Thread: First Bowl (unsure what wood it is)

Reece...welcome to the asylum

Not bad for a first time effort, clean lines and a good job of sanding. If it were in the states, I'd say the wood is walnut, but it's not, so I won't.

Snap. Looks v. like young walnut to me too.

Great effort, like the shape - not knowing Qland trees i will take a punt on Tallowwood

Got some off Carl one trip up north and it looked very similar colour.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Reece

hi all,

long time reader, first time poster. thought i'd show you all my first bowl. i have a carbatec economy mini lathe (mc1018?) with a supernova2 chuck. have had it for about 2 months now. i made this bowl about a month ago, but due to a shortage of mini cole jaws in all the shops i have tried i haven't been able to finish the foot yet.

it's been sanded to about 1200 (maybe 1500, can't quite remember), then finished with shellawax (awesome stuff)

also, does anybody know what the wood is? it was only labelled TJ when i bought it, and i didn't ask for any more info.

Reece

Welcome to the forum Reece. Not a bad job for 1st bowl . Colour and grain looks like Qld Walnut (endiandra parmerstonii) - did it smell a bit off while you were turning it???

Originally Posted by TTIT

Welcome to the forum Reece. Not a bad job for 1st bowl . Colour and grain looks like Qld Walnut (endiandra parmerstonii) - did it smell a bit off while you were turning it???

i can't remember much of a smell, but then again, i had turned a big lump of camphor just before this, so it might have masked it.

Nice looking bowl and nice timber

TJ nope nothing coming to me I will see if the rum gods inspire me tonight

Originally Posted by Reece

hi all,

long time reader, first time poster. thought i'd show you all my first bowl. i have a carbatec economy mini lathe (mc1018?) with a supernova2 chuck. have had it for about 2 months now. i made this bowl about a month ago, but due to a shortage of mini cole jaws in all the shops i have tried i haven't been able to finish the foot yet.

it's been sanded to about 1200 (maybe 1500, can't quite remember), then finished with shellawax (awesome stuff)

also, does anybody know what the wood is? it was only labelled TJ when i bought it, and i didn't ask for any more info.

Reece

Nice looking bowl for a first try. I agree with the others, looks like QLD Wallnut.
Why do you need Cole Jaws to finish the foot? Very inaccurate way of holding a bowl.

Originally Posted by KenW

Nice looking bowl for a first try. I agree with the others, looks like QLD Wallnut.
Why do you need Cole Jaws to finish the foot? Very inaccurate way of holding a bowl.

i guess i don't need them if there's something better out there, i just thought that was the best way. i'm open to suggestions

Nice bit of turning Reece, I wish my first turning was as good as that.
I reckon the timber could be Coachwood. I have turned a bit of it about 20 years ago and it came from around Port Macquarie. A nice timber to turn. I don't know if it is a Walnut as Walnut generally is very hard to turn (high Silica content) unless you are using high quality tools and they must very Veeeeerrrrry sharp. You would also be sharpening the tools very regularly.
When I first turned Walnut (Black and Qld) it nearly put me off turning as it was so hard on the tools.

In that case the walnut silica content must vary by location. Just turned a chisel handle out of a piece and it was easy going. Same with a bowl from the same boot load.

Nice work Reece and welcome to the forum

Originally Posted by Reece

i guess i don't need them if there's something better out there, i just thought that was the best way. i'm open to suggestions

Very nice, for any level of practice.

I bypassed the Cole jaws myself, and built my own Longworths. But first, I used a plywood disk on a faceplate, with a groove turned to mate with the rim of the bowl. Wrap some tape (duct, masking, filament strongest) across to the back of the disk to hold the bowl. It's described by Betty Scarpino on page 111 of "Lathes and Turning Techniques - The Best of Fine Woodworking" - ISBN 1-56158-021-X. I still use the tape on the Longworths for insurance; good with Cole jaws, too.

When completing the bottom, work only on the bottom. Working "a little bit up the sides" is a recipe for disappointment.

Cheers,
Joe

When completing the bottom, work only on the bottom. Working "a little bit up the sides" is a recipe for disappointment.

Oh but the temptation.........

majority rules, so i'm gonna go with Qld walnut. thanks for your help everybody.