First 10" bowl

Beautiful maple bowl, did I tell you I love spalted maple bowls, they make my eyes itch though, I’m allergic to the
spalting in the wood. It is a fungus and some people just can’t handle it. Me for one. Great looking bowl though.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

Nice job. With nice grain and coloring a simple bowl design is all you need. Now you have the chuck the fun has only begun.
I see you removed the chuck mounting recess in the bottom. I have been leaving it in on most of mine because I have had occasion to remount the bowl to refinish it after a few years of hard use. For decoration I leave some concentric beading in the center of the recess and just enough flat space around the edge for the chuck jaws to fit. Are you familiar with the use of a router and template for making the chuck mounting recess in blank pieces of wood? It makes for a quick start.

-- Les B, Oregon

Great job. I have just started turning and have a couple of maple bowls I amde from a piece of driftwood found at the lake. Bowl turning is addictive.

-- Bill from Lithia Springs, GA I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

love spalted anything.. good looking bowl.. and your right, a good chuck is a world apart from between centers.. not sure about the 2 chuck question.. i mount between centers, rough it out enough that i can increase speed. cut a tennon and check it up.. unless i’m adding a lid, the blank stays in the chuck untill the finish is dry.. the last thing i do is cut the tennon off

-- It's not a sickness, i can stop buying tools anytime.

Very nice bowl. Be very carefull using the cole jaws. If you turn the speed up to high you will have a rude awakening as it will fly out of the jaws. You only have 8 degrees of grip in cole jaws. If you turn a jam chuck and fit the rim into it you will have 360 degrees of grip. This is a very safe way to finish the base of a turning.

-- Dale

Thank you for the comments and tips. I’m afraid I am just learning as I go. It would be nice to be able to hang out with a few of you turners to learn a few tricks of the trade. But then again learning by doing is part of it too. In my other life I am a pretty good dentist. I learned very early that the process is: see one, do several, then teach one. You learn more from trying to teach a technique to a new student as you do by just doing it. You just simply have to dig in and work with the medium for awhile. Woodworking for me is as much an art as it is technique but the results can last longer than we will. I like that concept.

-- Dr. Ken, Florida

Dr. Ken ~ I can confirm the learn & teach process. After learning to fly and taking my first job as a flight instructor the Chief Pilot of the FBO that hired me told me straight away, “You will learn more in the first two weeks of instructing than you have in the last 6 months.” It was true. That is a good looking bowl you have turned and I never tried anything that large on a lathe. From the photograph the inside of the bowl has a nice look and ‘feel’ to the wood. Almost like an aged butternut. Good work.

Great job on your bowl, Ken. Thanks for sharing.

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

Very well done

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Cool…. I also took the advice of several LJ’s…. am still waiting for my “instant gratification” as my pile of rough bowls is growing, still have very few finished ones. I agree that two chucks (or 3 or 4) is way better than one. Am saving up for another now.
Very nice bowl.

-- .......and if ya screw up, you can heat yer house with it......