sweet gum bowl

Good place for a butterfly thing a ma jig or to fill with turquoise. Help him out here guys. Cracks are not always bad, just a chance to add a detail. Looks good!

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

Well hate to tell you the super glue wont stop the spread. When you turn a bowl think about the 1/3 to 2/3 rule. You want the piece to lift off the surface. You achieve this by making the foot of the bowl 1/3 the size of the overall largest diameter. Whether it is the girth of the vase or the opening of the bowl. You also want to make it flow in a radius. Don’t chop the lines straight down from the rim to the foot, make them flow. You want to make the walls and the base an even wall thickness all the way through this will keep cracks from happening in your turnings. As long as you have an even wall thickness you will not have differencial wood movement. The wood will move in all directions without stress that causes cracking and checking. Keep turning it took me a few thousand pieces to get where I am today. You are doing good for only your fourth bowl.

-- Dale

Dale offers up some excellent advise. One the hardest things to do when you first start turning is to concentrate on good form and flow regardless of how much wood you turn away. It is an easy trap to try and make the biggest piece your blank will allow. A small piece with great form is always better than a large piece with poor form. Proper form is the most difficult aspect of turning regardless of size.

Great job based on your experience.

Practice, practice, practice…

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

keep up the good work.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com