Warren White
Member
What a journey this has been! I was very scared to even try (everything else I have turned had been small). I had visions of stuff flying off and killing me!
I dropped in at the local Heritage and Art Gallery and found a turner was there with his very beautiful work. He is only there once a month, and lives in another town. (As Leroy Jethro Gibbs' Rule 39 states: There is no such thing as coincidence.) I told him I would love to learn how to turn bowls, and he invited me to come to his house and give it a try. He gave me an Elm block, attached it to his lathe and walked me through the process. We turned it but didn't remove the tenon and take care of the bottom, so it wasn't finished.
I brought it home and sanded and finished the outside and inside of the bowl except for the bottom. My Nova G3 chuck doesn't have a set of adapters that will work on a 10" bowl (my bowl is a bit over 9 1/2" in diameter). They make adapters for a minimum of 8"; 12"; and 14" BUT NOT 10"! Come on Teknatool, give me a break!
As part of my interest in turning a bowl, I contacted a local tree service and asked if they might have any wood I could use for turning. The owner invited me to his house, saying that he was a turner also. I brought him a wood pen I had made as a gift. He gave me some beautiful Walnut, Hollywood Cypress and Olive Wood. I told him that my Chuck wouldn't work and I was trying to figure out what to do. He said his Talon One-Way chuck with adapters would work; and he went to his shop and brought them out for me to take home and use!
Turns out, the 'bumpers' stock on his adapters were too large with the chuck extended to work with my size bowl; the bumpers hit my lathe bed. I went to Lowe's and picked up some screws and Tygon tubing and used them as 'bumpers' (my word...sorry).
Success!
Finish is sand to 400; micro mesh to 12000; paste wax and buff with a rag.
Sorry this is so long, but this was a long process and I figured my IAP friends would understand the rambling explanation. I hope one unstated message is quite clear: turners are such magnificent people; always willing to share and teach. Thank you all for what you have done for me and the countless others you have mentored and encouraged.
I dropped in at the local Heritage and Art Gallery and found a turner was there with his very beautiful work. He is only there once a month, and lives in another town. (As Leroy Jethro Gibbs' Rule 39 states: There is no such thing as coincidence.) I told him I would love to learn how to turn bowls, and he invited me to come to his house and give it a try. He gave me an Elm block, attached it to his lathe and walked me through the process. We turned it but didn't remove the tenon and take care of the bottom, so it wasn't finished.
I brought it home and sanded and finished the outside and inside of the bowl except for the bottom. My Nova G3 chuck doesn't have a set of adapters that will work on a 10" bowl (my bowl is a bit over 9 1/2" in diameter). They make adapters for a minimum of 8"; 12"; and 14" BUT NOT 10"! Come on Teknatool, give me a break!
As part of my interest in turning a bowl, I contacted a local tree service and asked if they might have any wood I could use for turning. The owner invited me to his house, saying that he was a turner also. I brought him a wood pen I had made as a gift. He gave me some beautiful Walnut, Hollywood Cypress and Olive Wood. I told him that my Chuck wouldn't work and I was trying to figure out what to do. He said his Talon One-Way chuck with adapters would work; and he went to his shop and brought them out for me to take home and use!
Turns out, the 'bumpers' stock on his adapters were too large with the chuck extended to work with my size bowl; the bumpers hit my lathe bed. I went to Lowe's and picked up some screws and Tygon tubing and used them as 'bumpers' (my word...sorry).
Success!
Finish is sand to 400; micro mesh to 12000; paste wax and buff with a rag.
Sorry this is so long, but this was a long process and I figured my IAP friends would understand the rambling explanation. I hope one unstated message is quite clear: turners are such magnificent people; always willing to share and teach. Thank you all for what you have done for me and the countless others you have mentored and encouraged.