Had an off day turning.

[Threejs]

Lessons learned today.

1. It is really hard to excavate end grain!
2. While excavating end grain, things tend to fly off the lathe when you get a catch!!
3. Re-read how to cut blanks from logs BEFORE you cut up that walnut log.
4. It is a bad idea to have your thumb in the flute of a roughing gouge, when roughing in a chunk of wood.
5. Spliters of walunut on a 6" piece of wood, will stab into said thumb when a piece is turning in excess of 1020 rpm.
6. You can move your hand faster then the chunk of wood is turning, to prevent from being stabbed a second time.
7. Wives think your over reacting while getting a bandade for your thumb, when they think you have only cut yourself.
8. They look horrified when they find out you have been stabbed by a chunk of wood.

If you haven't guessed it by now, I had a rough day at the lathe. I learned alot though. ;-) And I made this small bowl. I am still new at this bowl turning thing. One thing I need to figure out, is how to avoid chuck marks on the foot of the bowl.

Other than that, the bowl is about 4-5" across, and about 3" high. The finish is oil and wax.

BTW the first bowl, with the grain oriented wrong, is in the scrap bin.

 

[DaveO]

Nice looking bowl!!! End grain hollowing isn't that hard with the right tools and approach. A finger-nail ground detail gouge works very well. Any shallow fluted gouge with a lot of metal under the flute will work. Unlike face grain hollowing, you want to work from the inside out so the fibers will be supported during the cut. Picture the end of a broom, that is what the wood fibers in an end grain orientation are like.
The best ways to avoid chuck marks on the bottom of a bowl are to use a waste block (that will get the marks) and turn it off in the end. Or reverse chuck the bowl and re-turn the foot. If you chuck with a recess often the marks are quite minimal and not seen when the bowl is in it's normal resting position.
The best turning work shows no evidence of how it was held on the lathe......maybe one day I'll get to that point.
Dave

 

[4yanks]

Nice bowl. I wouldn't worry about the chuck marks on it. We tend to see the flaws in our work more than others ever will; even if it is pointed out to them.

 

[Threejs]

Now that I think about it, I do have a long fingernail gouge out there. When I get a chance to get out there tonight, I will probably remount the end grain bowl on the screw, and put a glue block on it.

 

[JRD]

David,

If you plan on doing much end grain turning, I'd recommend a Termite Tool from One Way. It's designed specifically for end grain and makes wood removal very easy. It's also a perfect excuse for a new Christmas wish item.

As for the injury, sorry to hear about it but you're not alone. I was turning an end grain bowl yesterday with a glued on block to avoid chuck marks when I came to close to the block (oak) which I had not smoothed well enough. The jagged splinters acted like serrations (sp?) on the finger that came in contact with it.

Chalk it up to another lesson learned the hard way.

Jim

 

[Kenith]

Beautiful work there. Presently I am just a pen turner. As soon as the Christmas season is over, I want to try a bowl. (or in my case maybe starting with just a cup)

Ken

 

[Badabing]

David, that's a really nice looking bowl for one of your fists! Sorry about the injury but thanks for sharing the information. Hopefully I can learn from the mistakes of others here and avoid them. Although, somehow I doubt it :eusa_doh:I turned my first pen last night and I'm officially a lathe addict now :eusa_shhh Keep posting pics of your work and I will continue to be inspired!