My research on the subject has led me to the conclusion that there are two schools of thought on the subject.
The first is to rough turn a green bowl leaving it thick about 1" and letting the roughed blank dry (many months) and then finish turning, truing up any warping that may have occurred. This method takes a lot of space and time.
The second is to turn and finish the bowl right away. By turning to a uniform thin wall, you remove the drying stresses that cause cracking. The bowl might deform slightly, but that is considered part of the uniqueness. This method take much less time (although more at one sitting to complete the turning in one session), and seems to me to have a higher level of failure, due to the difficulty of turning uniformly thin walls and bottom.
Then there is the various methods of securing the bowl blank to the lathe. Face plates, waste blocks, chucks, spur and live centers etc.
What I would like to know is: in your experience which is the best method to go with and why?
I am leaning towards the quick and daring method, because I am impatient and don't have the space to store a lot of of rough bowls to dry.
Of course also, there is the discussion on various methods to speed up the drying process of the rough blanks. Big Mike has suggested DNA, and I have read about Penacryl(sp?), microwaving, and tying the bowls to the bumper of your car to increase airflow:lol: :lol:
So I am looking for some.."I did this and it came out this way"...BTDT type info.
Thanks , Dave
The first is to rough turn a green bowl leaving it thick about 1" and letting the roughed blank dry (many months) and then finish turning, truing up any warping that may have occurred. This method takes a lot of space and time.
The second is to turn and finish the bowl right away. By turning to a uniform thin wall, you remove the drying stresses that cause cracking. The bowl might deform slightly, but that is considered part of the uniqueness. This method take much less time (although more at one sitting to complete the turning in one session), and seems to me to have a higher level of failure, due to the difficulty of turning uniformly thin walls and bottom.
Then there is the various methods of securing the bowl blank to the lathe. Face plates, waste blocks, chucks, spur and live centers etc.
What I would like to know is: in your experience which is the best method to go with and why?
I am leaning towards the quick and daring method, because I am impatient and don't have the space to store a lot of of rough bowls to dry.
Of course also, there is the discussion on various methods to speed up the drying process of the rough blanks. Big Mike has suggested DNA, and I have read about Penacryl(sp?), microwaving, and tying the bowls to the bumper of your car to increase airflow:lol: :lol:
So I am looking for some.."I did this and it came out this way"...BTDT type info.
Thanks , Dave