Free Source of Wood Bowl Blanks From “Slabs” Cut By Portable Sawmills

Sawmills As A Free Source of Woodturning and Bowl Blanks

I know there are a lot of people who turn wood and enjoy the hobby have a hard time finding wood.

That’s a little difficult for me to comprehend because we have so many trees that they fall on our houses, or in my case the garage/shop!

There are a lot of good posts on where and how people find different sources of wood. How they collect it and how they process it.

I have one source of wood you might find interesting. There are many sawmills around the country/world large and small. There are many portable sawmills that will come up to your home or property and mill a tree into pieces that you tell them to. You can use these for construction or in our case, get them milled into sizes that we would want for bowl blanks or whatever you happen to turn.

Here’s a source I thought you might be interested in. Portable bandsaw mills are located around the country. You just have to find them. Search for sawmill, portable sawmill or contact any of the manufacturers and ask them if they have any of their mills in your area.

A portable bandsaw mill is basically a trailer with a gasoline powered bandsaw on it. A log is loaded on the trailer and positioned. The saw head is then lowered so the bandsaw blade can make a cut down the length of the log. The sawmill operator is looking to make a flat surface across the top of the log, it is then rotated and another cut is taken. This first cut is usually called a “slab” and this slab will have varying thickness.

This first piece or “slab” is usually worthless to everyone except perhaps for firewood. For woodturners, particularly “bowl turners” this first piece could be gold. Depending on how it is cut you might end up with blanks that could be ‘platters’ up to ‘bowls’. If you were able to convince a sawyer to add an inch or two to the first cut you would end up with as many bowl blanks as you can use since it runs the length of the log.

We had a guy come out and cut up some oak, cherry and poplar logs we had. Nobody wanted the slabs, I asked him to add a couple inches to the first cut and he thought I was crazy. But I ended up with 2 slabs that were 12′ or so long of Cherry. I then cut the slabs into 14″ pieces so I ended up with about 10 or 11 bowl blanks per slab.

These ‘slabs’ as bowl blanks offer 2 types of bowls. You can turn live edge bowls or flip it around and you can cut some nice platters or bowls.

Take this one step further. One of my son’s purchased a bandsaw mill. It is a manual mill, hard work to load the load and then turn it while on the cutting rails. But….I can now cut that first piece any size I want!

Sawing wood is almost as addicting as turning wood. I suppose if I were younger and stronger I might want to a little more sawing 🙂 Keep in mind if you are interested in sawing wood, you can get a sawmill that is all hydraulic, no muscle required! But for the occaisional log here and there I can cut blanks for the next 10 years 🙂 Seriously, I started this article by talking about the first cut for bowl blanks because you can get those free from most sawyers. But if you had your own mill, or had someone come out and cut up a tree for you….. you can have the sawyer cut the log in slabs with the thickness that you desire.

I recently grabbed a cottonwood tree, actually about half the tree came down. I can now cut the slabs and then cut some middle pieces that are 6″ or more thick and then cut them in 12″ pieces that I will seal and stack for drying.

Slab Cut Into Bowl Blank Widths

The picture shows the Cherry “slab” that I cut into 13 to 14″ pieces. The slab sat outside for about a year and was 15% to 20% moisture level. I should have immediately sealed the ends of those pieces but I didn’t. I just don’t have the energy or strenght to do too much anymore …..very depressing but that’s my life. I eventually did seal the ends to keep them from checking and cracking. I think I had about 10 bowl blanks.

Turning the Cherry Bowl Blanks

When turning bowls its nice to have the option of turning live edge bowls. The problem with live edge bowls is that the bark doesn’t stick and gets ripped off. I found this piece of cherry had some decent bark adhesion and it was possible to turn some shallow live edge bowls.

If you try to turn live edge bowls and it almost never fails …..a piece of the bark will rip off and leave a space on the edge. You can sand and shape that edge or you can grab some of the bark and use some CA to glue the bark back on the edge of the bowl. Usually you need to use one of the 2″ sanding disks to shape and blend it into the existing bark …..but a little practice will make it look like it was never missing 🙂

Mounting The Slab Bowl
Blank on Your Lathe

Next would be to turn a bowl from the “slab” bowl blank by making the ‘flat’ side of the blank the top of the bowl. I usually will drill a 2-1/8″ hole with a 2-1/8 inch forstner bit for the jaws of my Super Nova 2 Chuck (click here https://amzn.to/2JUGzXq) and chuck up the flat face against the chuck with the jaws into the recess that I just drilled.

I will next shape the bottom of the bowl so that it looks like a bowl bottom. Normally the bark will fall off your bowl blank or you can pull it off easiy ….no so much with this piece. I read someplace how a turner would remove bark before putting it on the lathe, he used a small air powered chisel to pry and rip off the bark. So……first however I use a cheap harbor freight air powered chisel to take the bark off. The natural profile of the bottom is close to the profile of the bowl. So I will turn a tenon on the bottom of the bowl…..I like recesses but a tenon makes more sense since these ‘slabs’ are usually not too thick and a tenon helps to keep you from blowing through the bottom of the bowl.

I looked around for an air powered chisel and I think I found you a better deal, you get 4 or 5 chisels instead of one and it costs less than $20. You’ll find yourself using this tool a lot but for our specific purpose it and easily strip the bark off a short piece of long in no time.

You ask, “Why do I need to strip off the bark. First let me say, if you are doing a live edge bowl then you might not want to use this tool. But if you are going to turn a bowl that doesn’t have any bark inclusions on in when finished ….this is what you want to use.

Of course you can leave the bark on and use your tools to cut through the bark and get down into the good wood. Unfortunately this is going to give you one hell of a ride. Some bark is attached to your bowl blank like the mountains of the Grand Canyon and other bark might be attached like the gentle rolling hills of the great planes.

Assuming you want to get rid of the bark so you can turn some wood, the bark has to come off. Embedded in the bark are stones, sand, and metal. You never know when stripping the bark will test you patience because your tools will become useless afterwards. I mean, you’re gonna have to go and sharpen them again so they might be cutting good again.

I can’t remember who turned me on to a small air hammer with a chisel to strip the bark from a bowl blank, or log …..but it has been a real blessing to be able to strip the bark off in a couple of minutes rather than using my hammer and chisel to clean the bark off a project whether it be bowl blank or small log. For 20 bucks you just can’t beat it and it might be one of the best wood-tuning investments you make 🙂

As I turn the tenon I will shape the bottom of the bowl/platter. Even if it is wet/green I will shape the bottom of the bowl and then take it through the progression of sanding from 80 grit to at least 240 grit or higher. This 2″ drill powered sanding disk is one of my favorites https://amzn.to/2JSk9WN

I then flip the bowl around, attach it to the tenon and began to square off the front of the bowl. I usually will figure out how deep to take the bowl. Then I will attach a drill bit or forstner bit and drill a hole in the center to the maximum depth of the bowl. This keeps me from gouging out the bottom of the bowl and making a funnel 🙂

Since the “slab” usually isn’t too thick I usually forego keeping pressure on the bowl from the tail-stock. It makes for quick gouging and shaping of the inside of the bowl without fear of the bowl flying off the lathe. That is another reason I like using a tenon on these….. you can crank down on that tenon as hard as you can without damaging the tenon and feeling confident that the bowl will stay on your chuck.

So I finish he inside of the bowl with my Big Hurricane Scrapers and then sand once again through a progression usually starting at 80 or 100 to 240 grit.

After sanding I will either finish the project or dry it. I use a couple different drying methods. If I think the water content is low I will set it on a shelf to dry. If I think it is over 20% moisture (use a moisture meter https://amzn.to/30UNIg9 or https://amzn.to/32V7xFQ ) I will put it in a bag of shavings and let it dry. Or…..my new technique is to put it in the microwave at 60 to 90 seconds. I’m still experimenting with the microwave treatment but I think I like it. You can literally and actually dry a piece within a 24 hour or less period of time and then mount it back up on the lathe ….sand it and apply your desired finish.

Wow!

All I wanted to do was tell you about portable sawmills and “slabs”. Sorry, got a little carried away but I hope you might find some if not all the info helpful.

For those of you who are having a hard time finding wood in your local area ….check out some of the local sawmill operators. Contact these guys ….they really are cool and enjoy doing what they do. If you have a relationship with one, when that tree comes down you might be able to get him to come out on the cheap. You also might be able to come out a job he is milling up ….make sure you give him a couple of bowls and you will have a source of wood for your tuning for a long time 🙂

If you haven’t checked out our facebook group, please do. Lots of good people there, lots of cool projects and if you have a question ….I’m sure you can get it answered. And if you are a woodturing pro or expert …..we can use your advice and you can help newbies out https://www.facebook.com/groups/woodturningbasics

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Make Your Own Dovetail Tool and Wood Scraper for Woodturning

If you are a tool freak like I am then you probably can’t wait to get your next tool. However, that can get quite expensive and if you have the budget that allows you to buy whatever wooodturning tools you want ….I’m jealous! I would love to try some expensive woodturning tools but I just don’t have the money so I sometimes will try to make my own woodturning tools.

Purchased Some Hurricane Bowl Gouges

Every now and then I can pick up some new tools, for instance I purchased a 3 pack of Hurricane bowl gouges a couple of weeks ago and I was going to do a review on them. I purchased these woodturning bowl gouges because they were cheap …yet the reviews were good for the most part. I wanted to practice sharpening bowl gouges and compare the cutting and shaping ability to a Sorby wood bowl gouge.

Use Cheap Woodturning Tools to
Practice Your Sharpening Skills

As mentioned, I actually purchased these woodturning bowl gouges because I wanted to practice on sharpening bowl gouges. In particular, I wanted to practice sharpening and using the 5/8″ bowl gouge. I reserve the time to do a complete review but for a news flash, I have found that the Hurricane 1/2 inch bowl gouge is my favorite. And yes, they have allowed me to learn how to sharpen my gouges using the oneway wolverine sharpening jig with Vari-grind attachment. Each time I get the feel of it and do a better job. However, you must get the Vari-grind Jig with the wolverine grinding system ….this ensures proper angles and shapes for your gouges. I’m using 1 inch white oxide sharpening wheels on an 8″ grinder, I got the 8 inch grinder at Harbor Freight …less than $40 and the white oxide wheels on Amazon. My next step would be to get the CBN wheels ….but they are between $100 and $200 each ….so, I don’t see those on my grinder soon 🙂

New Woodturning Tools I Made From 8mmx8mmx200mm HSS Lathe Steel

I really started this article because I wanted to show you guys a couple of new tools that I made from 8mm x 8mm x 200mm blanks of HSS steel I got on Amazon, you can also find them on ebay. They cost less than 5 dollars each.

A while back, I made one tool, a square edge scraper, by putting the edge on one side and gluing the other end in the handle with some 5 minute epoxy. I used the same 8x8x200 HSS Steel Blank but I glued it into the handle

The tool I want to show you today was made with an cutting profile on each end, I made the handle so the tool can be inserted in the handle and locked in with a couple of allen screws but can have a dual purpose by flipping the steel bar around and using the other end.

Make Your ow Woodturning tool, double ended cutter — DIY woodturning tools, this has a cutting profile shaped on each end so it can be flipped in the handle

So, as I learn how to turn wood I have also learned that many woodturners make their own woodturning tools. I’ve watched woodturners make tools from lawn mower blades, old files, screw drivers, drill bits, old allen wrenches, cold bar steel with carbide inserts and HSS cutting bits …..and just about any piece of metal you can think of. Some work great, some not so great …but I have enjoyed making some very effective turning tools. These are tools I turn to …(no pun intended) almost every time I turn a piece of wood. Al Furtado will take an old and ineffective harbor freight woodturning tool and make it into a full time and favorite gouge, he does this with a variety of tools he has and even though he has some expensive woodturning tools I see him going back to his Hurricane or PSI gouges and turning tools along with those that he has made himself.

I think I learned this from Mike Peace. He used some HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits to make a couple of customized woodturning tools. I found these bits on Amazon….. CNC Lathe HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits Bar, 4 Piece, 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV

PICTURE

All you have to do is, turn a handle, drill a hole down the center of the handle, glue a copper or brass ferrule to the end of the handle that receives the cutting tool. You can buy bowl gouges without a handle that have a 2″ or more section of steel that fits into the handle, so you can make your custom handle. But in this article we are thinking of making your own woodturning tool, steel and handle.

I have used the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bars to make a variety of different tools designed for specific tasks or just general scraping. These will cost you between $4 and 5$ each, this package comes with 4 bars allowing you to make 8 tools if you plan on putting a woodturning edge on each end.

This steel is easy to sharpen and holds an edge for a long time. I started out making a scraper with a square edge just to see how it does. You could compare this scraper to a carbide insert scraper on a square bar. Only with this scraper all you need to do is hit it with a diamond card to sharpen or take it to the grinding and lightly touch the wheel. Its really amazing how this steel cuts and how long it lasts.

I use the 8mm scrape as a parting tool when needed, it removes a lot of material fast and leaves a nice smooth finish, hold it on an angle and drag it across your piece for a shear cut and the finish will be like glass.

Today I made a handle that would accept the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bar …first I drilled a hole to handle the 8mm square bar, then the tool handle was shaped, the ferrule was glued at the end. I put sanded the handle, added a couple of burnt rings with a piece of wire and applied Capn Eddies finish XXXXXXXX .

Next I took the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bar and ground a shape that would help me to form dovetail recesses on my bowls. I used the grinder to get the shape close to what I wanted and then I took a dremel tool with a carbide disk and refined the dovetail shape into sharp precise angles. I tried the tool before putting the handle on it so that I knew I had the cutting angles correct.

I flipped the bar over and started working on grinding a round nose scraper with wings. First I ground down the top of the bar slightly and then I roughed in the front of the bar …about 30° or so. I then mounted the bar in my Vari-Grind jig for my Wolverine Oneway Grinding System https://amzn.to/2oMFKVh It was really easy to get a bowl gouge or spindle gouge shape to the 8 x 8mm bar.

At this point I had the handle made and the HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits Bar shaped on both ends. I wanted to be able to use both ends of the tool, truth is I really wanted a dedicated dovetail tool for recesses for my bowls or other wood that I would mount on the lathe. It seemed a waste to glue or epoxy the tool into the handle when I could have another useful tool on the other end. The big question will be, if I make it so I can switch the ends will it be too much of a pain in the butt to keep changing and should I just make dedicated tools.

I guess I will find out.

I drilled 2 holes in the copper ferrule and down through the ash wood into the space where the tool blank will site. I then tapped the holes for a 1/4″ x 20 3/8″ allen hex head screw. The copper ferrule will allow you to get a couple of threads in it, but you also want the wood to be threaded. So after you do the tapping you will want to take some CA glue and apply it to the wood in each hole. You can then screw the allen screw down into the hole (after the glue is dried) or you can retap it. You’ll want to apply some CA one more time and after it is dried you can retap or screw the allen screw down into the hole.

I use Starbond CA glue. It comes in various viscosities …thin through thick. Depending how you buy it, it will come with some very small applicators you can put on the end for precise placement of the glue …these worked awesome for me and then I used the accelerator which causes the glue to set up immediately. I highly recommend Starbond, it’s the choice of many woodturners for repairing, filling voids and for finishes on smaller woodturnings like pens …you can find it here XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PICTURE

Now it’s just a matter of putting in the allen screws and inserting the cutting bar with the profile edges.

I probably made my handle a little too long for the dovetail application, but it works great for the spindle gouge profile. I’m just amazed at how sharp and how cleanly this tool cuts. I forms a perfect dovetail recess for my Nova Chuck and after playing around a little with the “spindle gouge” profile I found it to do hollowing very well, in fact it is very aggressive. If you are turning a bowl this profile on this bar does pull cuts very well ….I’m not sure how the bottom of the bar should be formed …it was draggin a little, I suppose I could round it a big more than I have but I guess I will have to play with it a while.

So, basically I made a tool with 2 cutting edges for around 5 bucks. I took a dead ash branch and turned it into a handle, drilled a hole, cut a piece of old 3/4″ copper water pipe for a ferrule and shaped an 8mm x 8mm x 200mm HSS Steel bar with a cutting edge of different profile on each end. I attached the bar with 2 allen screws which were drilled and tapped into the copper ferrule and wood ….a little CA glue to harden the wood and I’m good to go with a new DIY woodturning tool.

Hollowing Problems When Turning Wood

Woodturning Hollowing Problems

I wanted to share a post I made about hollowing problems in our facebook group called Woodturning Basics. This is what our member Pedro had to say:

I must be doing something wrong while I’m hollowing out a cup.
I got a forstner bit to get it started, but even then it’s taking hours to hollow out a small maple cup. The only thing that does a good job of hollowing it, is my parting tool. Everything else catches badly including my $100.00 bowl gouge (that was recommended I use and it’s basically useless. Damn thing catches on everything.)
So, anyone have any suggestions?

Hey there Pedro ….I feel your pain my friend!

Pedro’s Problem with
Hollowing A Wood Cup

When I first started, I turned a little candle holder. Then I did a cup. I had no idea what I was doing and trying to hollow out the cup just about killed me! I tried all my famous harbor freight turning tools ….that’s all I had …spindle gouge, roughing gouge, scraper, parting tools, a really small gouge of some kind ….I ended up hacking the inside out with a small round scraper …..the thing was extended 4 inches into the up ….diaster waiting to happen 🙂

I got it done though.

Learning by myself, it took a while to figure out what tool is supposed to do what ….and then trying to make the tool do what its supposed to do is another story. But hollowing was always a nightmare!

Some Thoughts on Your Hollowing Problems

I had a couple of thoughts on your hollowing of the cup problem. You drilled it and then tried to use a bowl gouge to finish the hollowing …correct?

You say you have an expensive bowl gouge and all you get is catches? Are you pushing into the cup, entering from the top of the cup toward the bottom and then across the bottom?

I wonder what size your bowl gouge is? Minium for me is 1/2″ or 5/8″. If you are using a fingernail grind, you can cut down the side but as you move across the bottom you will catch. You need a standard grind if you are trying to use a bowl gouge ….even then, a bowl gouge is tough to do end grain hollowing.

Use A Pull Cut When Hollowing

I WOULD NOT use a push cut into the cup, you could try to pull the gouge across the bottom using tip, and then use the bottom tip/wing to pull up the side of the cup ….kind of a scraping cut for hollowing a cup. You just need to get the feel of it ….but it can be done.

Scrapers for Hollowing
Woodturning Projects

Better yet is to use scrapers for hollowing your woodturning projects.

I get as much out as I can (after drilling) with a gouge and then I use scrapers to finish up the hollowing.

One of the easiest methods to hollow is to use carbide tools. Use a 1/2″ or 5/8″ bar with a 1/2″ or 5/8″ carbide cutter mounted to it. You can make it yourself or you can buy one already made, carbide hollowing tool!

How to Prevent Catches When Hollowing

Carbide cutters take some time to learn how to use, but once you get it figured out you will be amazed at how easy it is to hollow out a cup, vase or bowl using one of these cutters. Just don’t try to hog out too much at once, learn to take light cuts and you will avoid catches. Also the postion of the scraper, being 90° off of the tool rest and then lifting the handle a little will prevent catches dramatically!

Using Tradional Scrapers for Hollowing

Along with carbide scrapers you should consider getting at least one big scraper. I have a Hurricane Scraper 1 1/2″ wide …almost 1/2″ thick round nose scraper. At https://amzn.to/2oQBmVB. The reason you want a big scraper is so you can extend it over the tool rest a good amount and still keep control of your cuts. I imagine part of your problem is that you are trying to hollow out a cut and have your tool extended 3 inches or more over the tool rest (disaster waiting to happen) I’m just about ready to purchase a right and left side round edge scraper …you can see what I’m taking about here https://amzn.to/2Nt0T51 these are used inside a bowl or cup and outside of the same turning project.

So, for hollowing out projects get some good scrapers. Yes, spindle gouges work better on end grain but when it comes to hollowing ….you need some specialized tools. You can make these or buy them. One of the members in our group runs Yufutol, you can pick up an extra discount ….make sure you get a full size tool unless you are doing really small projects. https://amzn.to/2NndAhN

Make Your Own Hollow Tool With Carbide Cutters

Or just buy the carbide cutters ….this is what I did. Mount the cutter on a big cold steel bar. I keep one bar with a 5/8″ cabide cutter, I use this all the time. Over time I have learned how to use it …initially you will get some catches but you will learn the angle of approach and how to gouge out and how to finish cut with this one cutter. It actually becomes fun once you get a handle on it …..you just need to press on, practice, practice, …screw up, catch here and there until you master the process. At one time I thought I would start going by the name of “Catch” ….so I know how you feel 🙂

You can make your own carbide woodturning tools CLICK IMAGE to see cutters

Big Bar For Hollowing

The reason why you want a big bar is so you have some control and stability as you extend the bar over the tool rest. The bigger the bar, the further you can safely extend the tool over the tool rest. I’m thinking of making one of these carbide cutter tools with a 3/4″ bar ….just so I can have more control.

Consider A Hollowing System

Once you get into hollowing large vases, hollow forms etc …you need to think about getting a hollowing system. Just google “hollowing system” and check the same thing on youtube and you will see what that’s all about.

As I think about your problem I wanted to mention something about the tool rest. You should be at the middle of the turning with your tool, not the tool rest….but you want to tool to hit the center of your turning. You want the tool rest as close as you can to the surface you are cutting. This means, if possible, stick the tool rest into the project your are trying to hollow out. Otherwise you are left with a tool that hangs over the edge by a lot ….thus the need for a hefty scraper, whether round nose scraper or a carbide cutter on a big bar.

I’ve been just thinking out loud …hope some of that makes sense.

Again, just keep at it.

You’ll get it figured out. When you get into trouble, keep posting your problem and maybe we can help further.

As I answer questions, I learn myself ….you will too. As soon as you get it figured out you’ll be sharing your wisdom 🙂

How to Make a Burr on a Woodturning Scraper

Negative Rake Scraper
Basics with a Burr

I’m always trying to learn new techniques, trying to learn how to use and sharpen new tools. Always looking for the flawless finish so I don’t have to get a disk sander out to get my project ready to finish 🙂

I started out my woodturning journey with some cheap tools and the only ones that I could make work were ‘scrapers’ that were ….maybe 3/16″ thick and I thought they would break in half at any moment …especially after some of the nasty catches I would get.

Getting Started With Scrapers
….An Essential Tool

In the beginning I made some homemade tools, some scrapers and some carbide tipped or carbide insert scrapers. I learned to use these and at least I figured out how to shape to a project without injuring myself, breaking the tools, cracking the tool rest or sent tools and project flying across the room!

I enjoy writing, always wanted to be a writer…..so to some of you who think I might be too verbose ….please forgive me 🙂 There is a reason behind my madness in almost all my posts. I always intend to share a lesson I have learned and something that will help you become a better woodturner.

Finally Purchased A Hefty Scraper

I like scrapers, I finally got a 1 1/2″ round nose scraper that’s almost 1/2″ thick, from Hurricane Tools …a 1 1/2″ Round Nose Scraper …every wood turner should have a good hefty set of scrapers. Once you learn how to use them you will have the courage to attack the most unruley piece of spinning wood. You should really get a set of these heavy duty scrapers, they will last many, many years. You will get a round nose, left and right scraper. If I could encourage new turners one set of tools to get it would be this Hurricane Scraper Set.

Learning How to Sharpen and Put a “Burr” on Your Scraper

Well, I started learning about the “burr” on the cuting edge of a woodturing tool, in particular, scrapers. There are many kind of scrapers and I thought you just sharpened them and you would be good to go! Now I find out that I need to have a “burr” or “bur” on the end ot the tool. OK…I figured out what a bur was and I could probably make one ….but which side do you use. Do I turn the burr up so it contacts the wood first or do I put the stupid burr on the bottom …..who knows and what’s worse everyone assumes you know where the burr needs to go.

So, I gave up and figured when the Great Turner in the Sky wanted me to know how all this burr stuff works out and how to use it, it would be revealed to me 🙂

Well…..enter Mike Peace.

A Proper Burr Makes for a Glass Like Finish

Just watch the video and everything regarding a woodturning tool burr becomes clear…. how to make the burr, what position to use the burr.

Bottom line, is that the cutting tool burr will help you make clearner cuts ( I have no idea how it does this) which means you end up with a better project, less sanding and you are now a very fine woodworker.

Mike shares a variety of scrapers and mostly talks about negative rake scrapers. If you don’t know what that is ….don’t worry, you’ll figure it out from the video pictures or his explaination. But this video will get you on your way to learning how to be a better woodturner.

You should bookmark this post or video because you will want to “perfect” this concept….that is, scraping and creating a burr on your tool.

How to Make a Burr with a Burnisher

Let me know what you think.!

WoodTurning Basics for Spindle Roughing Gouges

How to Use Roughing Gouges

The roughing gouge and spindle roughing gouge is very easy to use provided you use it in the correct manner. Always use these gouges on material that is turned between centers and the wood fibers run parallel to the lathe bed. DO NOT USE the roughing gouge on end grain!

My First Experience with
Spindle Roughing Gouges

I remember setting up my lathe and putting the first piece of wood on it. The first piece was a branch and I was going to try to turn a candle holder. I opened up my set of harbor freight turning tools and grabbed something that looked like a gouge of some sort….I really didn’t know at that time and plowed ahead. The candle holder worked out and it sits on the shelf as a reminder to myself.

Big NO NO …I used the Roughing Gouge on a Bowl!

The next project was a bowl. I watched some videos and mounted a piece of wood on the faceplate. Grabbed my harbor freight tools and started to turn. I had 3 gouges, I thought they were bowl gouges they wqere 1″, 3/4″ and 1/4″. I knew enough to not stick that little skinny tool into the spinning wood, so I tried the other gouges. What a mess! I had one heck of a time, catches every time I stuck the tool into the wood. I didn’t know what I now know, never use a roughing or spindle gouge to turn a bowl …..IT IS VERY DANGEROUS!

Roughing Gouge Lesson
Learned the Hard Way!

To end the story, after about 50 catches and feeling very defeated, ready to sell my new lathe…..I tried some scrapers. I ended up finishing the thing with scrapers.

So, if you are new to woodturning and want to know what roughing gouges and spindle roughing gouges look like and how to use them check out this video, it will be very helpful to you and keep you from making the stupid mistake that I made!

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Woodturning Lathe Speed

What Speed to I Use to Turn Wood?

In general, spindles …that is, a piece between centers (not bowls) you need to turn at higher speeds. But only if you are comfortable with that speed. So if you are turning wood pens or turning a candle stick holder you can use lathe speeds over 2000 rpm

Wood Lathe Speed for
Turning Tool Handles

For instance, if I’m making some tool handles I will use a tree limb, or small tree trunk, generally around 3 inches wide and put it between centers. I use the roughing gouge to start and a speed of 600 rpm or so until I knock off all the high points. Then you can turn the speed up and make your handle blank at a speed of 1000 to 2000 rpm.

That’s what I’m comfortable with …considering my skills, my tools and my lathe!

Wood Lathe Speed for
Turning Wood Bowls

When turning a bowl there are all kinds of options to consider when turning your bowl blank. Is your bowl blank balanced or is it out of balance. If you have an odd shape piece of wood on the lathe you can’t turn it fast or else the lathe will walk across the floor.

Type of Lathe Determines Lathe Speed

Wood lathe speed is also determined by the type of lathe you have. Is it strong and heavy, or small and light. Often times you need to weigh lathe down or bolt to the floor.

Wood Type Will Determine Lathe Speed

Don’t forget wood type and condition. Dry wood is usually hard and difficult to shape. You almost have to use a higher speed, but in my experience, dry and hard wood at a fast speed causes more accidents. So, I keep the speed low and if a bowl gouge doesn’t work, I try a big scarper.

Proponent of High Speeds for Wood Lathe

I remember watching a video of a guy turning some bowls. He was an experienced turner but he was a proponent for using fast…fast…turning speeds. He said the tool works best and you have a better experience. Well….not me, I was just beginning and common sense tells me not to let that piece of wood go as fast as I could (use slow speed), and that I should use extreme care when pushing the tool into the wood …..at any speed, but certainly not a fast speed.

Variable Speed Wood Lathe

If you have not yet purchased a wood lathe, you should consider getting a wood lathe with a variable speed control. That will give you the most control of your woodturning speeds. Otherwise, you will be stuck with one speed or changing belts to get different speeds.

I recomend Laguna Tools MLAREVO 1836 Revo Lathe, 18″/36″, Black a solid lathe with variable speed control. But if you are purchasing a new lathe compare the features of the Laguana Wood Lathe with anything you might be buying.

Great middle of the line woodturning lathe — Laguna Revo 1836 Lathe a good step up if you are looking for a good wood lathe!

This is just my opinion on Lathe Speeds.

Adjust your speed according to your experience and your comfort.

I would suggest to anyone to start off slow and safe. Then increase your speed as you are comfortable and your turning is productive and efficient.

Check out this video on lathe speed

Another good lathe speed video

Woodturning Project … How To Finish Wood Bowl Bottoms

How To Finish
Woodturned Bowl Bottoms

Ok, maybe I got the title of this article wrong. It should be “how I finished the bottoms of some of my first bowls“!

In fact it isn’t so much about how I finished some woodturned bowl bottoms, but “that” I finished some bowl bottoms.

To be honest when I first started turning bowls, I started turning bowls. I made one, it was almost done and then I made another one… that was my MO. I did that for quite a while. I simply did not know how to finish the bottom of a bowl. I could mount a hunk of wood to a faceplate. Then I could mount a wood blank to a wood scroll…. but finish the bottom…. I needed some help. So, I collected a few bowls that were almost finished… just not the bottoms 🙂

I had some of my first wood turned bowls with recesses, tenons, and faceplate mounts. I turned the wood bowls and then really didn’t know how to finish the bottom of a wood bowl correctly. So, I finished as much as I could and set the bowls aside. I didn’t think they were worth much anyway.

After a few people said,”hey that bowl looks really cool…I’ll take it”, I decided to see what I could do for finishing the woodbowl bottoms, I thought some might make decent gifts, some might stay in the house….one or two, might hold small parts in the shop 🙂

Finishing Wood bowl bottoms when turning wood bowls on a lathe — Here you’ll see various wood bowl bottoms that need to be finished, recess, tenon and faceplate mounts.

Wood Bowl Bottoms and Finishes

The finishes on the bowls and cups varied from OB Shine Juice, Shellac, Deft Glossy Lacquer, Epoxy, Sanding Sealer and Salad Bowl Finsh by General. I kept all finishes the same except for OB Shine Juice. I applied Salad Bowl Finish over the OB shine juice and so far it seems to be a fine match. It has hardened (cured) correctly. I thought I heard Cap’n Eddie say that you can apply just about anything of OB Shine Juice or just leave it. I was looking for a little more of a shine so I tried the Salad Bowl Finish.

Finishing a Wood Bowl Bottom With A Recess

A recess is used when you have a wood scroll chuck. A small 2″ or so hole is drilled our gouged out in the center of the wood you want to turn and the jaws of the scroll chuck expand to hold to hold the soon to be new bowl.

When it comes to a recess, some wood turners will completely remove the recess, making the bottom of the bowl slightly concave. That looks great but you end up loosing 1/8″ to 3/8″ off

woodturning a recess in a woodbowl for wood scroll chuck — Recess in wood bowl bottom for scroll chuck

the bottom of the bowl, depending how deep your recess is. Some wood turners will just leave the recess, sanding the bottom of the recess and rounding off the edge. Then sometimes, they will then sign and date the bowl. This works pretty good if the recess is fairly shallow. In my opinion it looks a little funky if the recess is deep. Still, the wood turning purist will not accept this type recess finish for a bowl bottom.

finishing wood bowl bottom when using recess for Nova Scroll chuck — How to finish a wood bowl bottom when using a recess for the scroll chuck

An easy way to finish a wood bowl recess is to ease the sharp edges of the recess toward the outside of the bowl. That is, cut out the 90 degree edge of the recess and blend it into the bottom of the bowl. So, in essence, you have a large dimple or concave shaped center. You might then have a center mark from the tailstock to deal with (fill with CA and sawdust). Again in my opinion, this type of finish looks the best and looks like the bottom center of the bowl shape was intentional!

Finishing a Wood Bowl Bottom With A Tenon

The tenon is easily removed when using the tailstock to push the bowl up against a jam block, or jam chuck, which is basically a hunk of wood with some cushion on it. Turn the bowl at slow speed and cut the tenon off,

How to finish a wood bowl with a tenon on bottom — Woodturning a wood bowl with a tenon on the bottom

reposition the tailstock and then scrap the bottom center of the bowl to make it flat. Actually, you’d be better making the center slightly concave. Sand, sign and use your favorite finish. I like to take the thinnest parting tool I have and put a ring or two on the bottom of the wood bowl. I’ve found this to be one of the easiest and cleanest ways to finish a wood bowl bottom.

used a tenon for the nova chuck to turn this bowl — Finishing wood bowl bottom that had a tenon for the scroll chuck

Finishing a Wood Bowl Bottom
Attached To A Faceplate

In the beginning, when woodturning a bowl, I always had a hard time figuring out which end was going to be the top of the bowl and which end would be the bottom of the bowl

My first wood bowl woodturning projects started with a couple of bowls that I started to turn with the wood blank (wood I was turning) screwed directly to the wood lathe faceplate. Usually the face that is screwed to the faceplate will be the top of the bowl and consequently, the screw holes would be removed when you gouge out the bowl. So the correct way to use a faceplate, when turning a wood bowl, would be turn a recess or tenon for the scroll chuck on the end opposite of the faceplate. The end that the tenon or recess is on would then be the bottom of the bowl. But what if you didn’t have a wood lathe scroll chuck? ************ Then get a couple of good woodturnig faceplates and make those work until you can invest in a good scroll chuck like the Nova Wood Scroll chuck

Had A Faceplate But Not a Scroll Chuck

Well, I didn’t have a scroll chuck. I thought I would just deal with the screw holes. I should have used a glue block after getting one side/end straight and flipped it around so the screw holes were not on top of the bowl. The glue block end would be the bottom. Plenty of youtube videos on how to deal with a glue block.

The easiest way to turn a wood bowl is to attach a faceplate, turn the opposite end as the top of the bowl and the end that the faceplace would be the bottom of the bowl. You can finish everything, the bowl bottom would end up with flat with screw holes. Of course you could take the faceplate off and use a jam chuck method to clean up the bottom. If not, just sand the bottom and apply finish. This method is a little rough but if you are just getting started, you can turn your first bowl without a bunch of hoops to crawl through and you will have your wood firmly attached to the lathe. Something I think most new woodturners freak out over. Nothing scarier than a hunk of wood rotating at 600 rpms and the lathe walking across the floor 🙂

How to finish a wood bowl bottom when using a faceplate and screws. — Finishing the wood bowl bottom when using a faceplate with screws.

But….I just left the faceplate attached and had some nasty screw holes on the bottom of my bowl. It was actually a pretty nice bowl except for the bottom. I could have filled all the holes and sanded them down. The screwholes would show if I filled them so I just left them and scraped the bottom level, then put a concave scrape so the center was up and out of the way. I filled the hole from the tailstock, then applied the finish. Added a couple of rings that detracted somewhat from the screwholes. Nice bowl for a realative 🙂

Woodturners have been turning bowls for a long time before the advent of Wood Scroll Chucks. Having a scroll chuck is a really nice tool and makes turning really easy in my opinion. However, it wouldn’t hurt to learn how to use a glue block and faceplate. It really isn’t tgat difficult, just a few more steps!

How to Finish a Wood Bowl Bottom

Coming soon, how to finish a wood bowl bottom.

Here’s a quick video I did on finishing a wood bowl bottom that was turned using a faceplate. Pretty easy to clean up! and then fill the holes and finish. Probably the easiest out of the 3 types of wood bowl bottoms to finish.

Woodturning Tool Recommendations for the Beginner

Woodturning Tool Recommendations for
the Beginner

So you decided to get into woodturning.

You purchased a lathe, a good wood lathe like a Laguna Lathe ….you’re stoked and ready to turn.

Oh, Oh!

Need some woodturning tools!

Laguna Revo 13\36 wood lathe — This Laguna Revo Wood Lathe wreaks of quality, gonn be my next purchase!

I think that’s the scenario that many of us go through. Maybe we don’t buy the lathe yet but we do the research and figure out which one we are ready to get ….in other words, you are ready to pull the trigger on a woodlathe.

My friend, you’re just starting out and you are going to learn that there is a lot more to woodturning. There are a lot of wood turning tools and supplies you are going to need. And, you are going to have to learn how to use these new tools.

Each new wood turning project will require different techniques, differnt tools and different wood. It will require a different plan of attack. Even if you decide to turn a couple of wood bowls, chances are you will need some different tools and each one ….and maybe even a different finish on each one. It all depends on the type of wood and style of bowl.

I’m not going to talk about all the different accessories in this article, but I do want to talke about what is probably one of the most important considerations when entering into the world of wood turning. I want to talk about your woodturning tools.

First you are going to find out that the same type of tool from one vendor is 10 times the cost with another vender or manufacturer. In this case, you usually get what you pay for, but should you buy expensive turning tools to start off with?

Expensive WoodTurning Tools

If you have the cash, go for it!

If you are like most wood turners, that is, always frugal and a good steward of your money you are going to want to purchase tools with the best value to start with.

After fighting through pages and pages, videos and videos about wood turning tools I have come to understand one of the most important things is the type of steel. A wood turning bowl gouge made with less expensive steel will not perform as good as the same woodturning tool made with the best steel. Not only that, it will not hold an edge and you will always be sharpening it.

This could be a double edge sword. It’s important to learn how to sharpen your wood turning gouges, skews and the like because ….number one, it will cost a fortune to pay someone to sharpen your tools and with a cheap tool you might have to sharpen it 2 or 3 times during the project …so you will have to learn how to use something like the Wolverine Oneway Sharpening Jig …you’ll need this regardless of the type of tool you have along with a decent 8″ grinder. So the lesson is, with a cheap tool you will learn sharpening faster and that’s a good thing because when you buy a good expensive Sorby Bowl gouge you don’t want to grind it away honing your sharpening skills with the grinder and oneway sharpening jig!

Don’t Buy A Set of Woodturning Tools

The other mistake most newbie wood turners make is that they buy a set of woodturning tools. A set might have 5 to 10 wood turning tools in it. You might find you only really use 2 or 3 of those tools and you really don’t need the rest at this point.

It’s better to purchase 2 or 3 seperate wood turning tools of better quality and learn how to use those tools and how to maintain and/or sharpen them. And then as you do more research and your scope of woodturning expands you can grab another medium to high quality tool and learn how to use it.

If we consider the last paragraph, then the question would be….. what tool should I start with? A very good question. I would suggest a spindle gouge, a bowl gouge and a scraper. I don’t hear too many woodturners talk about scrapers, but a good scraper has saved my butt on many occaision and it’s a tool that can build your confidence. Spindle gouges and Bowl Gouges come in many shapes and sizes along with different grinds on each …..unless you are a natural they require some effort to learn but with these three wood turning tools you can do just about anything. The only other one I would suggest to begin with is a parting tool.

Here’s a good video that talks about what type of woodturing tools to begin with….good stuff, excellent photography since you can actually see how the tools cut. For instance a bowl gouge with a fingernail grind can make 3 or 4 different cuts and it could do your entire project if used correctly.

Check out Beginners Woodturning Tools

Sealing End Grain on Your WoodTurning Blanks with AnchorSeal or Latex Paint

Sealing End Grain on
Your WoodTurning Blanks

I was out collecting some wood for turning the other day. Found a pine or fir tree about 12″ at widest end cut up in 2, 3 and 4 foot lengths. Just what I was looking for.

I got some ash and beech a couple months ago. A neighbor was cutting down some small trees and I grabbed some choice pieces. I brought them home and stuck them off to the side and forgot about them. I figured I would seal the ends when I got around to it.

Guess what, I never got around to it and it looks like the pieces will be ruined for wood turning. Very disappinted since I had some burls and other pieces that looked interesting. So reminder to self …..always seal the ends right away!

So, I grabbed my new pine pieces. Had some old Latex paint laying around and promtly painted the ends to seal them. The theory goes like this. The ends will dry quicker while the wood in the middle of the log stays nice and wet. You’ve got some uneven movement due to the dryness and continual drying going on so something has to give …..you ususally see it right in the end of your cut logs.

If it hasn’t been too long you can still seal it or better yet, cut off an inch or two and see what it looks like, you might find that the log is still “check” free. Make sure you seal that puppy right away 🙂

What to use for sealing end
grain on wood blanks?

Basically you can use any ole paint you have laying around for end sealing, some swear by it others think a commercial end sealer is better. Put in on thick and store it outside under cover if you can. A good place to find cheap paint is your local Home Depot, Menards or Lowes ….any hardware store will have paint that someone returned or didn’t get mixed right. A gallon of paint goes a long way when sealing ends.

I’ve tried spray paint and it works, but unless you can pick up a can for $.25 or so, it really isn’t worth it.

I’m on a facebook group for sawyers, portable sawmills. These guys get 10′, 15′, 20′ or more length of trees that are 36″ or more in diameter and they still seal the ends otherwise the checking and cracking can ruin much of the log.

These guys use the same thing us woodturner’s would use, old paint …except they’re looking for 5 gallon deals! I would say 70 to 80% of these guys use latex paint on their slabs and other produced wood and stock tree trunks!

AnchorSeal Stops Logs from
Checking and Splitting

There is a commercial product made specifically for sealing the end of wet wood, wether small stuff like we use or whole tree trunks. I believe it’s called “anchorseal”. Seems as though they have several different versions of Anchor Seal now and it looks like it ranges from $25 to $35 dollars. If I was doing a project where I wanted to be absolutely sure there was not splitting, checking or cracking I would use Anchor Seal.. but for my budget and normal woodturning I do I will continue to use paint I have laying around. Maybe when the old paint is no longer available and I get rich, I’ll switch over to AnchorSeal!

Here’s a guy who did a quick video using AnchorSeal for End Grain Sealing from Peter Matthew

Using Glue to Seal Log Ends
to Prevent Splitting

Rick from RickTurns shows us another way to seal end grain on your woodturning logs using Elmers Glue. Notice the nice little jig he set up to slice his logs into slabs and other usable features. A pretty interesting video since he actually performed some tests on the best method to keep logs from splittng!

GreenWood End Sealer Stops
Splitting on Wet Wood

There are a lot of great reviews for Rockler’s Green Wood End Sealer. A product similar to AnchorSeal but cheaper. Next time they have free delivery I think I will grab a gallon to use on some of my choice wood finds. Or I could go down to the local Rockler store to get some 🙂

Check out some of these reviews.

http://shrsl.com/?if28

I have always used Rockler Green…

I have always used Rockler Green Wood end sealer or Anchorseal to seal the ends of my wood. It will seal the wood from cracking until you are ready to use it. Another advantage is, I believe it keeps bugs out of the wood. I don’t know this as fact, but it just seems so. The wood I bring in is not only crack free but bug free. I don’t know if Rockler’s product is the same as Anchorseal but it performs exactly the same. Excellent.

Ash

Had 3 trees taken down and milled into lumber. This product is great, easy to apply and clean up. I fully expect my boards to have no end-checking after they dry out.

Great end seal

I’m new to this and as you can see I bought the smaller bottle and applied using brush on the freshly cut ends on all ten of them while I wait for them to dry and eventually make them into cutting boards and or to turn them into bowls. Each one of these averages in 1′ 2″ to 1′ 5″ in diameter and I still have some left over. I notices some sap coming through later in the day and I brushed more on them. Easy clean as instructed used hot water only to clean my brush. So far so good. Thanks to one of the Rockler sales rep. who introduced me to this stuff. I am definitely going to buy more of this stuff.

You can always see what’s new at Wood Turning Basics!