Small Hackberry Bowl

This one furthered my education. I think I'm getting the hang of riding the bevel on the inside of the bowl. I tried very hard to copy what all those nice fellas on the internet are showing me, and got through it without any significant catches, and the bowl stayed on the chuck. I also found I don't like hackbetty for turning. It doesn't sand or turn well.

The black marks on the bowl go right through from the inside to the outside, so I'm guessing they are the result of something in the wood, and not a mistake I made, right?

I see nothing wrong with that bowl. You are really getting the hang of it.

Have you tried any of the carbide tools. Been so long ago I can't remember the makers, one was something like Easy tools(?).

Ya dun good, Roger! If anyone asks, those are "character marks"!!!!!

Roger, I turn a fair amount of hackberry and there is nothing wrong with that bowl. You have to keep in mind that it is a soft and fibrous wood, so there are going to be areas that will not get real smooth as with harder woods. Cottonwood is the same way, and my short experience with sweet gum was that as well. The black markings is common with this wood and they are usually from algae that grows in the wood. The same as algae forms spalting in wood. That is a nice bowl, so keep at it. Just keep in mind that Momma Nature designed the wood, not us. So it is going to do what She wants it to do, and that only. We can only go for the ride and make the most of it.

Looking better and better every time. Hackberry loves to spalt and when it does, it's beautiful. If you have any to spare , try setting some aside in the shade covered with leaves and see what happens.

Looking good Roger. Your transitions have really improved since you started and are quite good indeed now.

Roger, you did good on the bowl... it looks good from here.

Hackberry is one of my favorite woods... when it starts to spalt, you can get some amazing patterns in the wood. It is kinda soft as Dave said, and you can get some tear out if your tools aren't sharp, but the spalted hackberry bowls show well and get lots of attention in my booth. It's my understanding that the wood isn't good for much else. It will get soft and punky pretty fast and I still will use it.... I turn it up to where it's almost ready to disintegrate to dust and still get some pretty nice bowls out of it. I've found that if I power sand it gets smooth pretty quickly, and you sometimes have to start with the lower grits before it will start to smooth. I also have some bowls that never got smooth and even some that have worm holes and worm tracks... these I fill or soak with CA and they still sell. People seem to like the rustic look of the wormy wood.

Chuck Ellis said:

Hackberry is one of my favorite woods... when it starts to spalt, you can get some amazing patterns in the wood. It is kinda soft as Dave said, and you can get some tear out if your tools aren't sharp, but the spalted hackberry bowls show well and get lots of attention in my booth. It's my understanding that the wood isn't good for much else. It will get soft and punky pretty fast and I still will use it.... I turn it up to where it's almost ready to disintegrate to dust and still get some pretty nice bowls out of it. I've found that if I power sand it gets smooth pretty quickly, and you sometimes have to start with the lower grits before it will start to smooth. I also have some bowls that never got smooth and even some that have worm holes and worm tracks... these I fill or soak with CA and they still sell. People seem to like the rustic look of the wormy wood.

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Thanks. I turned this with a freshly sharpened bowl gouge. I found spots on the surface that had a grainy feel to them. I started the outside with 60 grit, as there was a tool mark I had to get rid of. Inside, I started with 80 grit. I found that I could reduce the grainy feel by hand sanding those parts. I did like the look of the grain, and the spalted marks. Perhaps I will leave my next piece of Hackberry alone for a while and see if it gets more spalting in it.

I bought the blank partly because it was cheap ($6) and I had already spent too much. It is very easy to turn. I was bothered by the rough spots, though.

Paul Douglass said:

I see nothing wrong with that bowl. You are really getting the hang of it.

Have you tried any of the carbide tools. Been so long ago I can't remember the makers, one was something like Easy tools(?).

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No, I haven't, and I don't think I will. I'm a bit of a retro grouch, and the Easy Wood tools seem made for people who don't want to take the time to acquire the skills. That's just me being me, though.

Roger, I guess I am a retro grouch as well. Seems to me the basic working of turning has worked for all these years, so who am I to mess with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep it simple stupid. I keep things as simple as I can and get along with it just fine. If others want to use those weird things, then they probably put mustard on their spaghetti, too! Honestly, I guess it
is simply different strokes for different folks. If they want to use those things, then more power to them. Not me. Maybe that's why one of my tool suppliers is called Traditional Woodworking.

We retro grouches have to stick together.

Nice job on the bowl, Roger.

Dave Hoskins said:

Roger, I guess I am a retro grouch as well. Seems to me the basic working of turning has worked for all these years, so who am I to mess with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep it simple stupid. I keep things as simple as I can and get along with it just fine. If others want to use those weird things, then they probably put mustard on their spaghetti, too! Honestly, I guess it
is simply different strokes for different folks. If they want to use those things, then more power to them. Not me. Maybe that's why one of my tool suppliers is called Traditional Woodworking.

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You're a traditionalist. That's fine. But get off your high horse. I know my way around a bowl gouge very, very well, but there are occasional times when a carbide cutter is a better or handier choice for me. It's not a "weird thing". It's a different tool. Simple as that. Have you ever used a good carbide tool? I'd say the bowl gouge is my go-to tool 90% of the time, and a scraper about 9%, but I appreciate having a few carbides in my tool rack. I have no problem with people who don't want to use carbide tools, but I also don't call them weird and make assumptions about their eating habits.