Turning Bowls

[Richard Gillespie]

Excuse the dumb question, I have very little experience with a lathe. My question is when mounting a blank to either a face plate or chuck do you position the grain parallel to or perpendicular to the main axis of the lathe? Or is it a decision that is made each time to achieve the best effects from a given piece of wood.

[Wolf Kiessling]

Excuse the dumb question, I have very little experience with a lathe. My question is when mounting a blank to either a face plate or chuck do you position the grain parallel to or perpendicular to the main axis of the lathe? Or is it a decision that is made each time to achieve the best effects from a given piece of wood.

Richard, when a bowl is turned, MOST OF THE TIME it is mounted with the grain perpendicular to the axis. In fact, many people call this "bowl orientation". There is no hard and fast rule, however, it is really up to the turner. In some cases, the effect you want is better achieved by placing the blank in a "spindle orientation", or, with the grain parallel to the lather axis.

When you get ready to mount a bowl blank, or actually when you prepare the blank from the log, it is best to study the piece of wood and see which way you are going to get the best results. The wood may contain some features, such as spalting or voids, that might be better shown in one orientation than another.

Wolf