on the big ones but they look good when you get them done.
Cant wait to see what you do with the Box Elder Blanks I gave ya.

[John Miliunas]

Looks great, Dick!:) To echo what's been said, very nice form and the finish looks spot-on! Tell me, what method do you use to finish off the bottom on something like that? Vacuum chuck or otherwise? Turned out super! Keep up the beautiful work!:) :cool:

[Dick Parr]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I am very happy with how this one turned out. I can see more big bowls in the future. :D

Jim, I am hoping that not all types of wood will tear like this box elder did. No matter what I did on the end grain it would not cut smooth.

John, since I have yet to build a compression chuck for this new lathe I used a piece of 3" PVC pipe about 5" long that fits over the Nova chuck jaws and then reversed the bowl using a mouse pad to cushion it between the PVC. I had left the step between the tenon and bowl while shaping first shaping the bottom of the bowl while making the tenon. Then when I reversed the bowl to finish the bottom I cut most of the tenon off and then finish sanded the bottom and put the Tung oil and Bee's wax finish on. Then went back to the almost finish the foot and pair down the tenon.

Then I removed the bowl from the lathe and by hand trimmed the rest of the tenon off and sanded where the tenon was and put the finish on.

Once I make a compression chuck like I had for the smaller lathe I will use it as much as I can as it is a whole lot easier. ;) and there is less chance of messing up the finished inside by spinning it on the PVC and mouse pad. :(

[Michael Stafford]

A great looking bowl and a nice finish, Dick. Very fine! ;) :D

[Kurt Aebi]

Great Looking Bowl, Dick!

You sure are going to put that new lathe through its' paces in a short time!

Great Job!

[Bill Stevener]

Hi Dick,

Really a nice looking bowl. I can see the new lathe is working out just fine for you. Keep em comming.

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:) :) :) :) :)