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Excerpted from Turning Bowls with Richard Raffan
Turning Bowls: Rough Turning the Profile
Step-by-step instruction from a master woodturner
by Richard Raffan
In his new book Turning Bowls, Richard Raffan provides everything you need to know to turn bowls -- from wood selection and design advice to surface embellishment and finishing techniques.
In this excerpt Raffan covers rough turning the profile.
I always rough cut bowls in two stages. First I turn the profile (the outside form) with the face that will be the top of the bowl toward the headstock. Then I remount the partly turned bowl for hollowing, gripping it by the foot.
The transformation of a seasoned blank to the profile of a small bowl ready for sanding can take well less than a minute. Turning green wood can be even faster. Once the blank is mounted, I typically shape a 10-in. (250mm) salad bowl in a few minutes. Consequently it is important to have simple, quick, and efficient ways of fixing a blank on the lathe and then equally simple ways of removing it. So before I discuss how to use the tools to best advantage at the roughing stage, let's look at the options for mounting your blanks...
Internationally acclaimed for both his turning and his teaching, Richard Raffan is a leader in the woodturning community. Well-known for his gallery-quality production work, he is author of Turning Wood, Turning Projects, Turning Bowls and Turning Boxes, all from the The Taunton Press. He lives in Tharwa, Australia.
Photos: Richard Raffan; drawings: Michael Gellatly
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