My first bowl

[Liem Tran]

Hello everyone
I finally found some time to really play with my lathe. After I got the hang of turning some spindles, I wanted to try turning a bowl. I didn't have a way to mount the bowl to work on the base, so I just left it alone.
Feel free to criticize. :D

Liem

[Scott Donley]

Nothing I can see to criticize ! Outstanding first, would be an outstanding 20th for that matter.

[Barry Stratton]

Way better than my first (or 10th) bowl! Good job Liem!

Details though - what kind of wood??, dimensions??, finish???

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Great looking work, Liem. What's the size/wood/finish?

BTW: Have you considered making a donut chuck for finishing the bottoms of bowls?

[Tony Kent]

Hello
wow that's your first? very nice...good job all around. My first was awful, just awful...lol.
Take care,

[Glenn Hodges]

You have a nack for the design, and I look forward to seeing more of your work on the Creek. You have all you need to finish the bottom of your bowl. Do a search on the creek about reverse mounting the bowl or finishing the bottom. There should be a lot of info about this already posted here.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Looks great for your first bowl.

Make yourself a Donut chuck, they are easy to build and work great.

The bottom of your bowl, and the inside is a bit flat, it usually looks better if it is less flat and more of a curve, but certainly, you are doing very well!

Cheers!

[Ben Werner]

Looks great!!:D

Is that a crack I see??!! uh oh
I love the form though nice execution on the inside too!

[Chris Barton]

My first bowl didn't look anything like yours! Mine barely looked like a bowl at all. Yours is great.

[Raymond Overman]

Great job Liem. For a first bowl I think you're well ahead of the curve.

For finishing the bottom, you may want to look up jamb chuck. A donut chuck is a great way to go but is a little more involved.

[Mark Cothren]

Very impressive for a first bowl, Liem!!! Nice work!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I've been turning for 6 months and your first bowl looks better than mine do today! Nicely done Liem!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Very nice bowl Liem. You did a outstanding job. That looks way better than my first for sure.

[Joe Fisher]

I agree with the other posters; nice work!

As for finishing the bottom, I'm waaaaaaay too lazy to make a donut chuck :) It also doesn't fit my style of work.

I'm a big fan of using a friction chuck to finish the bottom. All that requires is a block of wood, something squishy (rubber, router mat, drawer liner, etc.), a piece of fine sandpaper and the tailstock. It's also the only way to finish the bottom of a natural-edged bowl (which I do a lot of) if you don't have a vacuum chuck. Vacuum chucks suck, anyway (they suck! Get it? Nyuk nyuk nyuk!).

If you can't find any resources using the search feature, feel free to ask.

-Joe

P.S. Just kidding about the vacuum chuck. They're very cool, but I can't justify the expense at the moment, since I don't have any trouble with friction chucking, even on a bowl upwards of 15" in diameter.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Glad you got the lathe repaired. It was worth the wait. VERY NICE bowl!

Bruce

[Keith Burns]

Liem, that is a great first bowl. You have a good eye for form. You are well on your way. Now, lets see more:) :)

[David Foshee]

Looks great my first one ended up in pieces on the floor.

[Liem Tran]

Looks great!!:D

Is that a crack I see??!! uh oh
I love the form though nice execution on the inside too!


No! There's 3 cracks! ;)

[Liem Tran]

WOW! Thanks for all the positive comments. Is it really that good for a first? I really don't know what I'm doing. I got on the lathe immediately after watching Richard Raffan's video. :D Maybe that's what helped me.

What's a donut chuck? Gotta look that up. Is it like the Nova cole jaw set? If it is, That's what I plan on making next.
I'll post more pics asap

Liem