Now I know why I need

Billy Burt

Member
Messages
772
Location
San Antonio, Texas
to make me a bowl steady. I was making the final pass (very light finishing cut) on the inside of a bowl of spalted Maple crotch. All was going well. The bowl was singing to me (wall thickness was about 3/16"), but I wasn't alarmed. Then when the bowl gouge (Ellswworth grind) was about 5/16" from the rim... POW! Blew a 2" x 4" chunk out at the rim. :huh: I wasn't removing that much material (1/32" maybe), and I was taking it easy. All I had left to do was sand and finish. :( Needless to say, I was really... (expletive deleted)! LOML had already claimed it so I brought it in to show her. She was nearly as upset as I, but then said, "Okay, just turn it into a high rimmed platter and I'll use it for candles."

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hit the thrift stores for a used pair of roller blades.
 
...Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hit the thrift stores for a used pair of roller blades.

Sorry to hear of the bowl explosion. Those suck. I had good luck finding wheels and bearings on eBay. When I have a bit more time, I'll post pics of the steady I finished up last weekend.
 
That's too bad. Sounds like it was going to be a nice bowl. I've never used a bowl steady but I'm sure I'll have something like that happen someday to convince me to make one too.
 
I made 2...one is bowl steady and the other is for spindles and vase.

Bart, when you make a cut, you are always putting some pressure on the wood..no matter how light you make it and how sharp your tool is. On a thin bowl (more for platter) this is critical. Signs of impending trouble (for me) is the resonating sound. The steady helps releave/counter that pressure and minimize any flex.
 
Billy, a steady rest can be a big help, but if you change your technique just a little, you can do without one until you really need it. Instead of cutting the bowl to final thickness and making successive passes to get the surface to where you want it, finish it in steps to that final thickness. For example, if you have a 10" bowl and want to finish it to 3/16" thick, turn the first inch or so down to the final thickness, and then move on to the next section. Use a shear scrape to blend the boundary between the two. Continue on in this fashion until you reach the bottom.

Using this technique is a one way trip. If you get 3/4 of the way into the bowl, and decide you want to go back to the rim to change something, it is going to be bad news most of the time.

Other than that, I know just how it feels. I have done it myself on numerous occasions.

Bill
 
Thanks for the tip, Bill!!!! I'm sure that technique would have saved me on this one. I'll try it on the book matched brother. Looks like I need to buy your videos. That very technique is probably in there somewhere. ;-)
 
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