Those damn bowls!

[sluckey]

Those damn bowls are back! After the success with the lamps I decided to try my hand at turning bowls again. Starting small. Very short story on my website. Hopefully more to follow. Time will tell...

[acheld]

Looks fantastic!   

I've been thinking about a lathe, but know next to nothing about them. How big is the motor on your rig? 

[sluckey]

My ShopSmith has a 1.5HP motor. I would consider this a mid size lathe. But remember, it's also a table saw, disk sander, drum sander, and horizontal boring machine, so big motor is probably needed. There are plenty of mid size lathes available. Prices for a good machine range from about $1000 to $3000. Add another $500 for enough accessories to get you hooked. And watch youtube. Lots of interesting lathe projects as well as tutorials, product reviews, etc. Watching youtube is the reason I decided to rebuild my ShopSmith.

Did you see my lamps?

[acheld]

Oh yeah, I saw those lamps.  Absolutely gorgeous!

And your Shopsmith is quite the machine . . .

[tubenit]

That bowl turned out incredible. I love great woodworking and that piece is a gem.  Thanks for sharing!


Best regards,  Jeff

[sluckey]

There is a story behind my subject line. The first time I heard the phrase "Those damn bowls!" was back in the late '80s. Almost cost me a marriage. My obsession with bowl turning became a major factor in my decision to close down the wood shop and spend more time with Carol. We survived and 35 years later we can call them those damn bowls and laugh about it.

[Platefire]

Bowl looks great. Did you ask Alexa her thoughts?

[sluckey]

Bowl looks great. Did you ask Alexa her thoughts?

Huh???   

[Platefire]

I thought that was an Alexa on the table by the bowl. Every time I ask our Alexa a question she says "I'm not sure"

[shooter]

Every time I ask our Alexa a question she says "I'm not sure"

oh, she's sure, she just doesn't want to tell you


my kid has one, when i'd visit over the winter months and the family was out n about i'd wrap it in tinfoil. usually took a couple hours before they found her all snug.  couple times i'd duck tape it to the Rumba and set it free

[sluckey]

I thought that was an Alexa on the table by the bowl.

  Haha! Now it makes sense. What you see is a Tozo wireless charging pad for my cell phone.

My cheap echo dot is on the headboard right next to my pillow. I want Alexa to clearly understand when I tell her, "Alexa, turn on the coffee".

[66Strat]

Beautiful bowl. What species of wood is that? Have you worked with burl walnut? Some of the area craftsmen harvest walnut stumps for turning material.

[sluckey]

That bowl is mahogany. I've never turned any big pieces of walnut. 2" thick is all I've ever had. Turned a few handles and candle stick holders, but no bowls. I've seen some beautiful burl turnings on YouTube.

[shooter]

so during your learn'n curve years, did you ever launch a tool?
I took 4 years of woodshop in H.S. to "off-set" all the AP classes, caught a pointing tool in the jaw... ONCE.

[sluckey]

Never launched a tool but I launched a few spindles and have had chunks to go flying. That kind of stuff happens to the best of turners. Been wearing a face shield ever since.

[sluckey]

I added another bowl to the collection...


...and a couple small stash boxes...

[shooter]

kinda weird, 2 button fob, 3 keys, 'ol timer n keepsake

[sluckey]

Let me guess... Got your first squirrel with the brass and skinned it with the Old Timer.   

[shooter]

 
the 30-30 round woulda skinned him, no knife required, no meat left.

[sluckey]

The Case in the bowl belonged to my Dad. It was in his pants pocket the night he died. It's been under my computer monitor ever since. Carol picked up those acorns while walking our dog Molly at a rest stop on I65 southbound just south of Evergreen. We were almost home from a Franklin, NC trip. I like to keep simple little things like that just to remind me of good times and special people.

[shooter]

....the 3030 is from a volley salute at our local National cemetery, Uncles funeral, said he'd rather be with his drinking buddies than his wife's family.
the 2 button fob, from Dads 'ol Dodge he passed me before he passed.  scooped up each day, since all the building locks are open with one of the keys, always using the truck to pull this, haul that....
the 'ol timer is a replacement for the one dad gave me, yes, to skin small animals, age 10.


I believe most of us here at Doug's place walk the same paths of life through different woods.

[sluckey]

I believe most of us here at Doug's place walk the same paths of life through different woods.

Yep. Lots of country boys. Makes you feel right at home.

[sluckey]

I turned an Eastern Red Cedar bowl today. Web page has more pics...

[shooter]

like your bowl chuck used to finish the bottom. 
the east makes some nice wood.  I used eastern Cedar planking in my new camper, 'bout watered the eyes when it 1st went in, after a year it's a nice mellow odor.

[sluckey]

There was a time when it was popular to line a closet with red cedar. My brother used rough cut cedar for all the walls in his living room. Looked and smelled good but after a few years the oils in the cedar will seal in the smell and you no longer notice it. I love the smell of a finished product, but it really stings my eyes and nose while working with it.

[PRR]

I did a whole (tobacco contaminated) room in cedar, but those days it came from Missouri.

I can steal cedar from next door but it's all rot inside.

[shooter]

my electronic/computer room never got "upgraded" from slat board n plaster, the ceiling was starting to delaminate.  Lowes musta had an overstock sale, got non aromatic cedar 1X12x4' for 1/2 cost of #2 pine. nail gunned them on the ceiling 10 years ago, no plaster dropping on the equipment any more 

[tubenit]

That Cedar bowl really turned out great!  Thanks for sharing the photo.  Superb work.   


Jeff

[sluckey]

Today I made a companion plate for the cedar bowl...

[acheld]

That's just gorgeous!

[sluckey]

I made a little Christmas gift from the lamp scraps. Take a look on my website to see the finished project.

     http://sluckeyamps.com/bowls/bowls.htm



     

[shooter]

Well done!
40 years ago it might have been obsessive, now it's simply 'ol people doing what they love.

[PRR]

TIL: "Cole Jaws". New to me! (I haven't seriously worked a lathe since LBJ quit.)

"Cole Jaws are named after Trevor Cole, one of Teknatool’s mainstay demonstrators. Trevor and our design engineers worked together ......., the final design was released in 1989." --In New Zealand.
https://www.facebook.com/NOVAWoodworking/videos/nova-chuck-accessory-standard-cole-jaw/10157079083332119/
https://www.teknatool.com/about/company-product-time-line/

[sluckey]

Oh, by the way, not just bowls. I do turn other stuff too...



Like this mahogany mirror and oak hall tree. Both have seen a lot of use and are still holding up well. I had to unload the hall tree to take this pic.   

[sluckey]

TIL: "Cole Jaws". New to me! (I haven't seriously worked a lathe since LBJ quit.)

There are other ways to clean up the bottom of a bowl, but the Cole jaws has been a game changer for many turners. I just learned about them a couple months ago. All my '80s bowls have distinct screw holes from being mounted on a faceplate. There are ways to hide the holes but they are still there.

[shooter]

There are ways to hide the holes but they are still there.

in shop class we filled with glue/sawdust mix, smeared white glue on the bottom then flocked, being teens n stoners, we had more than a few flock gun wars...

[RadioComm]

Ahhh man! You are such an artist Sluckey. They are beautiful!

[sluckey]

These past two weeks I've been giving the ShopSmith a makeover. Paint job, wheels that roll, and shiny tubes. Looking sharp now. Here's before and after pics...

[shooter]

last night i told myself, it's time to rebuild the 10" planer, and you show up today with the gold standard of "how it's done"  ^^^^

[sluckey]

A Christmas bowl with eastern red cedar...

     https://sluckeyamps.com/bowls/bowls.htm#Christmas_Cedar_Bowl

[sluckey]

A 12 inch mahogany platter just in time for Christmas goodies!

[jjasilli]

 

[sluckey]

Fail? Maybe not...



Saved! I sanded the bottom of the top part flat and turned the base into a lid to create this small box. I know what went wrong with the goblet and will try again.

[sluckey]

While digging through my wood pile stash last week I came across a nice 4x8 crotch mahogany post that was left over from my first lamp project. So I  cut a 4x8x8 chunk and decided to try my hand at a pedestal bowl. This crotch was harder to turn than I remembered but still turned out OK. You can find a few more pics here...

[shooter]

turning knots n curly grain IS a tricky business, the rewards in Beauty are worth the effort.

this piece came from a 100 silver maple, Ice took the limb, this is a piece from the shoulder (~28" diameter).  been air drying a year now, hope to get it "presentable" this summer.


working the "junctions" in lumber is more trial by fire than by the book.

[sluckey]

That curly maple would be tough on a lathe! Need heavy lathe, sharp tools, and experienced hands. Do you have plans for it? Sometimes you have to let the wood tell you what it wants to be.

[shooter]

let the wood tell you what it wants to be.

back when I tried wood sculpting, that's what the good one's told me "remove what not supposed to be there"
I just wound up with a stick n lots of sawdust 


it's already "there", it already said "leave me alone you can't improve it", "DON'T STAIN just clearcoat".  just need to square the bottom, work the "sharp" edges n loose bits, basically sand, more sand, sand more later, sand... 


probably displayed a a table center piece

[sluckey]

You would find a Sand-O-Flex (or some of it's cheaper relatives) handy for that job. Also, Howard Feed-N-Wax would be an excellent choice for finish. Very easy to use. Wipe it on and 20 minutes later buff. Brings out the beauty and gives the wood a soft/silky feel that just begs to be touched. A lot of woodturners (including me) are using it these days.

[sluckey]

I just finished another lidded bowl today. This 6" cedar bowl may be a bit gawdy looking but I had fun making it. I've also switched over to a friction polish made with equal parts shellac, boiled linseed oil, and denatured alcohol. Super easy to apply while still on the lathe. Wipe on, wait a minute, turn the lathe on and polish with a paper towel. The friction from the turning lathe and firm hand pressure makes it work. You are doing it right when your fingers get warm! Three coats only took 15 minutes and that includes drinking an Ice House. It's not as durable as wipe-on poly but does not require several days to finish either. I'm pleased.

[sluckey]

Finally got the time to try take 2 on the goblet. Everything went well until the final cut. I was so happy that everything was going as planned. But, I got a bit overconfident and a little heavy handed, and while cutting the base a 1/4" chunk blew off! Damn! I knew this wood was brittle and required a light touch!  Spent another 5 minutes salvaging that. Now the base has a smaller diameter and slightly different shape than I had planned. Nevertheless, I'll keep it.