Valuable Lessons Learned

[Christopher K. Hartley]

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.

[Chris Barton]

Chris,

Great post! We all need to keep your pointers in mind. And, it is always good to experiment some. I have been known to distroy a certain percentage of my blanks simply because I am experimenting with a technique. I can always get some more wood...

[Bernie Weishapl]

About 2 months ago I learned those very lessons. Good reminder. Thanks Christopher. I do the same thing. If I mess something up I experiment with different cuts or see if I can do this or that. Then get another piece of wood and make some shavings.

[Keith Burns]

Great attitude ! It's the only one you can have with this sport:) 90% of what I turn never toun out to be what they started out to be:eek:

[John Hart]

....90% of what I turn never toun out to be what they started out to be:eek:

Geez...how do you manage to do the other 10%? I'm battin' .0000 so far!:o

Great post Christopher!!

[Andy Hoyt]

Well said, Chris.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Great attitude Chris! That's primarily the way I try to look at it!

[David Fried]

You learned all that AND got a bowl out of it???? Doesn't seem fair ;)

[Dennis Peacock]

Chris,

Very well stated and some very valuable lessons learned and posted for all of us to read as a reminder.

With more experience, you'll find that by turning the bowl walls thinner while turning green and immediately putting in the alky bath, you'll find that the bowl wall will actually move "less" as there's less wood to cause major wood movement in the drying process. Also....soaking the bowl for 24 hours or there abouts will also provide more of a round bowl. This isn't necessarily true for every type of wood you'll ever turn on the lathe, but you'll learn which species you can do that with and expect good results from. Also....the slower the overall drying? The less your bowl will distort.

Finally, remember to stop the lathe and check your wall and bottom thickness very often during finish turning. Use light cuts with a sharp, sharp tool. If you need to gain more confidence in getting it thinner? Use a sharp scraper and then practice on using the bowl gouge after you gain confidence and experience.

Just my 2¢ tossed in here.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

With more experience, you'll find that by turning the bowl walls thinner while turning green and immediately putting in the alky bath, you'll find that the bowl wall will actually move "less" as there's less wood to cause major wood movement in the drying process. Also....soaking the bowl for 24 hours or there abouts will also provide more of a round bowl. This isn't necessarily true for every type of wood you'll ever turn on the lathe, but you'll learn which species you can do that with and expect good results from. Also....the slower the overall drying? The less your bowl will distort.

Finally, remember to stop the lathe and check your wall and bottom thickness very often during finish turning. Use light cuts with a sharp, sharp tool. If you need to gain more confidence in getting it thinner? Use a sharp scraper and then practice on using the bowl gouge after you gain confidence and experience.

Dennis, thanks for sharing this, I thought the opposite was true. I'll definitely follow these instructions. thanks so much and thanks to everyone else for the kind comments.:) <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Good lesson, Chris.................well reported. All true, too.

Bruce

[Jim Dunn]

I may print this out, frame it, garnish it with wood chips and mount it above the door to my shop.