Thread: Bowl saver

Likewise i like the idea of not making woodchips of all the middle of a bowl and have purchased a bowl saver from Jim Carroll.

I am very happy with it but you need to make sure you have no belt slip and IMO for larger bowls (near 400mm) speed wants to be under 500 rpm.

To make one yourself would not be that difficult but you would need some knowledge of steels etc to make it strong enough.

Remember that the peice removed (saved) doesnt have to be finished as the same shape as the outside it can be made into a plate or box or whatever. The main thng it is not on the floor as woodchips - hopefully curly things -

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Commercially available bowl savers don't seem dear enough to justify R&D to make your own, unless you have clear instructions and access to materials. They're generally touted for getting "free" blanks from the interior pieces, but the major advantage, IMHO, is saving time which otherwise is spent in mindless coring for a large bowl (DAMHIKT).

Joe

dont know what they are worth in tallahassee, but to spend almost $400 to buy one here is enough incentive for me to experiment with making one.........bob

A little less than that from Utah. But at minimum wage, it'd pretty much pay for itself after the second or third round of mindless coring. I have other mindless tasks on my growing list of works in (non-) progress.

Joe

I use a slicer which basically cuts a cone out the centre.
Lot cheaper than a bowl saver but does not recover as much.

Originally Posted by DavidG

I use a slicer which basically cuts a cone out the centre.
Lot cheaper than a bowl saver but does not recover as much.

Hi DavidG,
Would be possible for you to show us a picture of the tool you call the "slicer"? please.

I'm curious, because like so many other turners, the idea to waste a considerable amount and in many cases, rare piece of wood, when turning a large bowl, is not a preferred solution, but not having the proper tool, can seem not optional. I'm in that category, not having a bowl saver yet, I do recover the centre piece of my larger bowls, simply by using a common diamond shaped partition tool. Is this a simple operation? no is not!, it is worth it? yes, if the timber is rare or of important value! can anyone do it? yes, it require some upper body strength but if I can do it, most people will! is it dangerous? yes, mainly if you don't commit to it! can you do it in any lathe? no, it requires a medium size lathe with slow speeds and some torque!
Now there are 3 things that I recommend if you want to try it, first get the biggest and strongest partition tool you can find and put a decent size handle on it, second use a U shaped piece of steel at least 3mm, to protect the top of your tool rest (partition tool will mark/dent the tool rest top blade). Use the smallest tool rest you have and make sure you have the partition tool set to cut centred with the tool rest shaft, for maximum strength.

This is the option I use, in response to Arron's enquire! should I need to take some pics of some the pieces removed, not yet used?

To be fair and safer, the factory made proper bowl saver, is a better option, and if you have enough lathe to do it manually as I do, you have enough lathe for a proper bowl saver, the cost (affordability) is other matter!

Cheers
RBTCO

Sorby Slicer

I have the arm brace with slicer and hooker. Nice.

I guess I should point out that my main reason for wanting a bowl saver type thingee is that I like the look of a nest of bowls - a set of closely fitting concentric sized bowls with the same grain pattern throughout. I hadnt really thought it justified in terms of saving money by avoiding wasteage - I dont do enough turning for that.

After reading DavidG's post, I decided to try removing a cone from a bowl blank. I have to admit I havent really thought of this before. As it turned out - dead easy. Not much strength or time required, even on my low-end lathe. The trick I think is to prevent rubbing against the side of the tool, so I kept the groove a little wider then the tool, and as I got past the half way mark swapped to a narrower bladed parting tool. I was using a soft timber, but that is a limitation I am happy to live with.

Interestingly, there was no need to withdraw the tool to clear the chips out either.

Further experiments will follow when I have time to make a parting tool with a smooth curve along its length. I dont see that there is any danger factor. Let me know if you can point to something I may be overlooking though.

regards
Arron

Originally Posted by Arron

............Further experiments will follow when I have time to make a parting tool with a smooth curve along its length. I dont see that there is any danger factor. Let me know if you can point to something I may be overlooking though.

regards
Arron

Remember when you make a curved parting off tool the force of the wood will try to twist the tool in your hands and therefore catch on the side as you are cutting - that is why the "bought' ones come with the bracket etc..

cheers and good luck