First Bowl

[Nathan Camp]

Here is my first attempt with my lathe. (well, the first that did not self destruct in one form or another).

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Had a little problem with tear out if a couple of places. Wood is from a Black Walnut cut down on my dad's farm.

Suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks,

Nathan Camp

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nathan........that's you first attempt at turning or first attempt at using a new lathe. Please don't tell me that's the first thing you've turned.......'cause if it is.......they'll be a lathe and tools for sale in Idaho! Nice bowl. Especially if it's your first turning. Tearout can be a real booger with some woods. Maybe some of the more experienced turners will suggest some methods of resolving or minimizing it. I haven't found one. Nice bowl! I like your form!

[Nathan Camp]

Ken,

I got my first lathe about three weeks ago. I played with a couple of scrap pieces to learn the tools. Figured I needed help and got a couple of books from the library. Watched some shows on DIY network.

Turned a candle holder, and destroyed it with my bandsaw cutting the foot off of it.

The form sorta followed a learning curve. A tool would catch and rip out a big piece, and so on.:confused: In the end, I like the look, but was going for a different shape in the beginning. Found out that the tools dull much faster than I would thought. Much better working with sharp tools.

Also found out I need to mark where the screws end in the piece. My cut off tool did not like chewing through the ends of the screws. (In my defence, I was only off by about 1/8").

The piece looks thinner in the photo. The walls are pretty thick. I can see this becoming addictive.:eek:

Now I need a chuck, a bigger lathe, more gouges and scrapers, a ... well too much stuff.:rolleyes:

Nathan Camp

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nathan..........that is a dandy first bowl .......and as the SMC Secretary of Bonkers hereby declare you an Official Spin Crack Junkie! Nicely done Nathan! Keep at it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nathan just keep working on the lathe you have. When you get good enough you will know it. That is a nice piece. I like the form and finish. What kind of lathe did you get? I have a big lathe 15" and the little Rikon. I find myself turning on it more often than the big one. So get a good chuck and some decent tools. Then get after it. Ken pronouced you a spin addict so make some chips.

[Jonathon Spafford]

That is really a great bowl... you should see my first!! I like deviation from a classic bowl shape! Good job. Once you figure out how to eliminate tearout it really becomes no problem! (isn't that obvious) :D :D Anyway, I turn the bowl to shape and than a take finishing cuts with a either a scraper or with a bowl gouge held with the flute facing the bowl. First you want to use some sort of oil or paste wax and cover the spots with tearout. This minimizes the tearout allowing the fibers to be cut instead of pulled out, leaving the holes. Then take a scraper, tip it up so that the cutting edge is lower than the "non-cutting" edge. This produces cotton-like shavings... Really a fine cut. Or you can remove the tool rest and use a cabinet scraper. Hold the cabinet scaper almost straight up (like 85 degrees) and at 45 degrees to the wood. This has the same effect... just be careful of the corner of a square scraper. Sanding will also take care of a little left over tear-out... if you do the shear scraping properly you should only have to start with 150 grit. Before starting 220 make sure all the tearout is gone, though. Sometimes stopping the lathe and sanding the tearout by hand is necessary. Anyway, that is how I get rid of tearout and it works nicely!!!

Didn't mean to ramble though... hope my explanation is understandable and helpful! Again, nice bowl! Bueno Suerte!!!!

[Nathan Camp]

Nathan just keep working on the lathe you have. When you get good enough you will know it. That is a nice piece. I like the form and finish. What kind of lathe did you get? I have a big lathe 15" and the little Rikon. I find myself turning on it more often than the big one. So get a good chuck and some decent tools. Then get after it. Ken pronouced you a spin addict so make some chips.

Bernie,

I bought an m-power lathe from Rockler. Near as I can tell, it looks alot like the Jet Midi. I also got a 5 piece set of Crown tools.

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pic is from the web site...
Nathan Camp

[Nathan Camp]

First you want to use some sort of oil or paste wax and cover the spots with tearout. This minimizes the tearout allowing the fibers to be cut instead of pulled out, leaving the holes.

Thanks,

That would explain why sometimes the holes got bigger. Lots of learning to do.

Nathan Camp

[John Hart]

The learning never ends....That's the adventure!! Welcome Nathan!!!!:)

[David Fried]

Nathan,

I was saving my 1,000th post for something special, like a first bowl!! Great Job Nathan! Books are great, Videos/DVDs offer alot, but it all comes together when you do it for real.

I think the toughest part of my first bowl was keeping it in one piece. Both Ken and I were giving NASA some serious competition for launches!!! Looks like you have a good touch and got it off in one piece and didn't bump into the space station. A Great start!!

My neighborhood has lots of Black Walnut so I am partial to it - turns nicely.

[Mark Pruitt]

Great job Nathan! I've only been in this Vortex several months now and it has me hooked. Most of my catches I've been able to attribute to the way I was holding the tool, but the worst have been with scrapers. In fact a scraper did this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=476344#post476344) just last night.:mad:

You're doing all the right things, practicing and reading. If you haven't watched any videos yet there are several worth getting your hands on. Here (http://www.wonderfulwood.com/) is a good source for two outstanding videos on bowl turning.

Enjoy the Vortex!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nathan, great looking first bowl!

You'll find that this turning world is a never ending learning experience. The fact that you got your first bowl off the lathe in one piece is a great start. When I started I don't know how many I lost - figured it was a new sport 'Dodge Bowl' until I read that you didn't rough out a bowl at 3000 rpm! What a difference a slower speed makes!!

Anyway, have fun and every chance you get - show us what you turn.

[Brian McInturff]

Very impressive Nathan for a first go. You really put your"no skills" to the test and passed with flying colors. That is an awesome peice that I would be proud to put in the center of table. Talented!

[John Miliunas]

Dang it, Nathan! Wish my first attempt looked anywhere near that good! :D And, you picked a tough wood to start with, no less! However, if you can knock out a piece of Black Walnut nicely, you'll be set for just about anything! :) The only additional comments I have on improving future pieces (besides practice!) is to keep your tools as sharp as you can, as often as you can! A sharp tool won't help that much with the catches, those are primarily how you address the wood with them. However, a sharp tool will most definitely help minimize tool marks and make the whole experience much more pleasant. Take this from someone who used to do a fair amount of swearing while sanding pieces for what seemed to be forever! :o Yeah, still not real proficient but, I have cut down a bit on my sanding duties since I started going back to the grinder more often. :) Carry on, you're doing great! :) :cool:

[John Hart]

.....Yeah, still not real proficient but, I have cut down a bit on my sanding duties since I started going back to the grinder more often. :) Carry on, you're doing great! :) :cool:

There was a guy....Ellsworth, I believe....who said that when he's really serious about his finishing cuts, he sharpens after every cut. Time consuming, but worth it.:)

[John Miliunas]

There was a guy....Ellsworth, I believe....who said that when he's really serious about his finishing cuts, he sharpens after every cut. Time consuming, but worth it.:)

"Ellsworth"??? Any relation to "Woolworth"? Something about five and dime, ain't it? :confused: Wonder if Ellsworth was the five or the dime! :D

Seriously, the man (Ellsworth) is a turning genius and, if such a procedure is good enough for him, then who the heck am I to argue?! :) BTW, I just love my Crown PM bowl gouge w/the Ellsworth grind. Magnificent tool, IMHO. :) :cool:

[Nathan Camp]

Thank you all for very good advice.

Nathan Camp

[Frank Kobilsek]

Nathan

My first turning was a stick. It started as a stick from the firewood pile and when I was done it looked like a the same stick, just smaller and smoother, sort of.

You got the hang of it pretty quick. I am a bit familaur with your neighborhood so:

Down in Atlanta, avoid two places (or you'll be tempted to feed the addiction) Highland Hardware (in the Virgina Highlands area) and Redmond Machinery (off to the southwest). Both dangerous for people like us. Find a demo by Nick Cook in your area or go take a class from him. Maybe someone will give you a gift certificate for an afternoon of private lesson from Nick for Christmas. If I lived near Atlanta that would be on my Christmas list every year.

If you really enjoy turning. Decide now what else in your life you need to give up so you can afford to feed the addiction. Quit smoking, drinking, driving, paying the morgage, or saving for your kids college fund, just pick something now and you'll be set with wood and tools .... for a while.

Frank

[Jim Becker]

Nathan, welcome to the wonderful world of turning!! Your first effort is encouraging...especially considering the difficulty of the form. That's what I want to pass on to you. I so often see beginning turners (I did it too... ;) ) start out with forms that are either too complicated or hard to pull off. Many of the areas you had difficulty with tear out are the result of the complicated shape you were working into the piece. In the latter catagory, I would place the oh-so-common "flat bottom bowl". The transition from the sides to a wide flat bottom is very difficult to get right when one is trying to learn the feel of the tools.

So...my recommendation is to take hunks of wood...any wood...don't spend money if you can avoid it...and turn simple round bowls with a gradual form that slopes in a gentle curve from the edge to the center of the bottom. Think, "simple, basic salad bowl" type shapes without fancy undulations. Don't try to get thinner than about 1/2" for now, but shoot for an even wall thickness as you practice. Learn to do that using Bill Grumbine's videos or David Ellsworth's videos (and don't rule out finding a local mentor to show you the ropes, too) until you become comfortable with holding your tools, sharpening your tools and cutting cleanly with those tools. Turn to learn for awhile, rather than trying to turn things for any other reason. Forget the finishing. Focus on the form and the process.

And use "wet" wood if you can. It's far easier to cut and the shavings are fun to let fly!

[Dennis Peacock]

Nathan,

Excellent first bowl. I have to agree with Mr. Becker. Stick to simple shapes until the tool in your hands becomes 2nd nature and your cutting the wood with smooth movements. Also like Mr. Becker stated....use ANY wood to practive with. When I first started turning, I used pine 2by4's to practice with. I must have spent 20 hours turning pine and getting a feel for each tool and learning how to sharpen the tools. It's critical to learn how to sharpen your tools so that the grind in consistant and that way you won't have to adjust how you present the tool to the wood each time due to some minor change in grind. DAMHIKT!!!!

Congrats and good job!!!!