First lathe and bowl

[Rex Guinn]

Well I guess I am hooked. Got my new lathe up on a quick and dirty bench. Turned a 1/2 round log about 12" long, at least the outside. I don't have a chuck yet so I guess it will sit there on the face plate until! Unless you guys have an idea how to finish the inside with out a chuck. I think the lathe did great, but since it was my first time using a lathe maybe I don't know any better. I don't know what kind of wood it is. Any suggestions?
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rex............I'd say the lathe did well and so did you! Excellent. I'm sure some of the more experienced turners will chime in and maybe give you an alternative method of finishing it so you don't have to wait for you chuck! Well done Sir!

[David Walser]

Rex,

That's a nice start to your first bowl! If you don't want to wait for your chuck to arrive, you can use a glue block to reverse the blank and hollow out the inside. Here's how:


Turn a perfectly flat (use a ruler to check for flatness) spot on the bottom outside of your blank (where you'd otherwise put your tenon).
Cut circle out of waste wood a little larger than the flat spot you just turned on your blank. This will be your glue block. The glue block could be made out of MDF or solid wood. If it's solid wood, make sure the grain is running perpendicular to the axis of your lathe.
Attach the glue block to your face plate with screws of appropriate length and type. (Don't use drywall screws.)
Turn the glue block round (and, if it's not already flat, flat).
Center your blank onto the glue block and glue it there using medium or thick CA glue. (You can use other glue types, but it will take longer for to cure.) To help center the blank on the glue block, you might draw some concentric pencil lines while the faceplate and glue block are still on the lathe.
Good luck

[Rex Guinn]

David;
Thanks for the idea, I will give it a try. Will let you know how it worked.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rex, it looks like you are off to a great start! Looking forward to seeing pics of the finished bowl! Be safe and have fun!!

[Glenn Hodges]

Rex, another way to do it on the next one is to make a flat place on the bottom while you are turning large enough for the faceplate to rest, and mark the center of the bottom as it is turning. You can then put the faceplate on the bottom of the piece and turn the inside of the bowl. This mark on the bottom will give you a center mark to use a compass to locate the faceplate. I have turned a lot of bowls like this. I even stick the point of the compass in this center mark while the bowl is turning. I find this will give me a good mark on the bottom to locate the faceplate. The piece will be slightly out of round when you put it back on the lathe to turn the inside so you will have to true up the outside again, but what the heck. It works, especially with big bowls. Good luck, and have fun.

[David Walser]

Rex,

You are going to learn that each turner has his favorite way to do things. There are no absolutely right ways, a few absolutely wrong ways, and lots of ways in between!

My concern with Glenn's method of attaching the face plate to the bottom of the blank is that the screws will use up some of the potential depth of your bowl. (That's NOT the case when you attach the face plate to the "top" of the blank to turn the outside because the screw holes will be turned away in hollowing the bowl.) The glue block approach allows you to maximize the "yield" from you blank.