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My first successful attempt at turning a square bowl, without bashing my knuckles.

The measurements are 13" square (18 1/2" diagonal) and 2" deep The wood is mahogany and sanded to 800g, the finish is shellac and wax,

The difficult part was I only have a 15" swing on my lathe. The marks on the underside of the bowl were not visible until I started the finishing process and are not as pronounced as they are in the photograph.

Gallery

Comments

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2,185 Posts
Sweet. That's a large one.
I have always wanted to try this. I am inspired. You did a very nice job.

Steve
 

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9,145 Posts
Tony A fantastic looking Bowl. You should be very proud of making it. Nice job.
 

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I agree, that is a great looking bowl.
Very nice job.
 

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Looks like it was a challenge but you won the battle …Great design and the wood is beautiful : )
 

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Wow, that is really neat! I might have to try that one of these days - although bashing my knuckles at the lathe seems to be a common occurance for me. The wood is beautiful and the square shape is really eye-catching!
 

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Beautiful Bowl, Tony!

I can figure out how you sanded the top flat portion of the bowl but how did you get up tight against the ring on the underside of the bowl?

Lew
 

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Lew

I used the Sand Master system by Robert-Sorby to sand nearly all the bowl, including the corners.

With the Sand Master, getting into the ring was not a problem, the disk fitted snugly against ring.

The underside of the bowl was sanded to 600g, stained, sealed (shellac) and sanded out to 800g before I chucked it in to the base and started to turn the base.

The polishing was undertaken using the Beall system , which was a little nerve racking as the bowl was so close to the bed and chuck of the lathe, due to the dimensions of the bowl.
 

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I've never tried even a small one of these. Tony, You are an inspiration to us. It's sure fun to try new stuff.
 

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2,212 Posts
very nice…I really like the wood Tony!!!
 

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Nice job. I always have trouble putting the time into the finish I should.
I have been looking for something to do with some choice pieces of wood I have been saving. So I may borrow you idea.

I will post a new challenge for you shorty. It is a square with turned down legs in the corners and the bowl extends above the base to create the illusion of a round bowl in a square holder.
 

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What a great bowl. I tried this once and it was a disaster.
 

· In Loving Memory
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Really pretty Tony. It looks like you put a lot of work into it. Looks difficult to make.
 

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Beautiful wood and a nice turning. Thanks for sharing, Tony.
 

· In Loving Memory
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That's very cool, Tony!

Great job.
 

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I like it Tony.
I can appreciate the problems with maxing out the swing on your lathe.
A piece like that gives you problems with setting the rest as well I should think.

Bob
 

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I rotated the head by 90° so the plate was parallel to the bed of the lathe, but as Bob said setting the rest was the most difficult part. I was turning right on the end of the rest (only 12" long/wide), and tool rest vibration was a problem. Still it was fun and the gift was greatly appreciated so definitely worth the effort.

Really sharp gouges & scrapers made it much easier, several trips to the grinder during this job.

Les, I think I know what you are talking about, I post a rough model soon, to see if it is what you were talking about.
 

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Great looking bowl, Tony.
If you have a 15" swing on your lathe, How did you swing 18 1/2" across the corners"
Is it a 30" lathe?? Or a gap bed lathe?........................Jim
 
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