What does the bottom look like?

[Mike Davis]

I have been told I need to do my bowls a little differently.

But, I haven't seen many wood bowls and so I'm not sure what people do to the bottom. After it is all done and you put it back on the lathe what do you do to the bottom to make it more finished looking?

I have been leaving the recess, but I've been told that is not very professional.

Not that anything else I do is correct or professional, just curious what he meant. :dontknow:

 

[TedAS]

Here is one of mine.


I don't do them all the same. Look at the bottom of some bowls in the kitchen for some ideas.

 

[boxxmaker]

You can look at 10 different turners work and get as many different ideas.I used to leave a foot on all mine,but then started leaving a recess,depending on the piece,I may leave a foot or a recess,but even if I leave a foot I still cut a recess.But all being said,I believe that most use the recess .

 

[DavidF]

Most of my bowls are chucked with a DT recess, these I leave in place and sign them in the recess along with the wood species. For the smaller stuff where I have chucked using a tenon then that obviously has to come off. I under cut the base very slightly so that it doesn't wobble as the bowl changes shape slightly over time. If I had a large set of cole jaws that I could reliably hold a bowl rim then I might re chuck and remove the recess, but a lot of mine have a curved in rim that is almost impossible to hold in a chuck so I couldn't do that anyway. Bottom line - I don't mind the chuck recess at all as long as it was made neatly. I also put a few circular cuts in side to make a "feature" of it and then I write between the lines.

 

[Dragon]

Hey Mike, here's an idea for ya. It's your bowl and you can make it any way you like it. It's made by hand, by a dedicated craftsman, who enjoys what he's doing. Now, if you ever decide to market them to ACME Bowl and Spoon, then I'd say ask them how they want them made.

Now before I get all kinds of hatemail and talk of sticking me in a lathe and see how I turn out, I realize that we all strive for the best we can do and we want things to look "professional" if we can. Who's to define professional? "I" personally have never set my hand to turning anything on a lathe so "anybody's" lathe work is professional to me. Be happy with what you do and strive for the best in all that you do. What more can a man ask?

 

[Mike Davis]

Here's what I usually do. I just thought I could make it better...

 

[Dragon]

Looks pretty danged "professional" to me.:icon_thum

 

[sawduster]

Hey Mike, here's an idea for ya. It's your bowl and you can make it any way you like it. It's made by hand, by a dedicated craftsman, who enjoys what he's doing. Now, if you ever decide to market them to ACME Bowl and Spoon, then I'd say ask them how they want them made.

Now before I get all kinds of hatemail and talk of sticking me in a lathe and see how I turn out, I realize that we all strive for the best we can do and we want things to look "professional" if we can. Who's to define professional? "I" personally have never set my hand to turning anything on a lathe so "anybody's" lathe work is professional to me. Be happy with what you do and strive for the best in all that you do. What more can a man ask?

Dood .......you want to buy some "professional" bowls ? I have several in the burn bucket and I'll make you a great deal :rotflm:

Mike , you already do more than I can with the bottom . I'm happy enough to get the outside shape decent , the inside hollowed out to a reasonable thickness and a finish with a minimum of scratches . :eusa_doh:To me, the bottom is the bottom. If it is level then I have done my job :gar-Bi

 

[Dragon]

Dood .......you want to buy some "professional" bowls ? I have several in the burn bucket and I'll make you a great deal :rotflm:

Hey, sounds like a plan. Tell whut I'm a-gonna do. I've got a whole bunch of bowl blanks that ain't been "professionalized" yet and I'll give ya first run at 'em. Jes bring yer money and tote off all ya want. How's that fer a deal????:rotflm::rolf::gar-La;:rotflm:

Yeah, I know what ya mean about the burn bucket. My burn "bucket" is a big ole hole in the ground and it chock full of stuff right now that I can't get to burn 'cuz this danged weather has been keeping me and the fire sitting on our butts.

 

[ScottM]

When Rob and I attend the big turning symposium last fall a lot of the bowls had finish bottoms. I mean unique designs (rings, ridges, chatter marks, etc) where the foot would be. Call it style. Call it fashion. Whatever.

 

[DaveO]

I've been told that you should finish the bottom of a bowl so no one will be able to tell how it was held on the lathe. I generally pick-up a hand turned bowl and flip it over to see the bottom.
On bowls that are too large for my cole-jaws I leave the recess, but try to hide it with a small foot detail -

Smaller bowls that I can reverse I like to take off the recess and leave a clean concave -

And sometimes I do a decorative hole just to add interest -

:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;


Dave

 

[NCTurner]

Here are a few of mine. I turn most eveything off. A tool that is easy to make that will help you do this is a doughnut chuck.

 

[FredP]

And sometimes I do a decorative hole just to add interest -

:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;


Dave[/QUOTE]


I've done that design on a few occasions,:gar-Bi it's a simple design and I recommend it highly....:rotflm:

 

[Trent Mason]

As a grasshoppa of DaveO's on bowl turning, it would really depend on the shape of the bowl. Right now I don't have anything that I could use to turn the recess off of the bottom, but if I did, I'd use in on a very natural shaped bowl. If the shape mimics the cereal bowl in the cabinet, I'd leave the recess, but on a beautiful, "natural" looking bowl, I'd like to leave without a trace. :icon_thum

 

[SGalley]

Here's what I usually do. I just thought I could make it better...

Maybe a decorative edge with a router? I'm on pian killers, so I'll probably think that's a stupid idea tomorrow:gar-La;

 

[FredP]

As a grasshoppa of DaveO's on bowl turning, it would really depend on the shape of the bowl. Right now I don't have anything that I could use to turn the recess off of the bottom, but if I did, I'd use in on a very natural shaped bowl. If the shape mimics the cereal bowl in the cabinet, I'd leave the recess, but on a beautiful, "natural" looking bowl, I'd like to leave without a trace. :icon_thum

when I am leaving the bottom as it is I use a recess and cut a design in it to set it off. when I want the bottom flat I use a tenon and either turn it off or cut the tenon off and sand the bottom.:icon_thum

 

[sawduster]

And sometimes I do a decorative hole just to add interest -

:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;:gar-La;


Dave

I've done that design on a few occasions,:gar-Bi it's a simple design and I recommend it highly....:rotflm:[/QUOTE]

Hey ! I've done a couple of those also ! :BangHead: Does this put me in the ranks with DaveO and FredP ? :nah:

Thanx for all the pictures guys :icon_thum I may actually try to do somethin a little classier now :eusa_danc

 

[Larry Rose]

Mike, They look just fine to me. I would settle for mine to be that good.

 

[gritz]

I am a firm believer in the adage that your finished bowl should not reveal the process used to create it.

Presently I reverse the finished bowl on the headstock and use a turned billet with paper towels or a foam rubber pad to cushion the light pressure of the tailstock. Centering is sometimes frustrating, but usually they turn out OK. I did have a burnish mark on one I did before Christmas, but I polished it out.

I have a vacuum pump which I will be installing on the new lath when I get it set up. Then I will also get an tapered adapter for the tailstock so I can just reverse the chuck and perfectly center the piece.