Tonight we welcomed Gregory Moreton to give us a demonstration which consisted of 2 bowls, one rustic made from an oak fencepost, the other a winged form made from a laburnum log.
The first bowl was an old oak fencepost which Gregory prepared so that it could be mounted onto a pine jig to allow it to be turned. Before any turning took place Gregory showed us how he sharpens his bowl gouges to get the best finish even when deep hollowing.
Once mounted the bowl was turned out and power sanded working from the back edge of the bowl working to the middle, then back out again. The working back out is important to remove dust otherwise the next pass will clog the abrasive.
The natural faces of the oak post were then cleaned up using a fine nylon brush mounted on a drill. Once cleaned the piece was treated with sanding sealer. This was applied with a lint free cloth as paper towel would tear and contaminate the grooves. Once the sealer was dry the surfaces were waxed using a toothbrush to apply it. After about 15 minutes the wax could be brushed using a polishing brush in a jacobs chuck in the lathe.
The winged bowl was made from a laburnum log that was split down the middle, sanded flat and then scraped with a cabinet makers scraper to give a fine finish. Be sure to do the splitting of the log safely. The blank was mounted flat side onto a pine carrier to allow turning. The screws were in the area that was to be cut off when the bowl was finished. The wings and outside of the bowl was turned (very carefully as the wings are potentially dangerous). The outside of the bowl could be sanded on the lathe but the wings would need to be done off the lathe.
The bowl was finally reverse mounted on another jig so that the inside of the bowl could be turned and sanded.
It was a great night’s demonstration with lots of good, solid turning tips and insights.