Its a bowl!

[Derek Gilmer]

I think I'm hooked on this spinning wood idea. The vortex is indeed strong. Mark was kind enough to let me invade his shop twice this week. Once for a few hours of demonstration and then tonight to let me make a bowl. Well mostly make a bowl. He did some of the work that my hands weren't quite figuring out. Namely the inside curve (he warned me when I wanted to round over the outside it was a little trickier), getting a nice rounded foot/ring at the bottom for the bowl to rest on and various work during the turning to re-enforce concepts. But I got to do enough of it that I don't mind calling it my first turning. The bowl is turned out of an ash blank and sanded with 80, 120, 180 and 240 grit with a wipe on walnut oil finish. He was being very gracious with shop time so I didn't want to ask for even more time for a fancy finishing regime. Mark is an excellent teacher and I'm looking forward to turning with him some more.

Now for the pics! The nasty bathroom floor will have to do for a white box for now. Football season means lots of dirt tracked around. Just focus on the bowl

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I must say this stuff is an incredible amount of fun. I'm fighting the urge to go to harbor freight and get a lathe+tools+grinder tomorrow. Not sure I'll win the battle. I know the HF lathe has its faults. But there is one thing it really has going for it... I can have it in my shop tomorrow

[Mark Cothren]

I'm not so much a good teacher as Derek is a quick study. For a first bowl I am absolutely impressed! I did maybe 2% of the work on this one and Derek the remaining 98% - so yes, this is his first bowl.

Derek, do not - I repeat, do NOT - go buy a HF lathe. You'll regret it, I promise you. I have a Jet VS mini with a stand that is sitting in my shop collecting dust. You are more than welcome to use it until you get a quality lathe. I have a Nova G3 chuck and a few turning tools you can borrow, too. We'll hook up again in the next few days and discuss.

[Marty Eargle]

Very nice first bowl! Beautiful looking wood as well. Always nice to have someone to mentor new turners.

I will disagree about the HF midi lathe #34706 is a rare gem in the HF machinery. Some people have bad experiences with it, but for the most part, few people will deny that it's a great lathe for the money. It is almost an exact clone of a more expensive Jet lathe, and will do most anything a new turner will need. It was my first lathe and I've had it for one year and the ONLY problems that I've had with it are poor quality adjustment knobs that are easily fixable and my tailstock has just started to slip a bit. With a HF coupon and a warranty...I think it is impossible to beat this lathe for ~$200.

Happy turning.

[John Keeton]

Derek, congrats on your first bowl!!! I will chime in on the HF 34706. It is, in fact, a very nice starter lathe, and it will do nicely for that purpose. However, the one limitation it has is a low end speed of 5-600 rpm. That may make it difficult for you to turn anything that is out of balance, or to turn larger blanks - such as the one shown in the pic. I am not saying you can't, but it will make it more difficult. For smaller forms, and spindle work, it does quite well.

[Richard Jones]

Great ANY bowl, much less your FIRST one. Don't get rid of it, you will want to go back and fondle it in years to come. As Mark said, very impressive.

And don't get caught up in gear quite yet, plenty of time to throw your money around later, after you learn technique. Much more important than brand names.

What are you shooting in your avatar pic?

Rich

[Mark Cothren]

My statement about regretting the HF lathe purchase was not to the quality of the lathe. Since I've not owned or turned on one I can't speak to that. What I said about him regretting the purchase was based on Derek's stated desires in woodturning. The lathe he is talking about is not going to satisfy him for very long and soon he'll be looking to upgrade. That will have some to do with him learning on my PM3520 and getting comfortable with it. The 500-600rpm low end speed on the HF lathe is going to be frustrating, too. Just my opinion.

[Betty Fox]

I can agree with the low end 600 speed on the Harbor Freight lathe and the tightening handle for the tool rest. (I ordered three of them as spares just in case.) Other than that, I haven't had problem one with it.
Great looking bowl of any number. My first bowl wasn't even close to that good. Welcome to the vortex. You are one of us.......

[Derek Gilmer]

Thanks to all for the kind words. Mark is being very generous on the 2% I'd estimate a bit higher. Plus guidance on shaping and smoothing along the way. Pretty sure that with out the mentoring I'd have at worst ended up loosing a finger due to trying to use the tool wrong. Something about sliding a gouge backwards and at wrong angles seemed so appealing. The vortex is strong though. Some friends were asking what turning was like this morning at breakfast and why I was so excited about it. The best analogy I could find was like having photoshop for wood. Being able to watch the curve of the bowl and gently massage into the shape I had in my head was great. I think that led to miss-use of the gouge more than once. I got caught up in chasing the picture of the bowl in my head and forgot the tool's needs. Mark never had to dive for cover or run away so it wasn't too bad I suppose.

I am so far winning the urge to visit HF. For one like Mark said I don't think I'll be happy with it long term after seeing how smooth the PM goes and with the speed options. Plus, I like the idea of having a big lathe and a midi lathe. So if I bought the HF now I know it is a disposable purchase since it won't be the big lathe forever like PM would be. Right now I'm looking at the classic Delta 46-600, Jet 1220vs (woo currently 20% off) and the PSI turncrafter as my top 3. Grizzly has a nice little midi lathe but sadly the tail stock is MT1 not MT2 which is a no go for me.

Richard, that is a buddy's ar15. I believe it is a dpms lower and cmmg upper. With 5.56 chamber (reamed out to be a true 5.56), chrome line barrel (govt profile), generic removable handle and usgi mags. Did get pics of the Noveske sbr we shot the other day or it would replace it. Sweet little rifles but I'm drawn to ak's and bolt action long ranges more than AR/M4 style guns lately.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Derek that is a great looking first bowl. I would sign, date and save it. I have to agree with Mark that getting a lathe you will be happy with for a while. I know I went thru 3 lathes till I got my present one. If I had someone like Mark around it would have saved me some money for sure.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice bowl Derek! Take your time amassing tools! It is very easy to end up with tools that look cool but offer little in the way of function. Have fun turning and get as much instruction from Mark as you can - he is an excellent turner!

[Jim Burr]

Really is a cool bowl! Kind of a Calabash style. Any time spent with MC is time well spent!