Once turned vs twice turned bowls

[Nino G. Cocchiarella]

Okay, I have a question for the forum. As some may know my lathe time is short, just about three years now. The first year was pretty much just spindles for furniture. Now that I am addicted to more than spindles I am curious what the opinions of those more experienced than me are. I think this is just individual preferences but I still wanted some thoughts.

I started out making twice turned bowls. Roughed them in thick and let them dry for a year/inch then finished them once dry. These bowls are, of course, round and symmetrical. Later I tried some once turned bowls. Now, I still let them dry for maybe a month or more, then turned the tenon off to give me a round and flat bottom. These bowls were not round. The amount of distortion varied by species and style/shape but generally I liked this method better. I like the more organic appearance.

As an additional note I prefer to power sand with an old electric drill and padded 3" hook and look pads so the distortions don't affect sanding.

A once turned bowl with it distortions.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

Semiotical, i.e. relating to signs and meaning?

I turn more forms once from green wood than twice turned. Immediate gratification is one motive, the asymmetrical and somewhat unpredictable nature of the result another, plus green wood is easier to turn. Some forms just need to be round and symmetrical and that calls for patience and second turning. Some say this and some say that.

 

[Mark Fairchild]

I do both but mostly twice turned on bowls. It’s totally up to you. Neither is “better” as far as the end result. Just different.

 

[Dean Center]

Nino, nice bowls. But what's the question? Your note very accurately captured the difference between twice and once turned bowls, so you understand things as well as the rest of us. If you want symmetrical, utilitarian bowls, twice turn them. If you like unpredictable, wonky, interesting bowls, go for once turned. It's personal opinion and yours is the only one that counts. (Excepting, of course, Mrs. Cocchiarella)

When new at turning, we don't have the skill set to turn fast enough and thin enough to make once turned bowls that don't crack. Now that you've gained speed and mastery, you have the option to do either.

 

[Greg Carles]

Not sure of your question but my preference is twice turned bowls but my wife thinks a few warped are neat but she also mostly likes twice turned. I use her as a guage for most artistic decisions as I don't have any artistic visions LOL...
Here is a pic of just a few roughed out bowls I have aging in my garage.

 

[Darryl Fective]

I lean toward green to finish bowls, mostly because of my impatience.

 

[Russell Nugent]

Honestly for me it depends, salad bowl, yarn bowl, some embellishments etc....I will do twice turned. Natural edge, funky stuff , hollow forms, I generally once turn.

 

[Nino G. Cocchiarella]

Semiotical, i.e. relating to signs and meaning?

I turn more forms once from green wood than twice turned. Immediate gratification is one motive, the asymmetrical and somewhat unpredictable nature of the result another, plus green wood is easier to turn. Some forms just need to be round and symmetrical and that calls for patience and second turning. Some say this and some say that.

*symmetrical... Ha dyslexic am I. I am much the same. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Nino G. Cocchiarella]

Nino, nice bowls. But what's the question? Your note very accurately captured the difference between twice and once turned bowls, so you understand things as well as the rest of us. If you want symmetrical, utilitarian bowls, twice turn them. If you like unpredictable, wonky, interesting bowls, go for once turned. It's personal opinion and yours is the only one that counts. (Excepting, of course, Mrs. Cocchiarella)

When new at turning, we don't have the skill set to turn fast enough and thin enough to make once turned bowls that don't crack. Now that you've gained speed and mastery, you have the option to do either.

Dean, I guess I'm just looking for opinions and perspective. A truly unscientific poll for no reason other that a conversation. I know what I like today but who knows what tomorrows preference will be. The boss like either method BTW

 

[Darryl Fective]

I go back & forth. I sort of like the textures and waviness that comes with a green-turned bowl, but sometimes they just become an uninteresting oval shape.

 

[Rick Moreton]

I think the once turned bowls are more fun, but I rarely deal with green wood since I don't have a lot of free time to go looking for it and processing it before it cracks.

 

[robo hippy]

I had a bunch of dried blanks when I started, but not roughed out bowl blanks, solid chunks that were air dried for years. After that, I got into once turned bowls, and I still prefer them. Wood variation can make huge differences, and Pacific Madrone warps like no other wood, and it is almost always unpredictable. When sanding them out, you need a lathe that goes down to 10 to 15 rpm. I had my Robust reprogrammed to run that slow. My old 3520A did that already, and I have heard the 3520C does that now. My Vicmark 240 does that as well. Mostly, if any faster, you can't keep the abrasives on the wood as the bowl spins. I use "extended" jaws on my Vicmark chuck to grip the oval recess for sanding. I almost never use a tenon. This allows me to sand both the inside and outside of the bowls in one go rather than sand the outside before reversing and then sanding the inside which means having to do the whole process over. I consider this an advantage. The bowls are dry after a week. I do turn to about 1/4 inch thick. With the madrone, a tenon would most likely cause it to crack since it is thicker, and with a quirky wood like madrone that would be enough. I do wrap the rim with stretch film to help prevent cracking. I also round over both edges of the rim. I have gone back to the LDD soak also, which is equal parts water and hand dishwashing soap, clear, lemon, or tan (Costco), 24 hour soak at least, rinse off and air dry over night, then wrap the rim. More than anything, this makes sanding a lot easier. It is kind of messy, and I quit doing it for a while, but went back after sanding out a plate I had done years ago and "found" amidst my piles. I love the comments about "Okay, you couldn't have done that on a lathe since it ain't round, so how did you carve it out like that?" After explaining how wood warps as it dries, the most frequent response is "Its soooo Organic!".

robo hippy

 

[Don Stephan]

My two cents a once turned bowl reflects the natural properties of wood, and is all I turn..

 

[Alan Weinberg]

There is always the microwave option between rough and final turning. Saves that time of waiting in between. Works well.

 

[William Rogers]

There are advantages to both. I prefer twice turned as I like the wall thickness to be around 3/8”. I also like to do embellishments like basket illusion. With once turned, 1/4” thickness seems ideal to prevent cracking. Just do what you prefer. At 77 my chain saw days are getting limited and I have enough twice turned rough bowls to last me a very long time.