Picture of 1st hollow bowl turning

[Tom Sweeney]

This is the pic of the hollow vessel(?), from the post below, that I turned over the weekend. I'm real happy with how it turned out - except for the finish. I'm going to try & hand sand it & use some deft & see if that helps it "POP" some more.

This is my first attempt at a hollow vessel - the wood made me do it

I don't have any hollowing tools so I tried a few different things I had on hand. a very small straight hand chisel worked the best. There is one ridge inside that I didn't want to mess with anymore because I didn't want to have a blow out.
sorry for the lousy pic

[Bill Grumbine]

Very nice start there Tom! When you get up this way, I'll show you my budget hollowing tools, if you don't remember them from the picnic. For the price of some scrap wood, a few bars of mild steel rod from the hardware store, and some cutting bits, you can make some nice hollowing tools in the style of David Ellsworth.

Bill

[Ernie Kuhn]

This is the pic of the hollow vessel(?), from the post below, that I turned over the weekend. I'm real happy with how it turned out - except for the finish. I'm going to try & hand sand it & use some deft & see if that helps it "POP" some more.

This is my first attempt at a hollow vessel - the wood made me do it

I don't have any hollowing tools so I tried a few different things I had on hand. a very small straight hand chisel worked the best. There is one ridge inside that I didn't want to mess with anymore because I didn't want to have a blow out.
sorry for the lousy pic

Tom,
I saw a post some place else, about a year ago, that called for a BLO (boiled linseed oil) "soak" of about 10 minutes, wipe off, wait, wipe off, wait...you get the idea. I tried it on a piece of maple flat work and it was gorgeous. I think the post was from Mike Dresdener. Make sure the surface stays wet for about 10 minutes (probably ought not to let it get inside-might never dry). Good Luck.
Ernie

[Jim Becker]

Tom,
I saw a post some place else, about a year ago, that called for a BLO (boiled linseed oil) "soak" of about 10 minutes, wipe off, wait, wipe off, wait...you get the idea. I tried it on a piece of maple flat work and it was gorgeous. I think the post was from Mike Dresdener. Make sure the surface stays wet for about 10 minutes (probably ought not to let it get inside-might never dry). Good Luck.
Ernie

Ernie, Marlen Kemmet of WOOD Magazine taught this method to me a couple of years ago; however, not with BLO. He uses Minwax Antique Oil Finish. I've used that and Watco with equal success, although the former is a little darker in the end.

You apply the finish liberally to the object still mounted on the lathe, turning by hand (or at a very, very slow rpm setting if you have a VS lathe that will run at just a few RPM). Let it sit for about 10 minutes to soak in. Then turn on the lathe at a few hundred RPM and buff the piece with a clean, lint-free paper towel...the idea is to generate heat via friction. This "pushes" the cure of the varnish quite a bit. Repeat the process a number of times to build the finish. After the piece sets for about a week for the finish to fully cure, you can buff it out with the Beall system or similar for a really nice shine.

This finish is particularly great for small objects that you turn without reversing, such as small vessels. (That's what Marlen turns a lot of) If you plan things well, you'll only be parting off after the finish is applied with a slight undercut using a thin parting tool. The very small area that did not receive finish can be gently sanded smooth and finished manually before setting the piece aside to cure. That being said, I've also used the technique for larger bowls and vessels; even with the vacuum chuck and reversing to finish both the inside and outside. Any small marks will get buffed out later.

[Jim Becker]

This is my first attempt at a hollow vessel - the wood made me do it

Wow...once again I'm impressed by someone's first hollowing as it's also not an easy shape to do it! It can only get easier, that's for sure. Great job, Tom, and the picture is just fine.

[Ken Salisbury]

Very nice job.

The process described by Jim B. is exactly what I have been using for 10 years or more using Minwax Antique Oil and now Minwax Tung Oil Finish on 90% of my work.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

VERY nice vessel you have there Tom. The wood and finish is beautiful. So, what ARE you doing turning when you are supposed to be cleaning the shop? I ain't buying the Chain Saw Story either..............ya gotta do better than that Dude!
Fantastic work.............I hope to be there someday myself.

[Tom Sweeney]

Appreciate all the nice comments.

Jim, Ken & Ernie:
I've been using a similar technique on all my bowls but from your descriptions I see a few things I'm doing wrong. I spin the lathe too fast - 850 RPM is as slow as it will go(It's fun watching the oil go flying around my shop though) - I'll try spinning it by hand. Also I'm a real impatient sort so if it sits for more than a minute I think it's too long - I'll let it soak in more. I do rub it out & let it heat up real well. I was actually thinking of going into the bank robbery business since 2 of my fingers don't have any fingerprints left on them

The process I've been using worked well on the rock hard maple I've used till now. This brings up another question - this wood is pretty green (I think it might be Sycamore from some postings on WC). The tree was damaged in a storm about a month or so ago & the wood was cut off a few weeks ago. Should I let the bowls dry before I put on the finish? Seems that would complicate things with cutting & finishing the foot especially.

Kevin - honest - I was cleaning out the garage when I got a little sidetracked

The really good news is that LOML is giving me an all day turning lesson with Bill Grumbine, for my upcoming B'day, so I'm sure I'll have a lot more knowledge & skills in a month or so.

[Jim Young]

Awesome Tom. I haven't dared to try one of those yet.

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

Looks like a really nice job. Makes me want to thumb through
the lathe catalogs again. Thanks for the Pics.....

Z

[Paul D. May]

Great Job Tom! You lathe guys are impressive....

Paul