Wood for Blanks

I looked around out back and found a nice Douglas Fir (DF) 2×4 scrap that I could use for bowls. The top piece in photo.

I also found some Spruce 2×4 scraps that I could use for glue blocks. Bottom pieces in photo.

Tip: Douglas Fir is one of the harder soft woods that you can purchase from local store. It is harder than Spruce or Pine. Thus it is easier to cut cleanly with a bowl gouge. Thus less sanding. Thus a good choice! It often has nice strong grain lines that make attractive pieces.

Note: Here I can use a softwood glue block, because my blank is softwood. Normally, I recommend using hardwood (Poplar, Maple, Cherry, etc) for glue blocks.

Cut Your Blanks

Here I have cut out my blanks. My DF 2×4 was 3.5" wide by 1.5" tall. I cut my DF blanks 3.75" long to making centering easier (less fussy).

I cut my Spruce 2x4s into 3" x 3" blocks that are 1-1/2" tall. You really want the blocks to be 1-1/2" tall, to make your life easier. See latter photos. Only 3" to make gluing easier.

Use Yellow Wood Glue!

Use any Yellow or White Wood Glue. In photo, I have spread a LIBERAL coat of glue with a plastic scrap.

When I put the blocks together I use an old trick. I rub the blocks around until the glue sets up a little. Then position them. I don't need to fuss with clamps.

I wait overnight for the glue to fully cure.

NO SUPER GLUE Super glue does not work well for glue blocks. If you just spread it on and then spray with accelerator around the outside it does not work! The accelerator only goes in like a 1/2" inch. After that the glue stays wet. Sooner or latter the block breaks off. Some times you can get away with using super glue if you spread it on one half, then spray accelerator on the other half. Then stick the half's together while praying they line up correctly. Because, the glue is going to set up instantly.

Cut a Tenon

Here I have cut a tenon on the bottom of my glue block. The tenon is roughly 1/4" deep with a 1/4" wide flange for the front of my chuck jaws to land on.

I turned the glue block down to 3".

I just jammed the bowl blank up against the chuck. It is being held there by pressure from the tailstock. The block is not attached to the chuck.

Use a bowl gouge and/or parting tool to cut the tenon like they say in the magazine article.

Cut the Inside (Yea, Inside First)

Here I have mounted the piece in the chuck via the tenon I cut in previous step. Then I made the blank round with my 1/2" bowl gouge. Like they show in magazine article.

Then I have started to cut the inside shape with my 1/2" bowl goug

I turn the inside of my bowls first! Latter, I turn the outside to match the inside. This is EASIER! Less mental stress!

Turning on the inside of a bowl is always a LOT HARDER than turning on the outside. On the inside you have to swing the tool handle a lot more thru a long arc while reaching out over the lathe bed. Doing this when the bowl walls are getting thin, because you already turned the outside is a receipt for disaster! The walls flex, etc. It's just all wrong. You should turn the inside first. Get the hard part over, early, while the bowl walls are still thick and therefore forgiving.

1/2″ Bowl Gouge with a Double Bevel

This is a small bowl. But, I still use my standard full size set of tools. A 1/2" bowl gouge, a 1/2" detail gouge and a 1/8" parting tool.

Going to a smaller bowl gouge because we are turning a small bowl is a NOT a good idea! Smaller tools (like a 3/8" bowl gouge) flex to much because the tool shank is less than 1/2".

The best solution for small bowls is a 1/2" bowl gouge with a double bevel. The second bevel cuts the heel off of the gouge. So the primary bevel is smaller and thus can turn faster inside of a small bowl. Like my bowl gouge in photo. There are also, some good photos of double bevel bowl gouge in magazine article.

I create the second bevel by extending the tip of the gouge an extra 1" beyond the end of my sharpening jig after sharpening the primary bevel. i.e. if primary bevel is created with tip sticking 2" out of sharpening jig, then secondary bevel is 3" sticking out.

Note: In this photo you can also see a lot of cracks in my blank. This blank is really small, so I decided to take a chance. Turn away the cracks. I was stupid, really stupid. I brought a nice DF 2×4 in from my shed out back. My damp shed! I then cut it into blanks. Glued on some glue blocks. Then I put the blocks in my furnace room while the glue dried overnight. The damp wood dried out and cracked! Err… what an idiot! Will I never learn. Fortunately, the cracks did not go to deep.

Inside of Bowl

Here is the inside of my bowl, nice and clean. Finally pass was with a nice freshly sharpened bowl gouge. See previous photo. I took several final passes. Each pass removed just a little wood at a time (like 1/8" or even 1/16" of inch) so I did not create a lot of torn grain that needs to be sanded out. I also just floated along on the bevel, rather than pushing in hard.

I decided to go with a shallow roman ogee bowl shape. Rather than a deep cereal bowl shape, like in magazine. The ogee shape is easier and more elegant in my not so humble opinion. See photo of finished bowl above.

Turn Thru the Glue Block

Here I am roughing out the outside shape of the bowl. I cut thru the glue block AS NEEDED to make room to work.

I am still using my 1/2" bowl gouge.

I used a 1-1/2" tall glue block to give me room to work here on the chuck side of the bowl. It will also give me room to part off latter.

The Golf Ball Trick

Here I have inserted a golf ball wrapper in a paper towel for padding on the tailstock side. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the golf ball so it just slips over the threads on the live center.

The golf ball supports the walls on the bowl. It allows me to make the walls 1/8" thick with out a lot of vibration. This is another good reason why you should cut the inside of the bowl first, rather than the outside.

The bowl shape is coming along nicely. I have left room on the bottom for a foot, that I am starting to form.

Thompson Gage’t

Here I am using my Keith Thompson Gage't to check the wall thickness.

Gage’t In Action

Here is a close up of the Gage't in action. To the right of the brass ball on the left you can see to gold bands and 1 black band showing between the brass ball and blue plastic. Each band is 1/16".

3 bands are showing. 3 times 1/16" is 3/16". Thus the wall thickness is 3/16" at about 3/4 of the way down the bowl. At the edge we can visually see the wall thickness is only 1/8". Thus the wall thickness is perfect, on course!

A Gage't is not cheap and in this small bowl you can just use your fingers. But, I really like the Gage't. In bigger bowls, I have found it to be a huge help to students. I often still use it, my self. I encourage all my students to get one. In the end you will spend a lot less money on screwed up bowl blanks.

Full Disclosure: Keith Thompson lives near me and is a friend. I don't get any kick backs from Keith. I had to pay full price for this Gage't.

Create Foot

Here I am creating the foot using my 1/2" double bevel detail gouge. To the right of the detail gouge in photo you can see I cut a nice clean tight junction between the foot and sides of bowl. The sharp point on detail gouge can easily do this. The round point on a bowl gouge can't get in there nice and tight.

I am also getting ready to part off. I have created space on left of detail gouge to part the bowl off. A nice 1-1/2" thick glue block gives me lots of room here.

Err………. Idiot!

Here, I decided to do something really stupid. Part of with the detail gouge. I knew there was a chance the sharp point on the detail gouge would catch and skate like a skew. And well, it did! I screwed it up good!

Part Off the Bowl

Here I am doing it right. I got my 1/8" wide parting tool and I am parting the bowl off.

A nice 1-1/2" thick glue block gives me lots of room here. I could cut the glue back some more, if I needed more space.

It looks like, I wasted 1/4" of my bowl blank height. I could have made my bowl 1/4" deeper. The next one will be better.

Remove Nib with Carving Gouge

Here I am removing the nib after parting off with a carving gouge.

Back To The Drawing Board

One of the great things about these small bowls is, you turn another one in no time. My second bowl is on the left. I refined the shape on this one a little more. More of an ogee shape. I used the extra 1/4" of depth to make a smaller foot. I really like this bowl. However, the ogee could be a little better.

Nutmeg Challenge History

From time, to time, our Nutmeg Woodturners Club in Brookfield CT, likes to have a “member challenge”. Where we challenge all the members to go home and make something. Then bring it to the next club meeting for show and tell. We give out a prize to encourage participation.

Participation is the name of the game! So there is no judging! We really want everyone to bring in something regardless of their skill level. Thus, the prize is awarded via random drawing. If you bring in something, anything, you get a ticket for the prize drawing.

Our club has done this once a year (or so) for a long time. It works good! We get lots of participation and it is fun to see what people create.

New people often don’t have access to hardwood. Thus, in the past our Nutmeg Woodturners Club has passed out wood to get the challenge started. “What can people make with a 10″ x 10″ x 2″ chunk of maple wood?”

The club purchases all the wood blanks in advance. Predicting how many blanks we need is a bit tricky, but in the end it all seem to work out. We hand out the blanks at a meeting. People pay $10 for a blank. At the next meeting you get $5 back if you bring back a finished piece. You are also get a ticket for a random prize drawing. The prize is something like a $100 Gift Certificate. Club dues fund the cost of the prize and part of the cost for the wood.

But, not this time. 2x4s are easy to obtain. Thus everyone has been asked to supply there own 2×4. See copy of email below.

Challenge Email

Here is the email I sent out to all Nutmeg Club members to get the challenge started.