bowl turning: what are the best tools?
twotowers
| Posted in Turning and Carving on
Hi all,
I have been turning on a small spindle lathe for a few years and just upgraded to a medium large lathe capable of turning bowls.
Turning spindles and pulls I got away with some marginal turning tools.
I have a quality bowl gouge and and a large rough gouge. But the rest of the tools are crap.
What are the five tools you would recommend I add to what I have…
Jim
Replies
Here's a link to my favorite bowl scraper. Worth every penny when turning bowls.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=408
Jim,
You know not to use the roughing gouge on bowls, right?
Besides a 1/2" bowl gouge, the tools I get the most use from are (in no particular order):
1) 3/8" spindle gouge for shaping the foot
2) Oneway chuck - Oneway's design of jaws are the best in my opinion
3) Layout template http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Measuring___Layout___Layout_Template___layout_template?Args=
Happy turning!
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
I checked out your web site and I am jealous of the wood you have collected!! Nice burl log,fabulous slabs and the rest Wow. Your making some excellent pieces. Great turnings.Managed to catch the edge of the bowl with the rough gouge and took an inch square of wood off a nearly done bowl. I guess it is still safe to use on the outside and for flattening the center of the bottom of a bowl.Still ticked I screwed up a good looking bowl!Best,
Jim
Jim,
Yes, I am fortunate to have a good supply of wood. I think that one of the best things that has happened to me was to meet Dave, my wood supplier. Prior to that, I was unaware of anything other than what the local lumberyards supplied - in species, size, and quality.
I wouldn't feel safe using the roughing gouge on any part of the inside of the bowl (maybe if I ground the wings back). The bowl gouge is the fastest tool I have for working on the outside, so natuarally it's the tool of choice. Sometimes, if I have a badly out-of-round blank on the lathe, I'll engage the tailstock and use the roughing gouge. But other than that, the roughing gouge is idle.
The other thing I've learned is that once you turn the rim, don't go back. Only bad things will happen!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris.. Nice web pages! Did you design them?
Three years out of High School!... Dang.. I had another year to go in the US Army then. Old tank Mechanic. Metal working I like the best, but I have not done any for years.. Gave most of my metal working tools to my 'X' son-in-law.. Big mistake!Big mistake!Big mistake!
I thought you were an Old Timer! LOL AT ME....
If you do not mind.. Where are you located? You DO NOT have to answer. Just curious? Bamboo in the background? Some hint?
Will,
Yes, I designed the webpage. The spaces.live.com thing is a free hosting site for Windows Messenger (hotmail). They make it really easy to do, though there are more restrictions. For example, I had a choice of about a dozen backgrounds. The bamboo was the only wood-related background, so the choice was obvious.
I am a woodworker first, but do enjoy metal working to a degree. I am not a welder by any means (it's quite a skill to arc weld!), but I have learned much about metalworking through woodworking. Working with blades, cutters, different steels and such. I have also forged some hardware. I would really like to do more metal work, but that requires more machines which I don't have the space for. Someday...
If you read on (at the bottom of the first page is a link to a second), you'll find more about me. My very first entry will be of interest to you.
From Port Moody, BC,Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
So I gotta ask who is your wood supplier? does he run a saw mill, a portable mill, local tree trimmer or someone working for the town?You perked my interest as that selection of wood is woodinful!Jim
He's a guy with a truck, a big chainsaw with a bigger bar, and an even bigger trailer. He uses a modified (lengthened) Alaskan mill to slab wood. Milling wood is his hobby, so to speak. It's an aside from his day job. He basically mills to the specs I provide. It works out well between us, because barter - I provide the finished woodwork and he provides me with all the lumber I can take. Also, I have lots of room to store it (okay, not so much anymore!).Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Hay Chris,Originally I asked what were the three best tools for turning, you answered it!!Your Quote"
1. a guy with a truck,
2. a big chainsaw with a bigger bar,
3. and an even bigger trailer"I should have figured it out! God bless the novices do need advice!!Best Jim
Chris;
This is a question from an old post in which you said not to use gouges on bowl turning.I have a 2 inch rough gouge and have been using it to form the out side of the bowl and because of the size of the gouge have used it to clean up the bottom of the inside of the center of the bowl.I don't understand why it is not appropriate to use. It seems totally safe.
Best
Jim
Jim,
First of all, let me clarify my statement. I recommended against not using ROUGHING gouges on bowls. This is something which I believe is generally believed among bowl turners. I have not tried as I find that the bowl gouge is plenty fast. I believe that it has something to do with the grain orientation. When bowl turning, the grain usually runs perpendicular to the axis of the lathe, so the chance of the tool digging in is much higher than when spindle turning, where the grain runs roughly parallel to the axis of the lathe.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Jim:
I'll jump in here w/ my two cents. Although the business end of a roughing gouge looks massive, the tang that holds it in the handle is relatively small. This creates the very real (and frightening) possibility of snapping the tang with a bad catch. A bowl gouge is the same diamether steel all the way down into the handle and is much more robust.
By the way, a great source for quality turning tools at a reasonable price is Thompson Lathe Tools.
Dennis
Dennis,
Good point - I'd never thought of that. I think that the profile of the cutting edge also has something to do with it. Roughing gouges are normally sharpened with "square" wings, whereas bowl gouges usually have swept back wings - a fingernail grind.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
As Flair says 1/2 " 1/4" bowl gouge and a heavy scraper at least 5/16 thick I prefer 1/2"thick.DO NOT use a roughing gouge inside or outside a bowl or you will have even bigger disasters
Jako;What kind of scraper? What kind of profile are the most important.On the bowl gouge do use a "U" shape or a "V" shape?OK on the roughing gouge!Best,
Jim
Two scrapers I use are Robert Sorby 8007and 8008 You may also want to move on to a shear scraper.Gouges are u shaped.I tend to grind a fingernail profile on them but change the tip angle to suit the specific bowl shape.Remember that with turning tools, especially scrapers, one grinds them to suit the job in hand .
Jako;I got this description on the scrapers you use:Robert Sorby Extra Heavy Duty ScrapersMassive in section, these were designed to reduce vibration and be stable in use. Because of their shear bulk (overall length between 21 1/2" and 22 1/2") these scrapers can be used with a large overhang from the tool rest. Excellent for large bowl work, platters and deep hollowing. All blades 1 1/2" by 3/8" section. Those are big chuncks of metal! Do they work well on say 8 to 14 inch bowls?
Jim
Hi Jim
Yes they do I use them on thin wall stuff 1/8" and as long as it will fit inside safely go for it .Also there is tons of metal there to custom grind to any other shape you need. The attched pic is 8" dia 3" base and 1/8 wall. Have fun turning, Jako
Jako,
God that is gorgeous, I didn't read the post yet - just saw the photo.
I will read the post next. Damn that is gorgeous!
Best,
Jim
Jako,
thanks for the note....damn I hope I can turn something like that!! I wonder if I can!
Best,
Jim
You can: Practice , practice, practice, thats all it takes. Plenty of failures along the way and a few close calls.Wear a face mask if you are going thin wall
Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.glaserhitec.com/
Also, get Richard Raffen’s video on bowl turning, or any of his stuff, it’s great.
Napie really nice work.
Laved the cherry wood bowls, heck it is hard to beat cherry!Spice boxes were very interesting.
I think I will try one of your desighns and scorch the out side with a propane flame to give it an interesting black texture on the out side and a warm wood look on the inside. I have just started to use this scorching process and it is quite interesting.
Best,
Jim
The only tool i use is the Ellsworth bowl gouge. With practice you do all cuts ruffing to finish. Generally I am able to start sanding with 320 grit paper. Craft Supplies or Packard Woodworks can supply the gouge and the video showing how to make the various cuts. Good luck.
Jim;
I have an Elsworth Bowl Gouge. I am on my third bowl so I have little experience other than having learned how to properly sharpen the gouge.Let me ask a question. I tried tonight to turn a 3 1/2" inside diameter with the Elsworth. It was useless (given my skills) The tool danced all over, wrecking the bowl edge.Any suggestions on smaller interior turnings?Best,
Jim
I have turned things of that diameter with no problem. Do you have the video showing the different uses?
Jim;
No I don't. I found the tool great when working on a bowl of say 12 inch diameter and absolute hell when trying to turn something about twice the width of a Pepper Mill. I was surprised that you said that it was not a problem. Any recommendations on what I should look at on small turnings with that tool?Thanks & regards,
Jim
When I bought the tool a couple years ago I also purchased the video with it. I am sure you could buy it from Packard woodworks or from David Ellsworth it is quite helpful. Before that I largely used scrapers since then I rarely use them.
Two Towers,
What tools should you use to make bowls.
Use the ones that I do. I don't own a lathe because it is too limiting. Most lathe stuff is round. I like different shapes as much as round. So I make lots of bowls, and I use an angle grinder with a 4" diameter chainsaw blade followed by three carving disks on the angle grinder. These have tungsten carbide grit which doesn't wear out (coarse, medium, fine). Then I either finish with a power sander, or with my carving gouges.
I use green wood, so I have the same need to dry my bowls that you do. I do round, square, oval, heart shaped, etc. I like to do Swedish style bowls.
You can find all of the supplies for power carving bowls the way I do, by looking at King Arthur's Tools website
http://www.katools.com
If you have any questions, let me know. I am not urging you to leave your lathe, but just giving you some ideas, should you ever have a craving for bowls that are not round.
Have fun.
Thanks for asking.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
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