Monday, March 25, 2013

From Logs to Bowls

I have been asked to share the procedure I go through in making bowls turned on my lathe. First I would like to mention safety and that if you do any of what I show, you should follow all of the manufacturer's safety rules!

First a slight history and background of my turning wood. I've got a BS in Education, specifically Industrial Arts way back in 1976. I taught shop for 10 years at Waverly, SD, Hartford, SD and Whiting, IA.

Recently, I've been drawn back to the arts. It first started with taking painting lessons, specifically, oil, water colors, & pastels. Although, I haven't painted recently, I do plan on doing some more in the future.

This taste for the arts has drawn me back to wood working, something I new  about, and I try to take on  projects that allow my artistic skills to take over.


The project starts with 1/2 of the log above, then I rough shape it with the chain saw, and then photo 3 I attach a face plate to the turning blank, the face plate then gets screwed onto the head stock.


The bowl blank is attached to the lathe with the tail stock with a live center in, is used for support and safety. I rough turn the blank  down to round and balance. To the right, I will turn a flange to attach my four jaw chuck which allows me to turn the bowl around to begin hollowing the bowl.
I've now attached the bowl to the lathe with the 4 jaw chuck, I leave  the face plate in and attach a Live Tailstock Chuck adaptor, here is the link for this for any fellow wood turners.



PSI Woodworking Products LTCA18 Live Tailstock Chuck Adapter 1-Inch by 8TPI Male Thread Mounting to a 2 MT

 This bowl due to checking ended up smaller, than my last one, but it will still make a nice candy dish. I've been applying Wipe On Poly, which after it dries will be food safe, but for these bowls I'm making, they're really not being made to eat salads out of.