Finishing after DNA'ing

[Jim Podsedly]

So i rough turned a bunch of cherry bowls, soaked them in DNA and let them dry in brown paper bags.

The bowls range in size - 5 - 8 inches wide and 3 - 5 inches deep. I kept the walls around 3/4 - 1" .

Now to finish the bowls do you take out from the inside of the bowl of from the outside to thin the walls? They seem very dry and turning seems to take a different touch than with wet wood.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Jim

[Robert McGowen]

The bowls probably are not exactly round any more. You will need to take some wood off of the inside and also the outside of the bowl. That is why you leave the thickness in the wood before you dry it. If your bowls stayed perfectly round during drying, you could just turn them and then dry them and you would be ready to go. Good luck!

[Don Robert]

In the ones I have made, I turned the outside first to get the bowl round to get the shape I wanted* (making sure that there is adequate wall thickness left everywhere) and then turned the inside to get the wall thickness I wanted. Seemed to work for me.

*Of course, once a bowl is rough turned, there is not too much latitude for changing the shape. But you can tweak it some and add decorative coves, ridges, etc.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim,

I usually put a dried bowl blank in my donut chuck and return the tenon to round again. Then I chuck it up and return the outside and the inside.

[Dennis Peacock]

Jim,

I usually put a dried bowl blank in my donut chuck and return the tenon to round again. Then I chuck it up and return the outside and the inside.

Exactly how I do it as well....except I just capture the bowl between my 4-jaw chuck and the tailstock and turn the tenon back round again. ;)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Slight variation to Ken and Dennis - I use the Cole jaws to hold the blank, true the tenon, turn the outside - then the inside. Will have to give Dennis' version a try and just jam the blank between the 4 jaw chuck and tailstock. Would save time and hassle of remove Cole jaws! Thanks Dennis!

[Dennis Peacock]

Slight variation to Ken and Dennis - I use the Cole jaws to hold the blank, true the tenon, turn the outside - then the inside. Will have to give Dennis' version a try and just jam the blank between the 4 jaw chuck and tailstock. Would save time and hassle of remove Cole jaws! Thanks Dennis!

It works pretty good for me Steve. I used to remount via cole jaws and figured that there had to be a better way as an out of round bowl in the cole jaws had a tendency to come out of the cole jaws at times. :rolleyes:

Just remember to leave a marking from the rough turning that will show you the dead center of the bowl bottom and point the tailstock center into that little ident and bingo....you got it as close as you can get it. :D