Woodturning has been something I have messed around with a few times over the last 20 years. I have never owned my own lathe until around June of 2016. Before that I had only hopped on friends lathes and various theater shops. Oddly enough I have turned a lot of items from foam for various theater and stage props but haven’t turned many things from wood. That is sort of the backwards way of doing things. Foam is rather forgiving and getting a tool to catch in it is extremely infrequent if not non-existent. So switching over to a material that negates that freedom is a learning experience to say the least. It’s been a slow going process but one of my friends showed me a ton of tips and techniques recently when I was staying at his house. In this particular bowl, which I believe to be maple, (if you know, comment below) I was having a ton of end grain tear-out. In comes my buddy Braxton with the push-cut. You can see it at the 4:05 mark in the video. Poof, the tear-out was gone! If you aren’t familiar with Braxton make sure to click here and check him out. He’s a really good guy and his videos are always entertaining.
Now to the brass tacks. I have a local farmer that sells firewood. He also has some logs and stumps that haven’t been cut up or split yet. He charges next to nothing for these pieces. After stacking the firewood pile the other day I saw this piece and figured I’d try and make something from it. I figured I’d have my go at making a larger bowl. It measured approximately 11″ around after it was completed. The log started out around 13″ in diameter. It was fairly dry but not enough to prevent it from warping slightly over night. I was expecting that and I am completely okay with it. The log was relatively free of cracks and checks so it was game on. Watch the video and let me know what you think!
18 Responses
Well done as usual. I just wish Maple was available where I live.
thanks John – I was pretty happy on the overall project!
And not a word was spoken!!!!! That sure surprised me. A nice looking lathe and a good end result with your project, Nick. Good job
I bet it would surprise my mother too, lol – thanks, glad you dug it!
It really is a beautiful bowl Nick.
Thank you Fred, I appreciate you saying so as always! Have a good day buddy!
Nick please tell that wood to shut up , it is now screaming with Craftsmanship beauty……… Hahaha. Great job
lol – speaking I can handle, but if it starts screaming, it’s going to it’s room!
Nick,
Nice looking bowl. Great job as usual..
always appreciated Denny, thanks!
Great job..I will have to try some day. FYI, I love your new band saw.
thanks Tom – I’m putting it through its paces that’s for sure!
Nick,
Your bowl looks like something the Shakers would have designed, with the idea of it lasting a zillion years. It looks graceful and sturdy at the same time.I like the top edge, which suggests durability.
thanks – I like a lot of Shaker pieces, and yes, they knew how to make things last!
Looks like you got that 14BX set up and going! Bowl turned out very nice. I’m still trying to figure my lathe out. I do have a couple of pieces of cherry and walnut (from trees in my front yard) in the wood shed that I’ve been wanting to turn into something.
yeah that saw is working out really well – turning is a steep learning curve for sure but I’m having a blast soaking it all up!
Nick, how long did it take start to finish?
I’d say maybe 2 hours – I didn’t really keep track