Hollowing out a bowl

[DaveO]

What do y'all think is the best way to hollow out a face grain bowl. From the inside out or outside in. If it makes any difference the bowl that I am going to start hollowing is Ambrosia Maple 8" dia and hopefully going to be about 3½" deep. I have a fingernail grind ½" bowl gouge and ½" scraper that I will be tackling it with.
Thanks for the advice, in advance.

Dave

 

[jeff...]

A big honkin drill bit :lol:

 

[DaveO]

Thanks jeff... :slap: I hope to learn some good technique so I can do justice to the Am. Elm blanks I am getting from you :-D

Dave

 

[jeff...]

You going to make some bowls out of those 8x8's, Dave?

 

[tom hintz]

I have always worked from the outside in though have tried it either way. I just feel like I have more control over the sides and the transition from the sides to the bottom when working from the outside. Establish the cut, go down the side and roll the chisel to make the transition to the bottom and go across.
The other thing is that when I make cleanup passes after shaping the ingerior, I generally use my termite from Oneway and with that, i start at the middle and cut outwards as it is easier to control in that direction with the tool at a steep angle.

 

[cskipper]

I've only tried outside in for the interior of the bowl, using a 3/8" fingernail bowl gouge. I haven't tried what some have suggested - drilling out some in the middle first - just because I haven't turned a block of wood since the suggestion was made.

 

[Big Mike]

Dave, you should use the technique on the inside of a bowl that takes your tool from the larger diameter to the smaller diameter; i.e. from the rim to the center. You can use a drill bit to establish your depth. By drilling a hole that bottoms out slightly above the desired depth you wish to achieve you have an indicator that will help you not turn through the bottom of your bowl and create a funnel.

The proper technique is to start with the bowl gouge cutting somewhere near the center and make cuts in and down. Each subsequent pass should take you closer to the outside and deeper toward the bottom. Establish your rim thickness early as more and more of the inside is removed the bowl will tend to flex and it will become harder to get a clean cut without vibration.

The scraper can be used to remove ridges and grooves from less than perfect gouge technique. Keep the scraper sharp and use a shear scraping technique which is where the scraper is used slightly on an angle and is "skewed" across the surface rather than dragged flatly. A 1/2" scraper is a little small for scraping the interior of a bowl but use what you have.

Try to achieve smooth, fair continuous curves on the outside and inside. Beginning bowl turners have a tendency to turn bowls with flat bottoms and "corners" at the bottom rather than the sweeping curves typical of a bowl.

Practice makes perfect. Enjoy the journey!

 

[DaveO]

You going to make some bowls out of those 8x8's, Dave?

For some reason I thought that they were 16/4 8" wide :eusa_doh:Any chance that you could rip one of them down to around 4" thick for me :eusa_pray:eusa_pray I don't think that I have the skills to turn an 8" deep bowl, nor large enough tools or lathe. If not, I am sure that I could find someone with a larger BS than me and rip it on that, or use this as an excuse to get the riser block for my 14" BS and a assortment of new blades. :-D

Dave

 

[jeff...]

Dave for you, I will slice on of them in half as soon as the mill gets freed up.

Thanks

 

[DaveO]

Thanks jeff... I will gladly pay you extra for your time :icon_thum

Dave

 

[jeff...]

Thanks jeff... I will gladly pay you extra for your time :icon_thum

Dave

No need to, but now you have me wondering, what your going to turn with 2 peices of 4x8

 

[gsdoby]

In very, very, very, limited experience(just tried 3 or 4 myself) I have gone from outside in. Just a question, Is inside out used if doing end grain and having drilled out a hole to begin with?

 

[michaelgarner]

DaveO,, Once agian I have no clue to helping you! But I would like to see it when you get done. Be blessed bro.

 

[DaveO]

Jeff... I will cut those long sticks down into 8x8x4" bowl blanks. Rough turn them green and set them aside to dry, then finish turning them to the final bowl shape...or at least that is my plan. I've never turned green before, so y'all will be hearing about my trials and tribulations, and probably a few questions.

Dave

 

[DavidF]

Jeff... I will cut those long sticks down into 8x8x4" bowl blanks. Rough turn them green and set them aside to dry, then finish turning them to the final bowl shape...or at least that is my plan. I've never turned green before, so y'all will be hearing about my trials and tribulations, and probably a few questions.

Dave

I have heard that some interesting effects can be acheived by turning green wood and then drying it in the micro wave in 1 min bursts - some odd shapes are produced as the bowl rim distorts as it dries.

 

[NZAPP1]

Jeff... I will cut those long sticks down into 8x8x4" bowl blanks. Rough turn them green and set them aside to dry, then finish turning them to the final bowl shape...or at least that is my plan. I've never turned green before, so y'all will be hearing about my trials and tribulations, and probably a few questions.

Dave

That is what I was planning to do also. So count me in on the cutting to 8x8x4 if possible or I will go get a riser block for my BS. I also will cover the extra cost. Thanks Guys
Nick

 

[NZAPP1]

Dave
I have always drilled a starter hole and worked from the inside out. My.02 on the few that I have turned. :rolf: Nick

 

[jeff...]

That is what I was planning to do also. So count me in on the cutting to 8x8x4 if possible or I will go get a riser block for my BS. I also will cover the extra cost. Thanks Guys
Nick

I'll gladly slice the 8x8's in half, no charge - it only takes a few mins. But I'm still wanting to see what you guys are going to make out of them. Please post pics, because I'm real interested whatever you two make and what it will it looks like. I think sharp tools will be in order, this stuff is freaking rock hard and heavy too. Just to get my cant hook seated in the log, I had to beat it in with a sledge hammer, first time I ever had to do that.

 

[Big Mike]

Dave, and others turning green wood for the first time. I have attached a link to an article for using denatured alcohol to dry green rough turned bowls by the developer Dave Smith.. I have been using this method for more than a year and I have had no failures. It really works.

I highly recommend it. Denatured alcohol is expensive $10+ a gallon but you can dry a lot of bowls. All you need is the alcohol and a 5 gallon bucket with a snug fitting lid for the bowls sizes you are talking about.

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_473.shtml

Here is a pictorial article describing the same process.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=34370

About all I can say is try it you'll like it!

 

[NZAPP1]

Thanks Big Mike
I was going to try this process with these blanks as this will be the first time turning green wood. Thanks for the links I sure that it would have taken some time to find where I saved them. :icon_thum Nick