First Turning - Progress Report

[James Farrow]

Here's pics of my first turning:





Still lots to do. Still don't know what kind of wood it is. Hard as a rock ans heavy too.

James

[Jim Becker]

Looks like oak to me, James, and as such...yea, hard stuff!! Keep up the good work!

[James Farrow]

Thanks!

You are being kind. LOL!

It's fun though. Learned one thing today. What kind of chisels "not" to
use on the inside. LOL! Jamed the turning twice. Thought I broke the lathe.
Will learn eventually. Books are good, but not a substitute for hands on (trial and error).

James

[Ted Shrader]

James -

That looks right spiffy and you are learning all the same time. Nice work!

Ted

[James Farrow]

Thanks!

The worst part was roughing out the blank. Put it on square first. That was a nightmare. Not that is was that wobbley, but being that hard was really hard on the gouge.

So then I sawed the corners off with a hand saw. Took over an hour. LOL!

Once it is rounded out it goes pretty good though.

James

[Jim Becker]

It's fun though. Learned one thing today. What kind of chisels "not" to use on the inside. LOL! Jamed the turning twice. Thought I broke the lathe.
Will learn eventually. Books are good, but not a substitute for hands on (trial and error).

Hands-on is absolutely a must. And seeing it done is also important...be sure to join your local AAW chapter so you can get some mentoring if there is one within reasonable distance from your home.

Here's a little hint, too...consider the shape of your first bowl a moment. When you have something that has relatively flat sides and a flat bottom connected by a relatively tight radius, it's actually a lot harder to turn. (Which is one reason your first effort is even more impressive!) Many folks, however, start out making many bowls in this shape--all of us, especially if we do so without lessons or mentoring. A more sweeping, continuous curve is much easier to cut when hollowing so try to envision that as you "design" some of your practice projects. And always use a bowl gouge and/or a scraper for hollowing your bowls. Spindle gouges, roughing gouges and skews should never be used for that purpose...for both practical and safety reasons.

[James Farrow]

Thanks!

I know now that roughing gouges are not to be used inside. LOL!

The Round-nosed scraper worked the best.

James

[Jim Becker]

I know now that roughing gouges are not to be used inside.

Actually, they are not to be used on any work that is in "faceplate" orientation with the grain perpendicular to the spindle...which means the outside of most bowls, too. Roughing gouges are spindle turning tools and should only be used when the grain is oriented with the spindle.

[James Farrow]

Which gouge should I use on the outside?

My long bowl gouge has a really small diameter. Worked well inside,
but seemed useless on the outside.

James

[Jim Becker]

My long bowl gouge has a really small diameter. Worked well inside, but seemed useless on the outside.

Most folks work well with a 3/8" bowl gouge for both the interior and exterior cutting on bowls especially while learning. But even a smaller 1/4" gouge can be used on the exterior...it's a matter of technique. (Personally, I use a 5/8" gouge with a side-grind for these purposes, but switch to a smaller tool for small objects)

I'm not sure how you bought your tools, but many "sets" usually don't come with what you need to to much with bowls. They tend to be spindle oriented. As you aquire more tools, buy them individually and in the configuration best for the job...knowledgable folks will be happy to help you make those decisions, too.

[James Farrow]

This is the set I got:



3/16" x 13/16" Parting tool -17" long
13/16" Round nose scraper - 17" long
7/16" Gouge - 17" long
1 1/8" Skew - 19" long
1" Gouge - 19" long
1/2" Gouge - 22 1/2" long

I figured they would be good enough to learn on. Figured I would get better ones later on.

Since I will be doing mostly bowls and vases I guess I should get a really good bowl gouge first.

James

[Jim Becker]

Assuming that the 1/2" gouge is a bowl gouge...that's the one to use.

[James Farrow]

That's the one that worked well on the inside. But on the outside was really not very good. Now, it may be because the wood was like rock but not sure.

James

[George Tokarev]

Here's pics of my first turning:


Still lots to do. Still don't know what kind of wood it is. Hard as a rock ans heavy too.

James

Appears to be American beech. The ray flecks are a pretty good indicator. As it is dry already, should hold. I've had nothing but grief with beech cut heart up, but heart down, as you have, it seems to hold.

[Mark Kelly]

Jim, last night I cut a small blank so as to turn a small bowl next week in my class. The blank is 5 1/5 inches square and 2 3/4" thick. I was going to turn a shallow sweeping bowl with it, and since it is still green turn it to 1" thickness overall. You mentioned the appropriate tools to use in your post. From the tools I use they have two gouges, but I don't think they are bowl gouges as the gullet is not very deep. Are you saying this is the wrong tool for the job even though I will be making very shallow cuts?