Blew out another bowl :(

Roger Tulk

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Location
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
I was turning another practice bowl in pine, and had shaped the outside and was well on my way to finishing the inside, when I went to shave off a little wood about 2/3 of the way to the rim, on the inside. I immediately got a catch, and quickly realized that I had blown away about half the side of the bowl. Now, this wasn't the first catch I had in this attempt, and I think it may have something to do with the way I am presenting my bowl gouge to the wood.

So, if I am starting to turn the inside of the bowl, how do I present my tool to the wood? Once I have hollowed out most of the bowl and want to make the walls a little thinner, do I present the tool the same way? Should I give up and take up knitting?

Thanks for any advice. Oh, this was a practice bowl again, so I am not upset about it, except that I want to get the technique right.
 
Roger,
Depending on how thick the walls were to start, it might be tough to make them a little thinner after you've already shaped the bowl. At that point. the sides of the bowl are thin enough to have developed some flex as it turns and you end up taking uneven amounts off the piece. Any pressure from the tool accelerates the flex, promoting a catch-- although I've had some luck shear scraping with sharp tools. As a general rule, after shaping the outside, try and establish final wall thickness at the rim and gradually work that thickness down the wall until the inside is fully shaped and avoid going back to the rim.
 
hard to 'diagnose' technique from a description... and y'all know I'm no expert. That being said, I can say that pointing the tip of the bowl gouge parallel to the outer wall when I start the swing on the inside works pretty well for me. Sometimes means the handle is way over yonder as the cut starts, but once the cut gets going and riding the bevel you just follow along.
 
Scrapers should be very, very heavy for bowl and platter use. 3/8x1-1/4" is a good size. Doug Thompson has one of my favorites. For a bowl gouge, there is a roll move taking the gouge 90* from the flute up start position. Once you get that move down...you'll be in business!
 
Roger, I encourage you to look into a local turning club and attending a meeting or two. Invariably, there will be members there who'd be glad to spend a few hours with you in the shop (theirs or yours) mentoring you. A couple of hours with an experienced turner can save countless hours and untold frustration as you try to learn the basics. All the Internet advice and YouTube videos in the world can't compare to a bit of one-on-one help. :thumb:
 
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