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Greetings from Houston, Texas

J

JohnSr

PRO Member
Greetings Everyone,

I'm a semi-newbie, getting back into woodworking with my grandson after several decades away (I have to work for a living!).

I recently acquired a used 2 HP variable speed full size lathe and plan to make Kevin's Round Bowl as my first project.
I've already bought the purpleheart and maple locally and ordered the holly and blackwood (dyed) veneers. This weekend I hope to start cutting and
making the rings. I plan to take pictures as I progress and of the finished bowl.

I have a few questions and would appreciate any helpful advice.
1. How is the base fastened to the lathe faceplate? Is the metal faceplate screwed to an extra piece of wood on the bottom of the bowl?
Or is disk one (purpleheart) of the bowl screwed directly to the lathe faceplate?
2. What rotational speed (rpm) or cutting speed (feet per minute) would be recommended for cutting the bowl?

Thanks,
John
 
Hi John, seems that no one has responded to you yet so let me be the first to welcome you back to woodworking. Congrats on getting such a nice lathe. Kevins bowl is a good one to start with. Regarding your question, I've done it several ways but it seems that the best for me, is to use a waste block on the bottom and attach a face plate to the waste block. Alternative is to turn a dovetail into the waste block which will fit a four jaw chuck ( which is the way I usually turn my bowls). Now when you attach the waste block to the bowl blank, there is no need to glue the entire waste block to the bowl blank - typically what many of us do it to face the waste block on the lathe, and turn down most of the surface leaving just an external race of about 3/8 to 1/2 inch of gluing surface. The reason for this is that, when you go to part off the waste block from the bowl, cutting through only a 1/2 inch or so of material is much better then trying to cut through several inches of waste block. I would suggest you look at Youtube.com for examples of attaching waste blocks - you'll find a ton of information.
As for speed, typically I try to start fairly slow with a rough bowl build, something around 700 to 900 rpm. If you are off center, you may have to turn at a slower speed until you get it balanced. After I get the bowl pretty much roughed out, I will increase my speed to perhaps 1100 rpm and finally for finish sanding, I've run the lathe a bit faster - perhaps 1300 or so. Just make sure when running your lathe fast - you are not standing in the direct line of the bowl, in case it were to fly off - Good luck and have fun.
 
Thanks!

I really appreciate your help.

I don't have a four-jaw chuck yet. Is there a particular one you would recommend?

I haven't tried to turn any segmented parts yet and started with a one piece 6"x6"x3" block and glued a 3/4" plywood waste block to it with a sheet of paper in the joint to make it easier to separate. I then mounted it to a faceplate and turned it with my lathe (not cut) and marked a circle on the bottom of the waste block with a pencil. Then, without removing the face plate from the wood, I band sawed it to as near a circle as I could get.

jd-bowl-2.jpg jd-bowl-1.jpg

This is my son holding the bowl he had just made and a close-up of the bowl. Not bad for his first attempt, I think.

I am in the process of making the rings for Kevin's Bowl now. I wasn't careful enough on the first two rings and had to saw the segments apart and will re-make them.

These are some cutting speeds that were recommended. I would think that the speed would vary according to the type (species) of wood and not just the size.
woodspeeds.jpg

Thanks again for your reply and advice.
 
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Just about any of the most common named four jaw chucks are good ones John. I use a One-way chuck only because it was available from Rockler where I had a gift card. I used to use the paper trick too but after losing a bowl due to a catch (bowl flew off) I decided to go with a chuck or the alternative of gluing directly to the base of the bowl, using the smaller race way for the waste block. I think you'll find that certain woods are harder to turn and will catch on occasion which could tear the bowl lose. Oak is particularly troublesome - at least for me. Also be aware if you do use a recessed rabbit/dovetail in the bottom of a bowl - some woods like walnut have a tendency to tear out easily so be careful, hence the preferred was is again to glue a waste block to the blank and then either use your faceplate or turn a dovetail into the waste. Good luck.
 
Thanks, again.

The bowl my son turned is from Madrone (Arbutus) and it did catch a couple of times coming to a complete stop. It didn't break loose from the waste block though. The paper/glue joint was a full 6" diameter.

I have some Oak from a tree my neighbor recently cut down and I thought I'd try turning some of that. Any suggestions?
I also have some Purpleheart, Granadillo, Walnut, Padauk and Bloodwood. My son wants to make a set of salad bowls, same size and shape, but of different woods.

Thanks,
JohnSr
 
Well the only suggestion I have is make sure the wood has completely seasoned - (dried). If you turn it wet- let it dry in a roughed stage in a paper bag with a bunch of the turnings - you'll need to let it age a good couple of months to be sure the moisture level reaches about 8%. I turned a bowl of Oak from a cut down tree on our property - I thought it was dry but about 8 months after I turned it - the bottom split on me. Oak takes a long time to dry. Good luck on that.
 
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