Guideline for beginning bowl turners

[Bill Boehme]

It hasn't been too long since I had an epiphany about turning bowls that has helped me a lot so I thought that I would share it for whatever it is worth.

My efforts at turning bowls always seem rather dumpy compared to turnings done by other club members. I tried to pick up what the difference was that made my turnings look ordinary by comparison and after a lot of struggling, I think that my results look considerably better now than they did a few months ago -- not that they still couldn't stand improvement -- I still sometimes have difficulty getting an acceptable curve on the interior.

My first discovery was that my model for making bowls was all wrong -- I had my breakfast cereal bowl on my mind -- you know, flat bottom followed by small radius curve and end up with an almost vertical sidewall. OK for treenware, but I wanted to make more decorative bowls and not think about Post Bran Flakes every time that I looked at one of my bowls.

After I figured that part out, I proceeded to make an improved bowl, but the improvement turned out to be marginal, at best. That was before I figured out the second part of the equation -- start out with a plan -- I mean more of a plan than just "make a bowl". I found that I was just getting a piece of wood, turning a moderate sized tenon on one end and then aimed for using as much of the wood as possible to get the maximum diameter and depth out of the hunk of wood. The results, alas, usually resulted in a bowl where the sides at the rim would now have an angle of 60 - 70 degrees instead of the earlier bowls with 90 degree sides. And, because of the large tenon, they wound up still have a flat bottom on the interior.

So I decided that I needed a "real" plan -- see the illustration below. I decided to get really radical on the slope of the sides and aimed at 45 degrees. I also came up with a plan for the overall final shape rather than just sticking the wood on the lathe to see what happens. This included having a definite height in mind and a definite foot shape and a newly discovered understanding of less is better when it comes to curves. I had fears that the results would look more like a plate than a bowl, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the results were pleasing to me. That inspired me to try using a shallower angle of about 30 degrees for the sides and I was even more satisfied with the results. I also found that it was much easier to turn the interior of the bowl with this type of shape than it was with the cereal bowl design that I previously used.

This may not fit everyone's taste, but I wanted to share it just in case some other beginner wants to try something different.

Bill

[Dave C. Brown]

I like your design quite a lot. I think it's important to remember that we're turning wood art and design is very important. I'd love to see a finished example of the bowl design.

Also, I think this link is interesting about design:

http://www.woodturner.org/resources/tompkins_design.pdf

Thanks for sharing this.

--Dave

[Mark Pruitt]

Excellent post, Bill! One quick and dirty way I've found for developing a design/template is to use french curves, a very inexpensive item readily available at an office supply store. I've used them in a couple of ways. One has been to print a grid on a sheet of paper with the lines spaced at 1/4", then take my french curve and draw my bowl profile. By referencing points on the curve in relation to the grid, I can easily flip the french curve and duplicate the profile to draw the "other side," giving me a complete profile. If I like it, I'll cut it out carefully and use it as a template.

But an even faster way to use the french curve has been to place it upon the printed grid and attach a strip of masking tape to it, referencing either zero or 90 degrees (i.e., either parallel to the ways or 90 degrees to the ways while the bowl is mounted on the lathe), whichever is easiest given the overall pitch of the profile. This was the method I used for turning the lower section of this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=44010) HF last week. Once I began to approximate the desired profile, I would hold the french curve in the background and take note of where more stock needed to be turned away.

Of course, some of the really gifted artists among us can probably do all of that just working out of their head. I'm not there. Not even close. I need the visualization to get me where I want to be.

Thanks again for the thread. Kinda got me jump started this morning.:D

[Bill Boehme]

........I'd love to see a finished example of the bowl design.......
Here are a few examples. All are mesquite -- the one with the natural edge is the first one using this style and the sides are about 45 degrees. The second one is much thinner and also has sides at about 45 degrees. The sides on the third one are roughly 30 degrees and the bowl is about 5/16" thick.

Bill

ps - Since I did not give anything to indicate size, I will add that the first two are about 9" diameter and the third one is about 12" diameter.

[Mark Pruitt]

I prefer thinner walls, but I have to say the NE is my favorite! All nicely done though.

[Jim King]

I think with all your best intentions of design the wood will normally have more to say about it than you. This is an example of what was to be a covered victorian style bowl and the cover said NO. As they were boiled and dried together it was easier to agree with the wood than wait a few weeks for a new cover to dry . Redid it into a salad bowl about an inch lower that it was .

[Raymond Overman]

Good post on basic design ideas for decorative bowls Bill. One thing that I have found helpful is the "string drop curve". Take a piece of string and hold it between your hands by each end. The curve it creates between your fingers is generally pleasing to the eye unless you go to the extremes. Use that curve inside and outside of your bowl as a guideline.

I think your post is an excellent primer for those people just getting into the design of bowls. Once you understand those concepts you can then go on to break rules to make the piece your own.

There is a definite difference in the acceptance of treenware (serving dishes/salad bowls/etc) and decorative pieces which gets into the craft/art/high craft arena. It's my opinion that juried shows that concentrate on art are much more apt to accept a woodturner's work that follows the pleasing curve design ideas than one who ignores it.

Of course it also depends on where you want to go with your woodturning. Not everyone aspires to be a professional in which case none of this matters. Just go make some curlies! :)

[Mike Vickery]

Very good information, also liked the article about the right triangle posted.

In the past I have useing Russ Fairfields rule of thirds. The foot should be approximately 1/3 the diameter of the piece and the widest point of the bowl should be at about 2/3 of the heigth of the piece. I have been trying to expand out from this lately though so value information on the subject.