Ed Karch gives us an insight into his design considerations. He shows us vessels turned end grain and side grain and then, in a typical Karchian twist, decides to turn on a bias, halfway in between. This will make mounting and cutting much trickier.
Ed has provided two nice maple logs with some ambrosia and great stain patterns along the core. Clif Poodry is going to turn a side-grain vessel. If you think that looks like end grain, you'd be correct -- first Clif wants to get those flat ends off, and this is the easiest and safest way to do it.
Ed, on the other hand, has to make some flats for his centers, and he chooses to do it with some traditional hand tools...
... homemade adz that look like this.
Yes, this is the task that Ed has set for himself. Get out of the line of fire!
Clif is off to a fast start, quickly roughing out a basic ball shape.
Ed is going very slowly, in more ways than one!
This is not an easy cut. A bowl gouge is the safest tool for this kind of thing.
Clif has now unmounted the ball and remounted it in side-grain configuration -- at 90 degrees to it's previous orientation. Note that the previous center mark was very close to the pith. This is some very nice wood. There is no tenon at this point -- he is using the chuck jaws as a large spur drive.
Ed is starting to get that wild thing tamed, but it's far from round.
Clif gets his basic shape going.
The pith is right here.
Ed is still getting those corners rounded off.
Clif's blank has a natural hole right through the middle of the pith. Note that it also now has a chuck tenon and shoulder.
Clif has now reversed the blank and is holding the tenon in the chuck jaws, but he's keeping the tailstock up for support as long as he can.
Ed's blank is now almost round.
Time to take a little break and talk about homemade tool handles. You don't have to spend a lot of money on these things -- with a little imagination, the local hardware store has all you need for a few bucks.
Back to work -- side by side. That's what this demo is all about. We are lucky to have two such talented turning teachers in MCW.
Ed has identified the top line, added a tenon and shoulder, and is parting off at the bottom.
Alas poor Yo... oops, wrong story. Ed's roughout is ready for chucking.
Clif is starting to hollow but keeping that tailstock connection as long as possible for safety.
Ed is now chucked up but also keeping the tailstock up for safety.
Clif has removed the tailstock and is now hollowing in earnest with a bowl gouge.
Clif's bowl gouge has a very steep angle -- looks like about 40 degrees to me -- that makes it a "Batty" grind.
Ed has defined the top edge of his pot and is parting off the waste...
...and is now ready to begin hollowing. First he makes a small dimple on center with the gouge...
...and then drills by hand to his maximum depth.
Clif is at the point where it's hard to get the bowl gouge cut started, so he's beginning to use a Hamlet hollower, a "guarded" ring tool, to make the needed ridge so he can continue with the bowl gouge, which is his preferred tool.
Note that Clif has moved to the back side of the lathe so he can get a firm grip on the tool and is not reaching way out over the lathe. It is very important for tool control and safety to keep the hand and arm tight to the body.
Ed has caught up and is hollowing away, trying out Clif's Hunter tool.
Ed ads a concave shape to the top of his pot.
Getting those curls out of the pot is a continuing nuisance. They've got to go because they will quickly jam the tool and cause a catch.
A little measuring of the wall thickness is always a good idea.
The Hamlet cutter is HSS, not carbide, so it requires regular sharpening.
Remember now, the ange of the grain here is crosswise! All the rules of cutting change to the opposite direction between end grain and side grain, so what do you do halfway in between? You turn very carefully and maintain tool control -- or things may go flying.
Clif has finished hollowing and added a decorative rim.
Clif, refining his shape and making fine shavings with a sharp bowl gouge.
He is now ready to clean up the outside with a shear scrape. He is using a polished scraper -- one with no burr.
This results in some very fine shavings.
Two pots hollowed and nearly done.
Ed, too, has finished hollowing, and he has once again reversed the piece to remove the nib. Clif is leaving his on for now so he can do some sanding later, at home.
And there you have it folks. Both Ed and Clif finished at virtually the same time. The result of our session of dueling lathes is two lovely pots turned from similar pieces of wood but with quite different appearances due to the two different grain orientations.
Clif's pith is straight on the side, while Ed's is rotated halfway to the bottom.
Two nice pots in a little over an hour! Not bad. This was great fun for all involved. It was like watching a tennis match. I think we'll do it again next year. Our sincere thanks go to both of our good and talented friends.
Ed's completed pot with some finishing. Note the 45-degree angle of the pith. The center of the pith is where cracks start from. This pot has already cracked from the upper pith to the rim. The asymmetry probably makes it more prone to cracking. Ed looks at this as a design opportunity.
Clif's finished pot after a little TLC at home.
