Well, I made the leap and tried my hand at turning! After turning a successfully turning a pen (with the pen kit and tools that Phil Ashley threw in with his old lathe I bought from him - thanks again Phil! though as my wallet shrinks I may end up cursing you! :wsmile I decided to try a bowl. I picked up a nova mini chuck on closeout from Lee Valley, and then made my first big mistake - I bought a cheap blank out of the 2$/lb bin at WC in charlotte. I knew the blank had a split/check, but I thought I removed it all...
So I self educated by watching a little youtube and I dove right in. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I enjoyed every minute of it - until... I was hollowing out the inside and I could tell my gouge was getting dull, but not knowing how to sharpen it yet, I kept plugging away. next thing I know there was a loud noise and things went flying! The good news is that I was wearing a faceshield and was not hurt. The bad news is that my first "masterpiece" needs some help. Is it worth trying to finish it or do I risk further projectiles? what about leaving it as is and rechucking to sand it smooth? Any advice would be appreciated. Here are the pics:
So I self educated by watching a little youtube and I dove right in. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I enjoyed every minute of it - until... I was hollowing out the inside and I could tell my gouge was getting dull, but not knowing how to sharpen it yet, I kept plugging away. next thing I know there was a loud noise and things went flying! The good news is that I was wearing a faceshield and was not hurt. The bad news is that my first "masterpiece" needs some help. Is it worth trying to finish it or do I risk further projectiles? what about leaving it as is and rechucking to sand it smooth? Any advice would be appreciated. Here are the pics: