October 2022 Turning Challenge: Beginners only -- Turn a bowl

[Bill Boehme]

The turning challenge for October 2022 is different in that it is only for new woodturners. So, if you have been turning for less than two years [EDIT: Click here for the updated definition, this challenge is for you. The challenge is to turn a bowl, but not just any old bowl. Nearly every one of us initially made bowls that look something like what is affectionately known as a Fido bowl ... a bowl that has a more-or-less flat bottom and somewhat vertical sides, I think that our subconscious mind tells us that we should aim for the biggest possible bowl from the piece of wood mounted on the lathe.

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Instead of the biggest possible bowl, this challenge is about expanding the envelope and aiming for other forms that you can get out of that chunk of wood on the lathe. So here are the details of your challenge:

• The challenge is about form and not beautiful wood so scrap lumber or plain vanilla wood would be a great choice for this challenge. You can even paint it if you wish.
• The diameter shall be between 5 and 9 inches.
• The maximum height of your bowl shall be no greater than 2½ inches.
• No vertical sides and no flat bottoms are allowed.
• Embellishments are not allowed.
• Your choice of finish (lacquer, shellac, varnish, oil, wax, leftover rattle-can, or latex house paint ...)
• Your goal is to turn a shallow bowl that has a smooth continuous curve without any humps, bumps, dips (AKA, dig-ins or catches), corners, or straight sections.
• Aim for an even wall thickness (we will take your word that the wall thickness is sort of constant).
• This is not a thin-turning contest so thicker walls are preferred.
• The elliptical shape shown below is just one example of a smooth continuous curve, but there are other acceptable shapes such as hemisphere, parabolic, and catenary. There are many other advanced shapes such as ogee and calabash, but this challenge is to make a bowl with just a simple continuous curve.

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• When photographing your bowl aim for a shot that reveals both inside and outside shape as in the example in the foreground below:

And finally, the fine print from the official AAW Forum legal consultants -- Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe:

• Only one entry per person and only one photo of your bowl.
• Entries must be posted in this thread.
• The deadline for posting entries is midnight Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on October 25, 2022.
• As always, this is a turning contest, not a "moldy oldie" photo contest, so in fairness to everybody, make sure your work is something you have made after October 1, 2022.
• You may not post any photos of your entry in this month’s challenge in any other thread or in the gallery until the voting has ended and a winner has been declared.
• Voting will take place from October 26, 2022, through midnight UTC on October 31, 2022.
• Solicitation of votes will result in disqualification.
• The winner might have to pass a lie detector test before collecting the prizes. Good luck, have fun, make shavings, and let the chips fall where they may!!

When voting begins, you are allowed two votes, and once you have voted, you won't be able to go back and change your votes. After you have voted, you can track the vote totals. The voting is secret (just like a real election), so nobody else can see who you voted for (not even the moderators/administrators). The voting will end at midnight UTC on October 31, 2022. In case of a tie vote, the forum moderators will gather in a virtual waist-deep shavings-filled shop to determine the winner.

 

[Michael Anderson]

Sweet! Embellishments allowed at all? (Beads, lines, etc…)

 

[Bill Boehme]

Sweet! Embellishments allowed at all? (Beads, lines, etc…)

I should have thought about that. No embellishments because this would be pushing the challenge out of the beginner realm and into the advanced realm. We are trying to encourage developing the fundamentals for new turners.

 

[David Wrate]

Gosh, I might have to screw up my courage and enter this!

 

[Brian Gustin]

Question: what counts as being new/novice as far as the 2 year thing? I first turned on a lathe back in 1983-1984 in high school shop class, so wasn't exactly a stranger to turning, but only got my first (HF) lathe in October-November 2020... So I think I'm right at the edge of novice/intermediate for the 2 years limit... so I might toss in an entry.. maybe.. especially since I think I'm STILL in the process of learning form...

 

[Michael Anderson]

@Brian Gustin i know the question wasn’t directed at me, but I’m fine with it. Fellow novice here! I think these competitions are all about fostering the community—I say the more the merrier.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Question: what counts as being new/novice as far as the 2 year thing? I first turned on a lathe back in 1983-1984 in high school shop class, so wasn't exactly a stranger to turning, but only got my first (HF) lathe in October-November 2020... So I think I'm right at the edge of novice/intermediate for the 2 years limit... so I might toss in an entry.. maybe.. especially since I think I'm STILL in the process of learning form...

I'm flying by the seat of my pants in uncharted territory. And, I'm fairly certain that no definition of a beginner will please everybody so I defaulted to an arbitrary length of time that may not please anybody. Maybe I should have consulted the expert on questions like this, Jeff Foxworthy ... "You might be a newbie woodturner if ....."

I was contemplating skill level, but quickly became mired down in conflicting ideas and had wasted an entire day on the question of what defines a beginner. Some thoughts that I had included:

• experience level anywhere from absolute beginner constantly getting catches through can turn without catches most of the time.
• turns flat bottom bowls and may or may not be content with that
• beginning to explore other shapes beyond the Fido bowl
• turns without a plan in mind
• lets the "wood speak to them" most of the time and winds up painting themselves into a corner
• has too many self-induced "design opportunities"
• searching for guidance on "advancing to the next level"

If any of these thoughts describe where you are in your woodturning journey then, as JF would say, "you just might be a newbie woodturner". So the definition of a beginner is hereby revised to say, "If you believe that you are a beginner then you are a beginner."

 

[Brian Gustin]

LOL.. OK, OK.. I do resemble a couple of those bullet points you made (the last 4)

 

[John Walls]

A;though I've been turning 'bout 2.5 years, I know I'm a beginner level and loving it! Been a few months since I've turned, life getting in the way but when I saw this challenge I thought I would turn a bowl. This was removed from the firewood pile, it is from a big pine tree in our front yard when we bought the place. Darn ice storm took it out, shame, it was probably older than the house. Full of holes, some kind of beetle went at it. Got lucky, no pitch pockets.... LOL Started this this morning, finished after lunch. Finished with spray on shellac so notting fancy. I'll probably use it to store eggs in the fridge since I'm out of cartons, folks seem to forget to bring them back.

Oh, if it or I don't qualify, feel free to delete. Good luck beginners!

 

[Bill Boehme]

I’ll have to consult our legal department to see if the bug holes would be considered embellishments.

it appears that you’re in like Flynn.

 

[John Walls]

Think of it as nature's embellishments! It turns a blah piece of wood into a semi-blah bowl.... LOL Looking forward to seeing what awesome bowls folks come up with.

 

[robo hippy]

I will never forget the first time I saw Mike Mahoney turn. He was at the Portland AAW Symposium, 15 or so years ago. He was turning a platter, and working on the inside. He left a bead near the transition into the inside. He commented about how the bead drew the eye into the center of the bowl, or some thing like that, and I was thinking, 'you have a nice flowing line there, and then you went and put a speed bump in it....' I would suggest keeping it simple for the first few, just focus on form and flowing lines. Then later, if you want, add some details. Me, I still prefer a plain simple curve. Some times I do a bit of an ogee.

robo hippy

 

[Michael Anderson]

Quartersawn White Oak bowl. Given this was a challenge of fundamental skills, I added my own constraints that sandpaper is not allowed (nor is finish), and that the exterior must also be fully round, i.e. no foot. 7-3/4"d x 1-5/8"h. The prominent medullary rays somewhat belie how smooth the interior is, but that’s alright. It’s oak, what’re you gonna do. Wall thickness is a bit less than 3/8" at the rim, and gradually thickens to 1/2" at the base for the sake of heft and stability.

 

[David Wrate]

Alrighty, here's my entry.
Local Quercus Garryana (Garry Oak) 5" diameter, 2-1/2" tall, 3/8" wall thickness. Sanded to 320 gr, no finish.

 

[Brian Gustin]

This 7-1/2 inch x 1-3/4 Inch bowl of Maple Burl (Just an edge of burl) roughed out back in May, finally got around to finishing it a couple days ago. I had to fill some small voids, My first ever work with Burl wood (The larger part of the burl out of which I got 2 bowls is still drying, and is going to need a lot of filling of voids) - Found that for burl, I was having to go and resharpen my gouge after each cut to get a smooth finish. Sanded to 400 grit and finished with Tried & True Original.

 

[Jonathan Silwones]

Quartersawn White Oak bowl. Given this was a challenge of fundamental skills, I added my own constraints that sandpaper is not allowed (nor is finish), and that the exterior must also be fully round, i.e. no foot. 7-3/4"d x 1-5/8"h. The prominent medullary rays somewhat belie how smooth the interior is, but that’s alright. It’s oak, what’re you gonna do. Wall thickness is a bit less than 3/8" at the rim, and gradually thickens to 1/2" at the base for the sake of heft and stability.

View attachment 47113

Beautiful Michael.

 

[Michael Anderson]

Beautiful Michael.

Thanks a lot Jonathan!

 

[Jonathan Silwones]

Alrighty, here's my entry.
Local Quercus Garryana (Garry Oak) 5" diameter, 2-1/2" tall, 3/8" wall thickness. Sanded to 320 gr, no finish.

Nice David, does Garry Oak interact with steel like regular oak?

 

[David Wrate]

Nice David, does Garry Oak interact with steel like regular oak?

Thank you!
You know that’s a good question. I expect so but I honestly don’t know.
I can tell you that it’s harder than red or white oak.

 

[Nathan Roper]

I got my lathe in May this year, been doing woodworking for a while now but never any turning.

This bowl is green sycamore. It's about 5.5" wide and just under 2" tall and the walls are about 5/16" thick. I turned it on Saturday and it's the first bowl I really felt happy with the inside profile and the walls all feel really consistent in thickness. It could use a little sanding but I'm going to leave it to see how it dries.

 

[Tyler Stocksdale]

First time posting here! I inherited a Sears 113 tube-style lathe from my grandfather this year. I got it running again, weighted down, and as still and sturdy as I could! So far I've turned 5 tool handles, a small bowl (that I blew a hole through the bottom), and this segmented bowl, which is still intact, and is my entry for the turning challenge! I made it from a crooked 2x4 and learned a lot of lessons the hard way, but I think it turned out relatively well!

 

[Gregg Carrier]

Crotch piece of Maple from a tree that fell at my neighbor's place. I can't photograph bowls, obviously, but this form challenge aligns with what I have been trying to accomplish lately, and I was pleased with the shape of this one. I've been turning since Dec 2020 when I can, between kids and "real" work.

 

[Warren Grill]

I have been turning for ~1 year on a 1967? Craftsman that I inherited from my Grandfather. My entry is my first live-edge bowl. I turned it from a piece of poplar that I cut from a downed tree in the woods behind our house. Finished with sanding sealer then Waterlox. Just over 5 1/2" in diameter and 2 1/2" +/- in height.

 

[Jake Charlson]

Here's my entry, and first post on the forums! I started turning a little over a year ago, been focusing on spindles up until just 2-3 months ago when I decided to start into bowls; turning on a 10" Turncrafter Commander. Just joined AAW last week, having a lot of fun so far with the online training this weekend.

This came from a "box of blanks" from Craft Supplies USA that I've been working through. The outside didn't look like anything interesting but it ended up being a bit spalted and figured, so that was pretty cool! Sanded up to 400 then finished with some walnut oil and a couple coats of a shellac/carnauba wax mix. Pretty sure it's maple, but since it was not labeled I really don't know. 6-1/2" x 2-1/4"

 

[Lucas Askland]

Been turning for a little over a year now. This little walnut bowl isn't much but it was the first one that I can say went from tree to bowl . Wife uses it to hold her rings, keys, etc. Just over 5" in diameter at the rim and just at 2" tall. Fished with sanding sealer and a couple coats of Tung oil varnish.

 

[Jonathan Silwones]

First time posting here! I inherited a Sears 113 tube-style lathe from my grandfather this year. I got it running again, weighted down, and as still and sturdy as I could! So far I've turned 5 tool handles, a small bowl (that I blew a hole through the bottom), and this segmented bowl, which is still intact, and is my entry for the turning challenge! I made it from a crooked 2x4 and learned a lot of lessons the hard way, but I think it turned out relatively well!

View attachment 47421

Nice work. 2x4 can be tough. The fact that you cut through the bottom of a bowl is a good thing. It shows you aren’t afraid to reach for good form. We’ll done.

 

[Richard Morgan]

I've been turning for about 4 months. I started because I needed handles for an unhandled set of chisels I bought. That will probably turn out to be the most expensive set of chisels ever. I've been a woodworker for many years but turning has got my attention now.
This bowl is red oak, 6" by 3 1/4 high, and is finished with a microcrystalline wax finish. I don't follow directions well so it is not a single continuous curve but a curve up to a straight rim.

 

[Brett Johnson]

My first attempt was oak, apparently drier than I thought as the piece ended up in multiple pieces around my shop floor. This one is from a relatively still green birch log given to me from friends. It's about 2 1/2" tall (just under) and just under 6" diameter. I've been turning about a year now, still learning and enjoying, and now I need a bigger lathe.

 

[Bill Boehme]

The October challenge is now closed. Voting will begin in a few hours.