Tried my hand at a thin maple bowl

[Matt Wolboldt]

So tonight I decided to see how thin I could go. Admittedly I'm probably not pushing any limits, and that I almost went through the bottom, I learned a lot. Namely I need to figure out a way to reduce the vibration near the outer rim, and not to be overzealous about turning off the tenon (which I found to be the reason I almost went through the bottom. Maple/ Beall Buffed (7.5"x3.5"x~1/8").

[Benjamin Dahl]

Matt, nice bowl and I am sure you learned a bunch. just be careful when getting really thin as a shattered bowl can be a bit scary.
Ben

[robert hainstock]

Whew, That is always tricky way to turn a bowl. In discussing this aspect of bowl turning with another turner, we both admitted to leaving too much naterial in the bottom of our bowls too often. But then too, we both have made our share of funnels. You have made a nice bowl and avoided the pitpafalls inherant in turning thin. Congrats! :):)
Bob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Good looking bowl Matt! Nice form, color and grain!

Couple of different things you can do when turning thin. 1: use a steady rest and/or 2: thin the bowl in sections. When thinning in sections you basically remove the first 1" of wood and get the wall the thickness you want, then remove the next 1", etc. The bulk of the wood remaining in the bowl helps to steady the blank. The key of this process being that once you move on to the next section - you do NOT go back. That way, when the wall starts to flex it won't affect your cut.