My Eagle Bowl attempt

If it would help to turn the outside of the feature ring first, you can move the bumpers of your Cole Jaws towards the center a couple holes so that the bumpers will be on the inside of the ring. Then expand them to center the ring (not too much pressure) and then bring up your tailstock with the plywood circle on a live center to hold it against the Cole Jaws. You can then turn half of the outside of the feature ring and then turn it around to turn the other half.
 
So, armed with the advice from Lloyd and others I mounted my feature ring on my Jumbo Jaws and used a plywood disc to support it with the tailstock. I turned about half and then flipped the ring to get the other half. I had said I was working close to the capabilities of my lathe. To turn this ring I had to turn my tool rest backwards so the profile would give me an extra 1/2 inch or so.

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I rough turned the base on the outside and then parted off a portion of the padauk ring to go on the top. I also dressed the top of the bowl flat to prepare for the feature ring.

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"THE EAGLE HAS LANDED"
After turning the ring round I dressed the bottom with my sanding board and then glued the feature ring to the bowl.

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Tomorrow I will add the last ring to the top, then after about 5 hours of drying time I will turn the inside of the feature ring to the final shape. I may add a disc that will sit inside the bowl so that I can use the tailstock for support. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. After that I will finish turning the outside.

I am also now thinking of what to use to finish the piece. My "go to" finish is usually Minwax Antique Oil but I am also thinking of just using mineral oil and beeswax so that it may be food safe. Thoughts?
 
My 'go to' finish is a wipeon poly, but there are an awful lot of good options. 'Food safe' is not an option, though. This will be a gallery-quality piece and food should never get to within 10 feet of it. :->

My only advice is to leave as much mass at the lower rows for as possible and turn that away last. The thicker lower walls will better support the upper rows as you're turning them.

It's looking great, Glenn.
 
Oh, and one more piece of advice - NO SCAPERS. If they are correctly sharpened with a good burr, they apply tremendous stress and are very aggressive. One catch will send the eagles flying. Use only tools that slice the fibers as this greatly reduces the stress on the bowl. Shear cuts are recommended whenever possible. A tool like and Eliminator or Best Woods tool with a round carbide head is acceptable, but only if it is rotated to a degree that it is slicing fibers instead of being a brute force instrument which is what I often see when it has a too-flat presentation to the wood.
 
Well another day has presented different problems but all with solutions.

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I started today by adding the final padauk ring to the top.

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I then built a disk to support the inside of the bowl. My tailstock would not reach it so I have to add some blocks to extend it. The banjo barely fit in the remaining space but it did work. It was a bit of a nail biter to clean the inside of the ring as tool presentation was drastically compromised. But it worked.

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Now to finish up the outside. I did put my steady back inside.

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Onto dressing the bottom. Using the jumbo jaws (medium size) with the bumpers on the inside and very gentle tension the turning was FINISHED!

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Now the first coat of my go to Minwax Antique Oil has been applied. I will do 3 or 4 coats and sand back the first two coats quite extensively to fill the grain of the padauk. I will most likely use the beal buff after the final coat is applied.


A very special thanks goes out to Lloyd for all his help and encouragement. Without his help and advise I would not have made it this far. I have learned a ton over the past few month's from him and through the comments of others on this forum.

I will be entering this piece in our annual woodturning contest due to start on April 11.

I will post another final picture in 4 or 5 days when it is complete and staged for a better pose.
 
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Hi Glenn. My name is Lyle Johnson, Lloyd's little brother. He sent me a picture of your bowl today and I went on line to see how your process went. Your bowl turned out gorgeous! I love how there were obstacles and solutions, almost continuously. To me, that is the beauty of woodturning. It is almost all based around problem solving. I haven't tried segmented turning yet, other than helping Lloyd on a project, but I'm next!

Great job! Congratulations!
 
Glenn, your hard work has paid off. Thank you (and Lloyd) for taking us through step by step all your work, issues and solutions.
 
Woo-Hoo! Fantastic!
If I'm not mistaken, this is only your third lamination project. This will certainly be an inspiration to others to give it a try. All it took was a good plan of attack and attention to details.
From all of us that followed your progress, CONGRATULATIONS and I hope you do well at the contest!
 
Lyle, Stuart, mfisher( I think Mike) and others, you are most welcome. It is always great to run something buy a knowledgable crowd especially when folks are willing to share their experiences and pass on suggestions.

Now time to think up a new project????
 
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Lloyd Johnson said:
Woo-Hoo! Fantastic!
If I'm not mistaken, this is only your third lamination project. This will certainly be an inspiration to others to give it a try. All it took was a good plan of attack and attention to details.
From all of us that followed your progress, CONGRATULATIONS and I hope you do well at the contest!
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Thanks so much Lloyd, I will keep you posted on the results.
 
I have been following along on your project ,thanks for the detailed step by steps and pictures to follow.The final bowl is beautiful.
 
Beautiful, what is the final size? I don't know if you ever said but when/ where is the show you are entering?
 
Stuart, the final size was 10 1/2 outside and about 6" tall. Wall thickness was about 3/8" The contest is in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is put on by the Nova Woodturners Guild in co-operation with Lee Valley (Tool Store). Final drop off is today and the show runs from 12 to the 23rd. It is judged by 3 judges one which is Steve Kennard, have a look at his website http://stevenkennard.com/blog/home.
Watch his video "Turns", very inspirational.
 
So the contest ended today and as it turns out I placed second in the Open Faceplate category for my Eagle Bowl. Ironically my Dizzy Vase (another thread) placed first in the same category. Based on the points awarded if I had not entered the vase the Eagles would have won, so I beat myself.
 
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