OUCH! & a question.

[Joe Tonich]

I was able to turn a good tenon and remounted the cherry bowl I was having all the trouble with. This is my first natural edged bowl and I learned something. Even tho you KNOW there is wood there, when it's spinning you can see thru it! I had the walls and bottom pretty even at 1/4" thick and went to the 80grit to get the tool marks and the little bit of tearout cleaned up. I left the rim rounded inward as I figured that it would help control warping and, forgetting that there was wood spinning in the see-thru top, WHAM! It caught the sandpaper and my little finger. Thank goodness blood takes a little while to get flowing good! Didn't even notice the other leaks for a little while till they started to hurt.

Now the questions.

1) Is there anything I can do to keep whats left of the natural edge and still have it look OK or should I just part it off at the broken part and have a flat even edge?

2) How do you make a jam chuck for a bowl like this? I've never used a jam chuck before so this will be another first.

Thanks,

Joe

[Tom Hintz]

That's a pretty severe hook in the edge, and may be the reason it catches you so easily. Personally, I probably would have rurned it back to get rid of that hook part, or at least reduce it some. It might go away pretty quickly, or at least get more managable.
I would sand that with a stick or something. I have a sorby sandmaster that does OK in such situations but even with that you really have to be light and keep the pad angled so it rides up over the following edge, not under it.
Glad you didn't get whacked any more than you did!

[Jim Becker]

Sorry you got bloodied...and 'hope it feels better soon.

As to your jam chuck question, what you need to do is mount some scrap in your chuck, round and true it up and then put a gentle radius on the end that is similar to your bowl's bottom. Once you've completed that, take a piece of foam carpet padding or simlar, slap it over the end of your turned scrap, reverse the bowl onto that and bring up your tailstock. Play with it a little to get things square and then tighten up your tailstock to hold it securely. Turn away the foot except for the small nub that the live center is engaged, being sure to provide a slight undercut so the bowl will sit with stability once you are done. Do whatever finishing you normally do on the lathe and then take the piece off the machine. Pare away the nub with a very sharp carving gouge and a little careful hand sanding. Complete your finishing schedule. Pieces like this might be best hand sanded off the lathe for safety reasons...you already know why!

[Wolf Kiessling]

I was able to turn a good tenon and remounted the cherry bowl I was having all the trouble with. This is my first natural edged bowl and I learned something. Even tho you KNOW there is wood there, when it's spinning you can see thru it! I had the walls and bottom pretty even at 1/4" thick and went to the 80grit to get the tool marks and the little bit of tearout cleaned up. I left the rim rounded inward as I figured that it would help control warping and, forgetting that there was wood spinning in the see-thru top, WHAM! It caught the sandpaper and my little finger. Thank goodness blood takes a little while to get flowing good! Didn't even notice the other leaks for a little while till they started to hurt.

Now the questions.

1) Is there anything I can do to keep whats left of the natural edge and still have it look OK or should I just part it off at the broken part and have a flat even edge?

2) How do you make a jam chuck for a bowl like this? I've never used a jam chuck before so this will be another first.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe, Jim gave you the definitive answer re the jam chuck so I will merely address your question re the bowl's edge.

IF IT WERE ME, I would not part off the broken part and have a flat, even edge. I would, however, first remove the remaining bark. Then, I would cut/carve away the "hook" where it broke and turn it into a gently curve. You will now have a natural edge bowl, without the bark, with a nice, wavy edge. (Some time ago I posted a picture of a big leaf maple bowl that hit the deck and shattered part of the edge. I merely turned it into a wavy edge and that is exactly what you can end up with. You can check my earlier post titled "Big leaf maple vessel - disaster") After that, finish as you normally would.

[Mark Stutz]

Joe,
Maybe I'll think twice about a natural edge untill I get more experienc!! I was going to try one tonight!! Thanks for asking about the jam chuck. I was going to post a similar question since a vacuum chuck isn't possible now. Question for all-- is there any better material to use? Does it need to fill the bowl, i.e. support the walls all the way to the bottom, or is a single thickness of MDF wedged about halfway into the bowl good enough? Thanks.

Mark

[Mac McAtee]

All I can say is it is a good thing that your beard didn't get hung up in it.
:D :D

[Jim Becker]

Maybe I'll think twice about a natural edge untill I get more experienc!! I was going to try one tonight!!
Don't be discouraged from trying something new at any stage of your development as a turner...the ONLY way to learn is to "just do it".


Thanks for asking about the jam chuck. I was going to post a similar question since a vacuum chuck isn't possible now. Question for all-- is there any better material to use? Does it need to fill the bowl, i.e. support the walls all the way to the bottom, or is a single thickness of MDF wedged about halfway into the bowl good enough?
The jam chuck does not have to fill up the bowl...it only need to be round and reach the bottom of the turning without the walls getting interfered with by parts of your lathe. You are not trying to support the walls; just to mount the object on your lathe securely between centers. If you turn something a few inches long, it will be more versatile and reusable. A gentle curve on the end will work with a variety of bowl sizes and shapes, especially with the cushion provided by a layer of 1/2" or so foam rubber. (carpet padding is a good example)

Some folks who do this alot will also use a different live center with just a "tiny pin prick" of a point to avoid any chance of splitting something ornary. You can get live centers with interchangable points or just take an inexpensive one and reduce the length of the point so it bearly protrudes beyond the cup. This style also makes the re-centering operation easier as you can back the tail stock off very slightly to make adjustments. David Ellsworth uses this type of live center for the same purpose and teaches the same...where I learned it.