The case of the disappearing bowl blank.

**LanceC** · 22nd August 2020, 09:00 PM

Earlier in the week I was rough turning the inside one of my blanks. I had turned the outside a month or so ago, and got waylaid. Anyway I chucked it up in the morticed base from the last session and got busy hogging out the waste.

I know now in hindsight that the bowl will have moved, and that I should have put in back on the screw chuck and made the mortice round again. But I didn't.

Anyway, back to the story. There I was hogging out waste when I got a catch, and before I knew what had happened, my bowl was gone. All that was left were bits of wood where the mortice ring had sheered off the bowl.

I looked under and behind the lathe. I calculated a rough trajectory of where it may have rolled too and looked there. I wasn't turning very fast so didn't expect that it would have taken off, but as I was running short on options I searched the probable flight path, still with no luck.

Finally I started searching randomly, and when after fifteen minutes or so the bowl was still unaccounted for, I chalked it up to aliens, cleaned up, and went inside for coffee.

Fast forward to today, and needing to turn some hardwood wheels for my dad, I noticed that the chips weren't being sucked up by the dust extractor as well as I thought it should, when a glimpse of possibility entered my mind... But surely not.

After sticking my arm as far up the dust port as possible with no result, I unplugged the join where the rigid duct connects to the flex which runs to the DC, and wouldn't you know it, I found it wedged solid in the 90° bend.

So it flew off the lathe straight into the dust port, was sucked up 2 m of pipe, rounded the bend and traveled another 6 m where it entered the main trunk before finally coming to a stop in the nick of time. The next obstacle was the impeller of the extractor!

Time to add a grate to the mouth of the BMH I think.

**Chief Tiff** · 22nd August 2020, 09:08 PM

That’s just freaky!

**rwbuild** · 22nd August 2020, 09:21 PM

.....so wood turning really sucks ay......

**Simplicity** · 22nd August 2020, 09:44 PM

So if I may recap,
You were using the lathe, an the bowl disappeared (supposedly).
You then blamed the “Aliens” some would say that’s racist!!!.
You couldn’t be bothered looking for it, you went inside,an had a stimulant?.
You then stuck part of your torso up a piece of pipe that you know really sucks full pun intended.

I’m really impressed, your welcome in my creative zone anytime you want, hell I even get you key cut Lance an have it sent over.

Cheers Matt.
Ps glad you are ok be safe [emoji3064]

**woodPixel** · 22nd August 2020, 10:04 PM

I'm amazed you didn't notice it clunking and smashing its way through those pipes!

That catch looks colossal.

**Mountain Ash** · 22nd August 2020, 10:22 PM

Hi Lance. I was lucky enough to be offered some Blackwood for firewood the other day (turned out to be 6 trailer loads!). And some good blanks for turning too. Started my first bowl for a while and everything was going fine. It did take 2 goes to get the hole right for the scroll chucks jaws (first time just too big). But when I started opening up the inside the edge of the mortice broke and the bowl came flying off. It can happen so quick and fortunately the bowl was okay. Had to revert to a face chuck though. Now it's sitting in font of the fire and warping nicely.

**LanceC** · 22nd August 2020, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I'm amazed you didn't notice it clunking and smashing its way through those pipes!

I can only think that as the bowl is a near perfect 150 mm fit, it wasn’t able to bounce around as it travelled along the duct.

**Richard Hodsdon** · 22nd August 2020, 10:38 PM

That's some suction your dust collector has.

**brainstrust** · 23rd August 2020, 09:15 PM

Yes keep any and all body parts away from that sucker! You could even lose a chisel up there

**turnerted** · 24th August 2020, 04:59 PM

Somstimes life just sucks .
I had a bowl disintgrate some years ago and part of it still hasn't been found . I just have a mark on the roof where it hit , but then I do have a very messy shed .
Ted

**Colin62** · 25th August 2020, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by turnerted

Somstimes life just sucks .
I had a bowl disintgrate some years ago and part of it still hasn't been found . I just have a mark on the roof where it hit , but then I do have a very messy shed .
Ted

Mine was a combination of the two. It vanished and I never saw it again until I moved house. When I disassembled the dust extractor ducting I found it lurking at the bottom of a downpipe. It’s sitting on the shelf in my workshop and I may try to rescue it someday when I’ve run out of firewood to turn.

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