Why stop at twice turned?

[Aron Fast]

I have been turning for less than two years. This week I took a poplar bowl [12"x5" with 1/2" thick walls] that I finished a year ago, and turned it a third time.

I had to put another foot on it and I was surprised that the wood had still moved 1/16". Anyway I was able to take the walls down to 1/4" and I was much more pleased with the shape as well as the mass to volume feel of the bowl.

I have found Glenn Lucas's remounting plate most helpful: https://www.glennlucaswoodturning.com/tip-bowl-turning-using-faceplate-or-remounting-plate/

 

[Brent@TurnRobust]

Wood is a natural material, and it will continue to move from moisture content changes. That's why furniture makers have developed all kinds of construction techniques to accommodate it. There are many books and tons of articles about this. Wood will expand and contract across the grain, and hardly at all along the grain. Also, this takes time. The center of a board is hardly ever at the same moisture content as the surface of the board. If relative humidity goes up, the outside can be wetter than the inside and may take months to stabilize. If humidity goes down, the outside can be drier than the inside for many months before it stabilizes. I live in an old farm house in Wisconsin. The doors swell up in humid the summer time, and some are hard to shut. In the winter, they dry out and shut easily. Get used to it . Part of the game.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Anyway I was able to take the walls down to 1/4" and I was much more pleased with the shape as well as the mass to volume feel of the bowl.

1/4" is generally my target thickness. light, but still sturdy.

 

[Curt Fuller]

I have bins full of old turnings (I've been turning for about 25 years) that I go through now and then. I pull out pieces that were turned fairly thick and can still be easily remounted. I turned some very pretty wood that didn't get the justice it deserved back then. And maybe still doesn't. Skills, interests, finishing all improve over time. It was hard to be patient enough back then to let wood fully dry too. I'm doing more and more of those thrice turned pieces lately.