Lathe and learn!

[bluchz]

I've heard walnut isn't easy to turn bit I thought I would try this piece that has been floating around the shop for 6 or 7 years. guess i should have switched back to the scraper when the skew chisel caught the first time oh well practice is fun.

 

[Mike Davis]

Consistent thickness...

 

[Gotcha6]

Part of the problem might have been the age of the wood. Most turners I know work with green blanks. At 6 or 7 years, that blank was probably pretty hard.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Looks like you have made a nice helmet.

 

[aplpickr]

Do not use a skew for turning bowls. You found out the exact reason why! I think the result would have been the same no matter what the wood.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Walnut has a tendency to have weak points due to wind shake. These are often delicate. I also prefer with a bowl to use a bowl gouge. A skew is great for spindle turning as long grain cuts well, however in bowl turning, you have both long gran and end grain. It appams you may have had a catch on the end grain section. A scraper works but he finish is generally not as smooth as a sharp bowl gouge. The easy finisher is a scraper but the carbide tools seem to leave a better finish than a conventional scraper.

 

[chris_goris]

do not use a skew for turning bowls. You found out the exact reason why! I think the result would have been the same no matter what the wood.

exactly!!!

 

[smallboat]

not sure what tools you used to get where you got, but if you did all that w/o a bowl gouge, I'm doubly impressed.
As Mike said above, consistent thickness.

One advantage of the bowl gouge at least in my newbie hands, it creates less tear out in the end grain sections.
I can never seem to achieve that with the scraper

Question- did you hear a change in the sound before this broke.
I always shut down when the sound changes.
If there's vibration something is wrong.
could be one of several things, but its worth checking.

 

[bluchz]

Ahh OK the break happened while trying to shape the outside of the bowl with a skew. The sound was changing but i was expecting some change as i was thinning the wall of the bowl.The inside/hollowing of the bowl was done with a bowl gouge, but mostly with a scraper. the bowl gouge seems to catch, lack of a technique that i hopefully will learn. Vibration, no. It was a quick catch, the second one. the first one should have been the warning i needed to stop and change technique.

 

[Mike Davis]

If the bowl gouge catches then you are not riding the bevel. Practice at very slow speed or even turning by hand with the bevel of the gouge completely on the surface then very gradually lift the handle until the edge starts to cut. Find this sweet spot and observe the cut several times then go back to reasonable speed and use the same motion.

If if the cutting edge is supported by the bevel you will not be able to make it catch.

 

[JGregJ]

As much as I want to master the skew for it's lovely finish, I still refer to it as the 'screw' chisel
Did finally break down and get some easy wood tools with the carbide cutters, and they really do make turning simpler.
Kinda like riding a bike with training wheels
They cut well but the finish is about just a little better than a scraper.

Not giving up on learning how to use them all properly - even the skew, figure that will come with time and practice.

 

[chris_goris]

As much as I want to master the skew for it's lovely finish, I still refer to it as the 'screw' chisel
Did finally break down and get some easy wood tools with the carbide cutters, and they really do make turning simpler.
Kinda like riding a bike with training wheels
They cut well but the finish is about just a little better than a scraper.

Not giving up on learning how to use them all properly - even the skew, figure that will come with time and practice.

A skew can be an intimidating tool to learn to use, but there is NOTHING that produces a finished surface like one. Properly done, you are finished, smoother than sanding.

 

[woodArtz]

Using a sharp bowl gouge with an Irish or Ellsworth grind, you can create a extremely clean finishing cut that requires very little sanding when done. Takes some practice, but safer and cleaner than any other option.