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alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
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alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

introduction:
dont know why they cut down this great tree but they did. one of the largest
cherries ive seen around portland oregon. was almost four feet diameter at
chest height, larger at the butt. by the time i noticed the tree was being
removed they had already bucked it all up to about 2' lengths. they said help

yourself so... 4 trailer loads later i have a huge pile of cherry rounds in
my yard. the smell of fresh cut cherry wood is amazing! varies from a really
sweet smell like maraschino cherries to a more mild smell that reminds me of
apple pie (really!).

i have taken conventional (35mm film) photos of the turning process before
but for the most part have been too lazy to scan many of those to share on
the ngs. having only recently acquired a digital camera i decided to snap a
bunch of pics to show how i go about roughing out wooden bowls on the lathe.

of the pics i took over the last few days i selected 25 shots that i think
do an ok job of illustrating the process i use. below is a list of the 25
pics and a brief description of each pic. if anyone wants more details on
anything just let me know.

01RoughBowlBlanksJustCut.JPG
out at the woodpile. a weelbarrow load of bowl blanks fresh off the chainsaw.

02RoughBowlBlanksInStudio.JPG
me, my chainsaw, and the stack of just cut bowl blanks in my cramped basement

studio.

03RoughBlankOnLathe.JPG
one of the blanks mounted between centers. 2 prong spur drive in headstock.
live center in tailstock. no faceplate, no screws, no chuck.

04RoughBlankOnLatheSpinning.JPG
same shot as #03 but with the lathe running

05BowlOutsideBetweenCenters.JPG
here i have the outside of the bowl shaped. this shot shows the spur drive.

06BowlOutsideAnotherView.JPG
this is another angle on the same bowl mostly just to show off how pretty the

wood is.

07BowlOutsideAnotherView2.JPG
same story as the previous pic. this is another angle on the same bowl mostly

just to show off how pretty the wood is.

08thickness-6.5".JPG
this shot is to give a better idea of the size of the work being shown. this
bowl being aprox 6.5 inches thick.

09Diameter15".JPG
this shot shows the diameter of the bowl at aprox 15 inches.

10VerticalGrain.JPG
this shot is a testament to the large size of the log that this blank was cut

from which allowed me to have a 6.5" x 15" block that is basically
quartersawn. notice how the growth rings show vertical grain across the whole

top of the block.


here is a close up shot of the bottom of the bowl showing the distinctive ray

fleck that is found in quartersawn cherry.

12PartingInW/StraightTool.JPG
i will be "coring" out a solid piece of wood from the inside of the bowl that

i can use to make a smaller bowl. i begin this with a straight lance type
tool i call "the harpoon".

13StraightTool.JPG
a better shot of "the harpoon". i got this tool as part of the complete
Mcnaughton center saving system but it would be a very easy tool to make.

14BeginW/CurvedTool.JPG
next step is a Mcnaughton curved tool with the special torque arresting tool
gate. because the tool is captured in the gate i do not find it necessary to
attach the heavy handle. in fact i found that having a big heavy handle
involved just got in the way and made the for a lot harder work. notice i
have bent the tang on this tool so i can rotate farther toward the tailstock
for a better starting angle.

15CurvedToolHalfWay.JPG
here is the position of the curved tool after i have cut in a ways and the
ribbons this cutter produces.


here is the position of the tool near the end of the cut.

17RoughBowl&Core.JPG
the big bowl and her baby bowl lol.

18Bowl-InsideW/Core.JPG
this bowl did not come out as smooth on the inside as i would have liked but
thats the way it goes sometimes.

19RemountedForInsideCleanup.JPG
i try to do well enough with the coring tools so that the larger bowl is
perfectly roughed out and needs no further work until its dry and ready to
finish. in this case i did not want to leave the large ridge inside because
the bowl will dry better if the wall thickness is relatively even so i
decided to re mount the bowl between centers to clean up the inside surface
with a gouge.

20InsideClean.JPG
there thats better

21Bowls&CoresBottom.JPG
three bowls and their cores

22Bowls&CoresTop.JPG
same 3 top view

23CoreBetweenCenters.JPG
mount one of the cores between centers and the process begins again

24CoreJustPopedOut.JPG
here is the curved tool all the way at the bottom of the cut and the next
smaller core just after its popped out.

roughouts.jpg
some of my roughed out bowls.

i hope this is helpful and/or interesting to someone. i would love to hear
your feedback, comments, questions whatever.

neill