Christopher K. Hartley
04-02-2006, 3:25 PM
I thought long and hard about sharing this but decided what the heck; maybe it will help new guy or gal like me. I guess I just wanted to think out loud.
I was moving along on my first bowl ok, so I thought, until, “Opportunities for Growth” became the primary objective that this bowl had in mind. So, here is what Mr. Bowl taught me:
When turning green wood do the Alcohol Soak immediately upon removal from the lathe. Also don’t leave the piece on the lathe overnight.
Cut logs so as to remove pith before turning a bowl.
Leave thicker walls for the bowl sides because they will change shape and will need re-turning more than I anticipated.
When re-turning test the wall thickness more often than I did.
Wood glue doesn’t fill cracks well. Use CA instead.
Use the tool to get things smooth, sanding should be secondary to proper tool usage.
Value the failure as much as a finished product. Realize that a failure is only a step in the process of success.
If a product is blown up, think about how to use it and try new things with it, if possible.Now what was I pleased with? Well, I decided to do something I wanted to try with what was left after this bowl blew up. I wanted to see if I could do thin walls. My walls run from 7/32<SUP>nds</SUP> of an inch at the bottom to less than 1/16<SUP>th</SUP> of an inch at the top. I’m very pleased with that result. I didn’t put a great deal of effort into the finish since the cracks were getting bigger as I went, so felt I should stop while I was ahead. Anyway, it was fun and educational.
Thanks for all you guys are helping me with on this forum.
I was moving along on my first bowl ok, so I thought, until, “Opportunities for Growth” became the primary objective that this bowl had in mind. So, here is what Mr. Bowl taught me:
When turning green wood do the Alcohol Soak immediately upon removal from the lathe. Also don’t leave the piece on the lathe overnight.
Cut logs so as to remove pith before turning a bowl.
Leave thicker walls for the bowl sides because they will change shape and will need re-turning more than I anticipated.
When re-turning test the wall thickness more often than I did.
Wood glue doesn’t fill cracks well. Use CA instead.
Use the tool to get things smooth, sanding should be secondary to proper tool usage.
Value the failure as much as a finished product. Realize that a failure is only a step in the process of success.
If a product is blown up, think about how to use it and try new things with it, if possible.Now what was I pleased with? Well, I decided to do something I wanted to try with what was left after this bowl blew up. I wanted to see if I could do thin walls. My walls run from 7/32<SUP>nds</SUP> of an inch at the bottom to less than 1/16<SUP>th</SUP> of an inch at the top. I’m very pleased with that result. I didn’t put a great deal of effort into the finish since the cracks were getting bigger as I went, so felt I should stop while I was ahead. Anyway, it was fun and educational.
Thanks for all you guys are helping me with on this forum.