My first bowl! Cherry wood

[Noot17]

I've mostly made pens up until now, and thought I would try something a little bigger/more complicated. This did the trick!

Only broke the bottom once and had to remake the part that goes on the chuck for when you turn it around to hollow it (I know there's a term for that but I forget what it is). Cracked that two other times while hollowing but was able to save it. I tend to get a lot of catches...

Any pointers on turning bowls would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[magpens]

WOW ! . That's nice !!! . You got the bullseye on the grain pattern "matching" your turning !!

 

[Noot17]

Thanks! I had some tear out along the way so I just spent the last hour looking up articles on grain and the appropriate direction/angles for turning different grains. I determined I'll just need to figure it out by trial and error, unless I can find someone local to explain it to me.


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[TattooedTurner]

Great job, especially for a first effort. It has a nice shape and it's not too thick, you did good! I assume you cut a tenon and not a recess for the chuck to hold it. My guess is the tenon was too small of a diameter and/or you were too aggressive with the hollowing. It could have been hairline cracks in the wood but since I don't see any in the bowl I highly doubt it. Brian Havens has a great video on Youtube for making bowls, if you haven't already watched it I highly recommend checking it out.

 

[Charlie_W]

Very nice job especially for a first attempt!

While there are many videos out there, nothing beats one to one training. If you can take a class or hook up with a local woodturning club or local turner, you will learn so much more than just trying to be totally self taught.
Seeing first hand the bowl gouge and different grinds, learning sharpening/ honing, and presentation of the gouge to the wood/follow through cuts will speed up the learning. Just having an instructor slightly rotate the handle or keep your gouge on bevel support will make a huge difference..
Learning about Different gouges and or scrapers and how they work is most helpful.

My preference is a day with another turner one on one. Sometimes an evening class is rushed and is basically an introduction to bowl turning.

Good luck!

 

[Noot17]

Thanks for the tips and comments!
I actually did cut a recess for this. The first one the wall was too thin, so I made the second thicker, but still cracked it a couple times. I didn't have much wood for a tenon and didn't want to try using a sacrificial tenon on my first try.
I'll definitely try to find someone local, because I agree, the videos help, but having someone right there to tell me what to change would be very helpful.
Thanks again!


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[Super Dave]

Nice job but do you realize how many pen blanks that would have made ;-)

Dave