My First Ten Bowls

[Mike Goetzke]

I'd turned a few pens in the past but really wanted to try something different - like pepper mills or a bowl. I upgraded an old Craftsman lathe with a slightly used 46-460 that I bought from a member hear about a year ago. I was wondering why he was selling it since he only had it for 6 or 9 months. Well I'm thinking I may have outgrown it in the past week. I noticed Mike Cruz was selling some cherry bowl blanks in the classifieds for way less that you could get them anywhere else (I think he still has some left). So I bit and bought two sets. They were prepared perfectly - everyone a perfect circle. Not only that but I got my moneys worth of mentoring out of him over the past two weeks. I also watched the Bill Grumbine DVD, some internet videos, and help from others here. My first attempts were not very good. Plus when I saw the beautiful job another new turner Joe Marra did I thought this isn't for me, but, Mike C. encouraged me and I called Joe to trade some notes. Two big things I was doing wrong was the grind on my gouge was not correct and the attack angle of the tool was bad. After I got these somewhat perfected I was making lots of curlies and getting better shapes on my bowls. I'll bet just from appearance I could line up my bowls from first to last. I had so much fun I may need get some more wood.


Here are the ten bowls:





Here is the last one (Mike C. customized the blank to fit my 12" lathe - the big ones just barely fit the lathe):

[Mike Cruz]

Ya dun gud, Mike! 6 months from now, with a lot more roughing under your belt, better tool control, and a growing eye for form, you'll crank out a really nice couple of sets of salad bowl sets. Make sure you keep one of the sets, and years and years from now, you'll look back on them and tell the story over and over. Of course, by the time you get back to re-turning these, they'll be mounted onto a bigger lathe...

BTW, I have to say it was a pleasure helping you out. The best part was that you understood exactly what I was saying. It was a bit odd in a way. But we discussed things (via email), and on the next bowl, presto, you did what we talked about. When it came to your gouge, I think there were 2 or 3 emails back and forth, then BAM! your profile was great. Having someone who is looking for help that understands, listens, and follows direction was a pure pleasure. I have to say, I even mentioned it to my wife what a pleasure it was. I've got a bad feeling that I wasn't as good of a student... Sorry, Tony...

Keep it up, Mike!

[joe marra]

Hey Mike, looking good. That learning curve didn't take long did it.

[Bob Bergstrom]

In addition to some nice wood the guy who cut the blanks also did a good job of centering the grain pattern. The growth rings look equal on both sides. There going to finish up and look great.

[James Combs]

An outstanding showing for firsts.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looking good Mike. Really nice looking bowls.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, enjoy

[Allan Ferguson]

Looking good. Keep having fun.

[Marc Himes]

Nice start Mike. Bigger lathes are nice, but there is plenty you can do on that Delta. Continuing to work on smaller projects can develop your skills without the need for a bigger lathe at this point. Another investment which may pay dividends quite quickly would be to take one of the 5 day turning courses at places like J. C. Campbell, Arrowmont, or the Craft Supply store in Utah.

[Mike Cruz]

Marc, his wife came up to him after he turned one of the 12" bowls and asked, "Can you turn something bigger?" What do you think is next on the agenda?...

[Kathy Marshall]

That's a great showing for your first ten Mike! Looks like you're pretty well caught up in the vortex! Enjoy the ride!

[Thomas Canfield]

Some nice looking work there for first 10. I would like to suggest that you can learn a lot about turning techniques and sharpening turning bowls from standard 2x6 material. You can add a glue block to make the wood a little "thicker" and get practice removing the tenon or forming a foot. The 2x6 material usually has a good mixture of soft/hard grain to show the need to use a sharp tool to prevent tear-out and give you sharpening practice. You can also practice your sanding, but the price is cheap enough you can toss and not be out much. Turning 10 of those will make you appreciate some good cherry blanks also.