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To Shape the Interior of a Bowl
1. Stop the lathe and move the tailstock away.
Remove the center from the tailstock to
prevent bumping it with your elbow.
2. Adjust the tool support in front of the bowl
just below the centerline, at a right angle to
the lathe bed.
3. Rotate the workpiece by hand to check the
clearance.
4. Face off the top of the bowl by making a
light shearing cut across the workpiece, from
rim to center.
5. Place the 1/2" bowl gouge on the tool rest at
the center of the workpiece with the flute
facing the top of the bowl. The tool handle
should be level and pointed toward four
o'clock, see Figure 23.
6. Use left hand to control the cutting edge of
the gouge, while the right hand swings the
tool handle around toward your body, see
Figure 23. The flute should start out facing
the top of the workpiece, and rotate upward
as it moves deeper into the bowl to maintain
a clean even curve. As the tool goes deeper
into the bowl, progressively work out toward
the rim. It may be necessary to turn the tool
rest into the workpiece as you get deeper
into the bowl. Note: Try to make one, very
light continuous movement from the rim to
the bottom of the bowl to ensure a clean,
sweeping curve through the workpiece.
Should there be a few small ridges left, a
light cut with a large domed scraper can
even out the surface.
7. Develop the wall thickness at the rim and
maintain it as you work deeper into the bowl.
When the interior is finished, move the tool
support to the exterior to re-define the
bottom of the bowl. A general rule of thumb:
the base should be approximately 1/3 the
overall diameter of the bowl.
8. Work the tight area around the faceplate or
chuck with 1/4" bowl gouge.
Sanding and Finishing a Bowl
1. Remove the tool rest and adjust the lathe
speed to the appropriate finishing speed.
High speed can build friction while sanding
and cause heat check in some woods.
2. Begin with fine sandpaper 120 grit and
progress through each grit, using only light
pressure. Coarser sandpaper tends to leave
deep scratches that are hard to eliminate.
Use power-sanding techniques to avoid
concentric sanding marks around your
finished piece. Avoid rounding over the rim
and foot with sandpaper. Try to keep details
crisp. Finish sanding with 220 grit.
3. Remove the sanding dust with tack rags, or
compressed air and, with the lathe turned
off, apply the first coat of finish. Let it stand
for several minutes then wipe off the excess.
Allow it to dry before sanding again with 320
or 400 grit sandpaper.
4. Turn lathe back on and make a separation
cut through the base. Stop at about 3" and
use a small fine tooth saw to separate the
bowl from the waste.
5. Apply additional finish coats and allow them
to dry before buffing.