# My first Bowl!



## Warren White (Mar 16, 2016)

What a journey this has been!  I was very scared to even try (everything else I have turned had been small).  I had visions of stuff flying off and killing me!

I dropped in at the local Heritage and Art Gallery and found a turner was there with his very beautiful work.  He is only there once a month, and lives in another town.  (As Leroy Jethro Gibbs' Rule 39 states: There is no such thing as coincidence.)  I told him I would love to learn how to turn bowls, and he invited me to come to his house and give it a try.  He gave me an Elm block, attached it to his lathe and walked me through the process.  We turned it but didn't remove the tenon and take care of the bottom, so it wasn't finished.

I brought it home and sanded and finished the outside and inside of the bowl except for the bottom.  My Nova G3 chuck doesn't have a set of adapters that will work on a 10" bowl (my bowl is a bit over 9 1/2" in diameter).  They make adapters for a minimum of 8"; 12"; and 14" BUT NOT 10"!  Come on Teknatool, give me a break!

As part of my interest in turning a bowl, I contacted a local tree service and asked if they might have any wood I could use for turning.  The owner invited me to his house, saying that he was a turner also.  I brought him a wood pen I had made as a gift.  He gave me some beautiful Walnut, Hollywood Cypress and Olive Wood.  I told him that my Chuck wouldn't work and I was trying to figure out what to do.  He said his Talon One-Way chuck with adapters would work; and he went to his shop and brought them out for me to take home and use!

Turns out, the 'bumpers' stock on his adapters were too large with the chuck extended to work with my size bowl; the bumpers hit my lathe bed.  I went to Lowe's and picked up some screws and Tygon tubing and used them as 'bumpers' (my word...sorry).

Success!

Finish is sand to 400; micro mesh to 12000; paste wax and buff with a rag.

Sorry this is so long, but this was a long process and I figured my IAP friends would understand the rambling explanation.  I hope one unstated message is quite clear:  turners are such magnificent people; always willing to share and teach.  Thank you all for what you have done for me and the countless others you have  mentored and encouraged.


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## JimB (Mar 16, 2016)

Beautiful bowl! Congrats on your first one! My first bowl was much smaller. I think I would have been scared to death to turn such a big bowl for my first one.


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## Cwalker935 (Mar 16, 2016)

Very nice, particularly for your first bowl.  Nice shape.


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## Charlie_W (Mar 16, 2016)

Great job on the bowl! You have just opened the door to a new world of turning.....and new tools!:biggrin:


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## Warren White (Mar 16, 2016)

*Shhhhh!*

... my wife will catch on!

(I 'need' a bigger bowl gouge with an Irish or Ellsworth grind.)


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## Gus Jr (Mar 16, 2016)

Great, wow first bowl!


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## jjjaworski (Mar 16, 2016)

Looks pretty darn good. Excellent job on that first bowl...now you are hooked...*G*


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## Bobostro61 (Mar 16, 2016)

Great job for a first bowl!  I wish my first turned out like that.  But being self taught, it was all trial and error from the get go.

As far as the adapters you are talking about, what are they?  I have a Nova G3 and make all sizes of bowls from 4" to 12".  12 is the biggest my Jet VS1221 can do.  Why would the chuck stop you from making a 10" bowl?


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## Warren White (Mar 16, 2016)

*G3 adapters*

My lathe (Jet 1015VS) has a 10" swing over the base.  From what I see on the Teknatool website, the only adapter that works is an 8".  The next size is for a lathe with a 12" swing.  I assume (perhaps erroneously) that it won't work with my lathe.

I would love to be corrected, however.


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## Charlie_W (Mar 16, 2016)

Warren White said:


> My lathe (Jet 1015VS) has a 10" swing over the base.  From what I see on the Teknatool website, the only adapter that works is an 8".  The next size is for a lathe with a 12" swing.  I assume (perhaps erroneously) that it won't work with my lathe.
> 
> I would love to be corrected, however.



I think Warren may be referring to Cole Jaws for his Nova chuck to hold his bowl so he can finish the bottom.


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## Charlie_W (Mar 16, 2016)

Warren White said:


> ... my wife will catch on!
> 
> (I 'need' a bigger bowl gouge with an Irish or Ellsworth grind.)



Yes, you WILL "Need" more bowl gouges in different grinds as well as scrapers too!. One tool with one grind simply will not do every cut you will need.


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## Bob Wemm (Mar 17, 2016)

Hi Warren,
If your lathe has a 10inch swing, then if there was a 10inch Cole Jaws(Adaptor) you would not be able to open it. It would literally be touching the bed rails with it closed up. Wouldn't work at all.
Looks like a bigger lathe coming up!!!!!!!

Bob.


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## nativewooder (Mar 17, 2016)

It's not signed or dated so it's not done!:biggrin:


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## robutacion (Mar 17, 2016)

Thanks for showing us your first bowl...!

It will only get better from here, you will adapt ways to use more successfully each tool you have as you turn and turn some more so, you are on the right track...!

The shape is quite "suave", good lip and finish, take a little more care at the wood surface on the bowl's under side, you may find that, a flap disc with some 40 and 80 grits, is ideal to remove wood/shape the bowl's bottom while on the Jacob jaws, it require little pressure to remove wood therefore, less likely to have the bowl jumping out of the jaws/rubbers and possibly get smashed as it gets flying...!

Overall, a great first...!

Cheers
George


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## tomtedesco (Mar 17, 2016)

Great bowl.  I was taught by an master woodturner who had a saying.  "Be careful but if you don't blow something up once in a while, you're not trying hard enough".


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## Warren White (Mar 17, 2016)

*Just talked to Teknatool*



Bob Wemm said:


> Hi Warren,
> If your lathe has a 10inch swing, then if there was a 10inch Cole Jaws(Adaptor) you would not be able to open it. It would literally be touching the bed rails with it closed up. Wouldn't work at all.
> Looks like a bigger lathe coming up!!!!!!!
> 
> Bob.



The specs on Cole Jaws are written a bit confusingly.  A 10" (which they don't offer) would fit a lathe with a 10" swing, just as a 12" (which they do offer) will fit a lathe with a 12" swing.  They are (or would be) just under the diameter of the swing.


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## Warren White (Mar 17, 2016)

*Agreed!*



			
				 take a little more care at the wood surface on the bowl's under side said:
			
		

> I think I let my enthusiasm for getting this done override my usual care in finishing.  Thank you for encouraging me to hang in there until it is REALLY done!


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## stuckinohio (Mar 17, 2016)

Warren White said:


> take a little more care at the wood surface on the bowl's under side said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## jsolie (Mar 17, 2016)

That's a great bowl!  Congrats on the success.


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## Ted iin Michigan (Mar 17, 2016)

Nice bowl! Get a bigger lathe and quit your day job - you got talent!


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## Warren White (Mar 17, 2016)

*Thank you!*

I took the George's advice regarding the lack of care on the bottom of the bowl.  He was right on.

I chucked it back on the lathe and redid the sanding and finishing on the bottom.  The bottom is a bit 'wonky' in a couple of places, but I think it is the way the end grain is behaving.  But, overall, I am much more satisfied with the way it looks now.

Thanks for keeping me honest!


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## SDB777 (Mar 17, 2016)

Sanded all the way to 12K....Smolies!  I tend to stop at 400, maybe 800 if the grain was soft.  Are you using a orbital sander?


Really love the style of bowl.  Sure looks awesome!!!




Scott (yard full of chunks here) B


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## Warren White (Mar 17, 2016)

*No on the orbital....*

...unless my fingers qualify.  I use regular sandpaper (with my hand, once again), down to 400, then switch to MicroMesh to 12000.

Have to admit that the bowl bottom's second shot was just to 400 with wax on the sandpaper, then 0000 steel wool with wax, then buffed by hand followed by a cotton wheel polish.


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## robutacion (Mar 17, 2016)

Warren White said:


> I took the George's advice regarding the lack of care on the bottom of the bowl.  He was right on.
> 
> I chucked it back on the lathe and redid the sanding and finishing on the bottom.  The bottom is a bit 'wonky' in a couple of places, but I think it is the way the end grain is behaving.  But, overall, I am much more satisfied with the way it looks now.
> 
> Thanks for keeping me honest!



My comments/opinions are always based on constructive criticism that same people may take well, and others not so much however, we show what we did because, we would like peoples opinions, with that in mind, I tent to make observations that many see but, feel uncomfortable to say anything and I understand that, and have no problem with.

Encouragement has many "faces" and I have no offensive intentions, I call it as I see it and hope people can see what I meant, you have corrected based on my observation and I agree that, the piece looks a little better now.

There 2 things that are very common amongst most woodturners, they see with their eyes but also with their finger, while you may see another woodturner take more notice of how the bottom of the bowls, platters, vessels, etc, are finished, you will see that same first details attention, are done using the fingers and, one of the most typical pieces that causes this reaction, are the inspection of vases and pieces with small openings, how the inside was finish, according to the high grade "woodturners" that I'm not part of, their criticism or opinions always follow this principle.  I myself have had many pieces scrutinized by other turners and while most don't say a thing, I can see and tell, their score is based on these details.

Can we always improve..??? sure we can, a simple honest opinion is most times all it takes, I am no different...!

You done well, thanks...!

Cheers
George


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