What to do next?

[jefferson]

Big Pond seems to be working for the first time in almost a week, so here goes:

I turned the outside of this little redgum bowl on the weekend and got a little carried away. With the outside done, I'm quite unsure what to do with the inside:

101069

101070

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Don't blame me for the pics either - the wife took them.

Now should I turn the inside (somehow) to match the shape of the outside? If so, how? With what tool?

Hope someone can advise and help.

thanks Jeff

[Calm]

Big Pond seems to be working for the first time in almost a week, so here goes:

I turned the outside of this little redgum bowl on the weekend and got a little carried away. With the outside done, I'm quite unsure what to do with the inside:

Seems obvious to me - 1, take some of the wood out or 2, make a hole in it. :q:q:doh::D

101069

101070

101071

Don't blame me for the pics either - the wife took them.

Does she know you wrote that? :oo::oo::q

Now should I turn the inside (somehow) to match the shape of the outside? If so, how? turn the lathe on With what tool? a bowl gouge or scraper.

Hope someone can advise and help.

thanks Jeff

Jeff sorry about the top bit - seems to be one of those nights - no work and i must be bored.

I dont think the inside needs to follow the outside exactly but at the same time i reckon if it was just bored or drilled out it would look bloody ordinary.

I reckon try and give it a bigger hollow at the bottom but not exactly the same as the outside

Clear as mud i bet.

There was a bloke called Scooter - who seems to have disappeared a bit lately - that did a demo on hollowing a goblet at one of the turnfest a couple of years ago.. I think that was a method that would hollow that out quite easily,. he started at the centre and cut up and out to make the hollow bigger - it is a method that seems harder to get a catch on as well - something that keeps the confidence up - if you know what i mean.

Cheers

[Ed Reiss]

Jeff, I take it that the wide portion is going to be the top and that the bottom is already finished...if so chucking it up is going to be a bear, so let's go with trained termites to do the bowl portion :D:D:D:D:D LOL

OK, just kidding, there is a way to do this...using a live center in the tailstock center the bowl on the point. Tighten the bowl with the tailstock adjustment against a faceplate in the headstock. Now work out the inside as you normally would but leave the portion where the tailstock center point is on the wood...don't cut that "pillar". After you get to the depth that suits you, move the tailstock away and snap that remaining "pillar" off.
Sanding the inside will have to be done the old fashioned way - by hand with the bowl stationary.

Best Luck with it:2tsup:

[ElizaLeahy]

Go and buy a bowl chuck, to hold it on the lathe - you are going to need one eventually!

You need to make either a foot or a recess on the bottom of the bowl for the bowl chuck to hold, then it's firmly on the lathe, just like it was with the face plate, but the other way around and you can hollow out the middle easily.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Assuming you have a chuck and left a mortise/tenon for mounting under the foot where we can't see it...

The area that'd give most difficulty as you approach final shape would be the undercut between the rim & the lower section - the rest is pretty straight forward. So, for the initial hogging out, a bowl gouge will do or whatever you're comfortable with. All business as per usual, until it comes time to doing that undercut. (Assuming you want to follow the outside line on the inside.)

Personally, I'd use an Oland tool to do the undercut (and all the hollowing, actually. I seem to hollow everything out with an Oland tool nowadays! :rolleyes:) as I think an Oland tool will let you bring that undercut close to final shape more easily than a bowl gouge. Unless you're a -class tool handler. :wink:

An Oland has better reach in tight spots, although generally leaves a rougher finish. To clean up afterwards, a bull-nosed scraper (see pic) would do nicely.

Actually I'd use that scraper to finish the whole of the inside, but that's only 'cos I'm lazy & prefer to use as few tools as possible in any given job, not because a bowl gouge wouldn't do it. :B


Oh, yeah... David mentioned goblet hollowing? I know he meant drilling a hole with a spade bit/whetever in the centre and then enlarging that hole (which works well for all bowls, not just little ones & goblets) but there's another method that could also be handy.

Don't try hollowing the bowl in one fell swoop. Just hollow to the depth of the "waist" and concentrate on bringing the rim to final thickness. Then hollow a bit past the undercut curve and, again, concentrate on getting just the undercut curve right. Then once you're past the "difficult area" you can hollow out the rest of the bowl as per usual.

This method leaves the section you're working on with maximum support, so that when you're working with the tools at (to you) awkward angles, any slips or "mis-introductions" of the tool won't automatically mean Game Over.

[jefferson]

I probably didn't make my concerns clear when I originally posted, but Skew has hit the nail right on the head.

I do have a recess to hold via a VL 100 chuck (my second one, as has got me using the other one as a permanent screw chuck). So yes, my main concern was with the hollowing and the under-cutting to follow the outside profile. And sadly, I have not been able to master the Oland tools that Ern made for me.

But I am very happy to hear that scraping is another option! (Please don't anyone tell that I am using scrapers all too frequently as well as my Ci1!. That said, I am getting better with the bowl gouge, at least on the inside of platters. As for back-cutting..... HMM. Never mind.

Thanks for all the advice thus far. I intend to complete the little project soon, buy a decent camera probably tomorrow and post some pics.

regards Jeff

[robutacion]

Big Pond seems to be working for the first time in almost a week, so here goes:

I turned the outside of this little redgum bowl on the weekend and got a little carried away. With the outside done, I'm quite unsure what to do with the inside:

Don't blame me for the pics either - the wife took them.

Now should I turn the inside (somehow) to match the shape of the outside? If so, how? With what tool?

Hope someone can advise and help.

thanks Jeff

Hi Jeff,

If I understand this right, your problem is not how to mount the piece but what shape to give it on the inside, right?

If was me, I wouldn't try to follow exactly the outside shape, as that means troubles, I would tough, not cut a straight wall down but would cut a gentle belly curve to allow at least 8mm of wood of the narrowest ridge, or where you have cut that deep ring on the outside. I would then not make a flat base but again, a curved base with the inside corner not too sharp!
I have attached a edited pic of yours, just to give you the general idea.

There are a number of tools that can hollow the bowl inside without much fuss, any of the hughies hollower's, (junior,senior & ripersnorter), a bowl gouge is always a good option.

Good luck with it.

Cheers:2tsup:
George

PS: Sorry folks, I started the post when I realized that I had the pic to edit, by the time I finished, Skew's and Jeff's comments were in, without me knowing so some of my questions were answered.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Actually, I'm wondering how that bowl would look if you converted the rim from a "flare" into a very large bead, inside & out, so it'd look like a large wooden ring resting on a the rim of the bowl?


If was me, I wouldn't try to follow exactly the outside shape, as that means troubles,

How so? Difficult, yes. But not necessarily troublesome. Also, given that the outside of the bowl looks "chunky" (not being derogatory, Jefferson, just can't think of a better word at the mo :B) I think that the walls should be as thin as possible. So that when people pick it up the contrast between the appearance and the actual weight gets 'em Oohing & Aahing! :wink:


PS: Sorry folks, I started the post when I realized that I had the pic to edit, by the time I finished, Skew's and Jeff's comments were in, without me knowing so some of my questions were answered.

That's the forums for ya! :D

[jefferson]

Skew ande George,

thanks for your thoughts. The main problem I guess for me is a lack of turning skill. When I turned the groove with my German 1/2 inch spindle gouge, it cut so well without tearout (the tool was sharp for a change), that I just kept cutting and cutting.....

I read or heard somewhere that bowl design (and turning for that matter) is simply about opportunities. You make a mistake, fix it and move on. That's where I'm at. I learnt a little with this one but would like to make it as "perfect" as I can. And Skew, I think you are right, it looks a little heavy. The foot is certainly small.

Now, as for turning a nicely rounded bead.... That will test me. I have some but not too many problems with beads on spindle turning - getting the hang of the skew but can do it no worries with a spindle gouge without a catch - but all the laws seem reversed for bowl work. Yes, I am blundering thru but will get there one day.

Have spoken with the good wife and will purchase a decent camera tomorrow so you can all see the mistakes better. Damn, it's not a bad piece of wood but there's always more out there. I might just check in at the All Tools place and get another scraper and grind it to suit the intended shape.

And how do you guys do all that work with lines etc? Slightly retarded - well, more than that when it comes to computers - but would sure like to know.

regards Jeff and thanks again. Much to ponder. (No admonishments from Ern thus far about the Oland business thank heavens.)

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

When I turned the groove with my German 1/2 inch spindle gouge, it cut so well without tearout (the tool was sharp for a change), that I just kept cutting and cutting...

:yes: Been there, done that, will probably do it again. And again. And again. That's why I turn. Some people are goal-oriented; they turn to get the final product. I'm process-oriented: I turn mainly to get those moments where the curlies start flying.


I read or heard somewhere that bowl design (and turning for that matter) is simply about opportunities. You make a mistake, fix it, learn from it and move on. That's where I'm at.

I've made one minor correction. Even if 'tis only learning enough to quickly recognise the same mistake the next time you do it. :rolleyes:

(Oh... and the next time I photo one of my pieces I might just borrow your camera. I could really do with one that hides the flaws. :D)