Well, as with all things there must be a first. Here's mine. Critiques welcome.

[Toney Robertson]

Spalted maple that came with the lathe. Turned dry. Sanded to 600. Several coats of clear Watco Danish Oil then Beall buffed. Wall thickness about 3/16 - 1/4". Pretty even wall thickness until I got to the transition from walls to bottom then probably 5/16" - 3/8". I know that some won't like the little flare at the rim but I wanted to impart something a little different for my first bowl.

Almost forgot. It is 8" in diameter and 4" deep. Probably too deep for my first but I thought what the he!! and went for it.

A couple of questions for you experienced turners.

How do you SMOOTHLY make that transition from the side to the bottom of the bowl? Minor catches there for me. Places puckered where I did not even know I had places! :D

How can I turn thinner? When I tried the sound I was getting sounded was like the bowl was about to explode. Once again got the heart pumping.

In a perfect world, should the bottom be the same thickness as the sides? It would seem for weight and stability the bottom should be somewhat thicker.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate the information that you nice people impart to us newbies.

Toney

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/112-1230_IMG.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/112-1229_IMG.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/112-1228_IMG.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice looking bowl Toney! Beautiful, finish, wood grain and color! You should be proud of this one! Make sure you sign and date the bowl - you'll want to keep it as there is only one first bowl!

As far as making the transition at the bottom of the bowl - that plagues most of us at times. A lot has to do with the gouge you are using and what the angle of the nose grind is. Some folks change from a gouge to a round scraper to make the transition. Whatever you decide to try next - just make sure the tool is sharp and take light cuts and you'll do fine. Plus, the more bowls you turn - the easier they become!

Nice work - looking forward to seeing mroe real soon!

[Keith Beck]

Toney,

I'll leave the technique inputs to the more experienced turners on this forum, but I will say that your first bowl looks a darn sight better than my first... or second... or third... :D

Nice job!

Keith

[Dave Stoler]

I really like the form and finish.With a start like this the skys the limit! Keep the pictures coming..

[Jim Underwood]

That transition is the traditional place to have trouble with tearout and catches. I'm still having trouble with it, but in the last year, I've seen what the solution is. You need a grind on your bowl gouge that is steep enough to allow riding the bevel even into the bottom of the bowl. Only in the last few weeks have I actually gotten a good grind by making a proper jig and setting it the right distance from the wheel. You could have two gouges, one for the side, and one for the bottom each with different angles...

There's a pretty good picture of the grind you want on your bowl gouges at www.Thompsonlathetools.com (http://www.Thompsonlathetools.com)
Take a look at the grind on his bowl gouges and you'll get the idea. You don't want a long wing to hang up in the side of your bowl...

Nice job on that bowl. It's a heck of a lot nicer than some of my early bowls.

[Arlan Ten Kley]

That is a mighty fine bowl created from some beautiful wood! Our future expectations are set pretty high now!! Great job.

[Don Orr]

Great work, especially for your FIRST BOWL!!! Man, I wish my first had been half as good. I like the small flair at the rim very much-nice touch. the wood is beautiful and the finish is well done. As has been said-the bar is set very high now:eek::D;).

Jim U. is right on about a steep grind to get around the transition. I use one that is ground almost flat on the end and it works very well. If you get a chance to see Jimmy Clewes videos, he shows what he calls a micro bevel for finishing cuts and how to grind it.

OK, onto your second !

[robert hainstock]

beautiful bowl. Bill grumbines 1st video answered most of tose questions for me. After you have the tenon cut off and the flat flat, (is this the transition you aretalking about?) slightly hollow the bottom. This is a simple way to finish th "foot".:)
Bob

[Bill Bolen]

Pretty wood, pretty bowl, pretty-darn-good-job!..Bill..

[Tom Sherman]

That's a very nice first bowl, nothing to be ashamed of there.

[Alex Cam]

One thing to consider when turning thin is getting it to the finished thickness (thinness?) in stages, maybe an inch at a time when you're near the rim. So get the first 1" to your desired thickness, then the second 1", then take a bit more, and so on. If you take the whole thing down in one pass you eventually lose all your support at the rim.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Toney that is a excellent looking first bowl. I like the rim flair. What I do when I get the bowl almost where I want it I use a P & N gouge with a conventional grind not the swept back to do the finial passes. Do these with light cuts. The angle of the conventional grind will allow you to follow the contour a little easier. I saw Mike Mahoney do this and it works very well.

[Ben Gastfriend]

Really nice bowl. The wood is great, and that little flair-out at the rim is cool! Wish my first was as good!

[Toney Robertson]

Thanks to all for the kind words.

I have my second one already started. Another piece of spalted maple that came with the lathe. I will post some pictures when I get it done.

I will try a more blunt gouge for the transition area. It is a tricky spot.

Thanks again,

Toney

[Richard Madison]

Toney,
That's a beautiful piece, and I also like the little flare at the rim. It is just right. Neither too much nor too little.

Wall thickness can be challenging. I still have trouble getting a uniform thickness, and am not quite a beginner. My walls are still a bit "lumpy" sometimes. Looks like you did an excellent job on yours, and they will get better. Some good advice above on wall thickness. When mine get thin and "skreechy", I tend to increase the speed and take very (very) light cuts.
Richard in Wimberley