I Attempt To Turn the Largest Bowl I Have Ever Made On My Laguna 18/36…Again
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- čas přidán 18. 12. 2023
- It has been a long time coming but it is finally time for me to put my Laguna 18/36 lathe to the test & attempt to turn the largest bowl I have ever turned....again. I turned a large 24" diameter bowl a few months ago but this time around, I am ready to beat that with this natural edge bowl turned from some beautiful oak. Be sure to check it out & see if I was able to beat my 24" record!
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I could sit and type out all kinds of things I love about this channel. But they are all things I’ve said in the past. Love the old shop feel, the natural lighting. The camera angles and the slow downs. And the bowls speak for themselves I would have had buckets of sweat around me trying to turn a bowl that size. My hat is off to you sir.
I always appreciate your comments & kind words! I get asked alot about how nervous I get turning these bigger bowls but I will tell you, once you turn one you realize it isnt too bad. I actually feel more comfortable turning something like this over something small. I always joke that if something this size came off the lathe I could step out of the way and just watch it roll off because how slow its going but with something small turning at 1000 rpms + , that catches you by surprise and something can happen before you realize it. Its weird justification but it helps me! lol
@@andrewmccarn Makes perfect t sense to me. The slowest my little Fisher Price lathe will go is around 700 rpm. One day, when I can afford a big boy lathe, the thing I’m most excited about is having variable speed. It changes a lot of different factors for sure. I’ve seen a few turners who had lathes that would turn slow enough that they were able to use epoxy as a finish coat and it ran slow enough that it didn’t fling off the epoxy, yet fast enough that it was able to self level. All of that aside, I think you have found the perfect recipe for what makes your channel stand out. People can duplicate lots of different things from other channels but the “old shop” feel, combined with the natural ambient lighting, the camera angles you use, and not to mention, your experience and creativity are something people just can’t replicate. You’re there my friend.
Well having to make another beautiful big bowl like that doesn't need an excuse. Love it.
Superb work Andrew! Thank you.
Thank you!
Wonderful work, I hope you and your Family have a Great New Year
I always look forward to watch your videos, and this one was well worth the wait. Beautiful bowl as usual! 👍
Thanks John, I always appreciate your comments!
Fantastic work! I find challenging myself when im standing at the lathe is very satisfying.
Thank you Keith! The lathe is a great tool to challenge yourself; I know its definitely challenged & helped me with my patience lol
Wow, it’s beautiful. Love the shape and natural edge. Thanks Andrew!
Thank you Brenda for the kind words!
Great job Andrew i have in joy of all that you do of your woodworking and your woodworking videos to keep up the good job man
Thank you bud!
Great video as always, I'll be here for round three. Keep up the good work, brother.
Thank you sir!
That is one AWESOME piece. Few questions for you.. First, what size faceplate did you use one that one? Second, Any idea about what that weighed when you put it on the lathe? Looks like 100 plus.
What kind of safety precautions / procedures do you use with something this large? I assume you keep the RPMs low whenever possible. However, when working near the center of the bowl, you kind of have to turn them up.
To deal with the risk of a piece of wood breaking off, do you try to avoid standing near the projected plane of the "equator"? I see you crossing this zone sometimes -- do you only avoid this zone when there's a higher risk of wood breaking off?
I really like it. You inspire me. My biggest is 14" black walnut with 1/4" walls. Keep up the good work.
I bet it looks great too, especially being black walnut! One of my favorite woods to turn
I just stumbled across your channel, and I'm very glad I did. Another subscriber for you sir, Fantastic work!
Thank you, I appreciate that!
Beautiful piece! I can only imagine how heavy that blank was to start - I was mounting an 18” one the other day by my self and it wore me out….
Thank you! I would have honestly loved to know how much it weighed out of curiosity. Its crazy how much wood can weigh especially when its green! Even the 16"-18" blanks can give you a workout like you said lol
That was a fun watch! Without spoiling the outcome, I can not wait for the third in this series! Bowl turned out beautiful.
As always, amazing work, video, and editing!
I need a Christmas video though.....maybe next year haha.
I appreciate the kind words man! Hopefully I will be getting to the next big one here soon & I do have some Christmas videos planned for next year. Should probably go on and start working on them lol
Love your work, your vidéo gave me the taste to try à bigger bowl.My biggest was a 16" so far.😊
16" is a great size! Thats probably one of my favorite sizes of bowls to turn. Thanks for the comment!
Excellent piece and work
Thank you!!
Great work, that bowl looks fantastic! What was your final sanding grit on that project? Looking forward to Monster Bowl 3! 👍🙏
Thank you! I typically power sand to 320 and then when applying the finish I will do a wet sand by hand with a 1200 grit just to give it a nice touch. Adds a nice feel to the bowl!
thank you for your great videos Andrew ; ) I have sold most of my metalworking machinery and bought me a Laguna 18/36 and all of its options, witch are still in their boxes unpakked... (for more than a year now, imagine that!)
In spring we moved from the Flanders side of Belgium to Normandie, France (La Suisse Normande) and i am working hard to create and finish my atelier from scratch. As soon this workspace, (with a great soul to it, all of the buildings here are hundreds of years old, and made out of wonderfull stones) is ready for action i will build up my darling with love and great care (i was a turner/miller in one off my former proff. lifes)
What i miss in your video is whitch kind of products you are using, i am a beginner, absorbing every bit of usefull info like a new sponge you see ; ) ; ) my English is not without errors, please excuse me for that, and thanks again for you sharing creative spirit.
Thank you very much for the comment! The building you described sounds amazing! I follow other wood turners in Europe & it seems every shop/building over there is just filled with amazing history. I love the look of an older shop - stone/brick walls, hardwood floors, lots of natural light. That lathe will look nice sitting there once you get it ready to go! For the tools I use, I try to keep it simple. For 99% of my bowls, I use a 5/8s bowl gouge, 1/4 detail gouge - usually just to shape the tenon, and a 3/4 round nose scrapper. I do most of my work with just those three tools. Once the bowl is dry, I will power sand from 80-320 grit and then finish with either tung oil, danish oil or the occasional Linseed oil. I hope that helps but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!
An absolutely beautiful bowl. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.
Thank you very much! I hope you and your family did as well!!
That's a really beautiful bowl, Andrew! It looks lovely :)
Thank you!
That was a monstrous project you undertook. Great result and congratulations. Well done.
Thank you Robert! It was definitely more work than I anticipated 😅
Andrew, beautiful bowl, love your work! Scott
Thank you Scott, I really do appreciate that!
i love how you challenge yourself. you got wanting to try it
Challenges & experiences are the best way to learn!
Great turn Andrew! You motivated me to get my bed extension next year for my lathe too.
Thank you John! You wont regret it, I love mine! Just be sure to change out the bolts for longer ones and make a little wedge post for the end. Will help stabilize it alot more.
@@andrewmccarn great advice! Thanks!
Hi Andrew stunning work .. just wondering what finish do you use.. Happy Christmas from Terry in Ireland.
Thanks Terry! I go back and forth between tung oil or danish oil - really just depends what the piece is for. For this piece I just used tung oil. Hope that helps & Merry Christmas to you as well!
What a beast, and absolutely beautiful bowl!!
Thank you!
Hey Andrew, great video, thanks for sharing.....your work is always top notch and you def give me inspiration in my turning journey. I like big stuff as well, haven't gotten that big yet, around 16" is my biggest so far, but one day soon. Again, thanks for sharing, we all appreciate your efforts and you make such a great impact for the turning community!! Best regards, -Rich
I sincerely appreciate the thoughtful comment Rich. Its comments like these that motivate me to continue making videos. Thanks for that!
Amazing job Andrew! You inspired me to make a large 16 inch finish NE bowl on my laguna 18/36 also. Wow what a workout. I made 3 each around the same size. Took me 6 hours for each just to rough cut. Just wondering what thickness did you rough cut before sanding? You said you waited 3 months before finishing. Did you just oil them or did you just sand them first and not return them? I got down to around a 1/2 inch thick, that was as brave as I was. Not sure how to let them dry? Place them in paper bag? Or let them sit out in cool area. (basement crawl space) Sorry for all the questions, just learning. Again great job and you are putting out some great work!
Thank you & thats awesome! Natural edge bowls are a ton of fun to turn, probably my favorite style of bowl to turn actually. So I tend to use the Once-turned method for my bowls & will typically turn the bowl to around 1/4 to 3/8 depending on the size. This bowl I think I kept it around 3/8 thick which was done the first and only turning portion. I will then do a wet sanding with 80 grit just to clean up some of the rough areas and tool marks if there are any. I personally find this easier to do when the wood is wet than when it dries so I go ahead and do this - just on 80 grit though. I have been experimenting lately with my drying technique but typically after the wet sanding, I will just set them in front of my air vent in my office to dry for around 2 weeks and then move them back out in the shop to finish drying and thats really it. My thought process is that the vent puts out a consistent temp. along with light air flow to keep moisture moving. I have been doing this for around 2 years or so and I have had more success with it than any other technique I have tried. The thing I have been experimenting with is applying a light coat of tung oil or boiled linseed oil on the wet piece after turning to help offset the water in the wood & slow down the drying specifically for woods that are more prone to cracking. I have been doing this for two months now and so far so good. The only cracks I have had are cracks that were in the wood before turning and even those have stay about the same size without getting worse like in this video. If you would like to try this method I would highly recommend turning the bowls a little thinner than 1/2". That can work as I have done that but you will probably have a little more success with going a tad thinner. My best advice is to experiment with your environment and see what works best for you and your bowls. The paper bag method is tried & true but my issue with it is it seems there are so many different ways to do it & its something you have to keep up with every other day. I can see the crawl space working but that would also seem like a seasonal thing as the temp fluctuates throughout the year. But again, try out anything and everything! I hope this helps & don't apologize for the questions, its a part of learning!
Thanks Andrew, really appreciate the feedback. Will certainly give it a try and send you a pick when done. Thanks again. Agreed, always learning.
@@andrewmccarn
Hi Andrew, I am a big fan of your style. I also have a Laguna 18/36 I have not invested in the drop extension yet but it is in my future. I have a question. I'd like to know how you remount the bowl to cut the tenon. Do you have some sort of jam chuck and wrestle it around to get it center again ? Or a vacuum chuck with a giant faceplate attached? Just curious.
Highly recommend the extension! I do use a homemade jam chuck to remount the bowls. When I initially turn my tenon I try my best to leave the center point from my tail stock on it so that way I can just put it back into place when I go to remount it for sanding. I will turn it down to a small nub and then clean up with a chisel and sander off the lathe. Hopefully that helps but if you have any other questions please let me know!
In the beginning I was worried that something may go wrong, with such a big piece of wood. You never know what surprises it kan hide. But, i'm an optimist, so I cross my fingers and hope for the best. With your skills and patience it turned out as a very beautiful bowl. Nice work! 👍💪Congratulations from Europe and happy Holidays! 🥳
I really appreciate the kind words! With bigger pieces like this, you never know whats going to be hiding inside of them. It seemed like this piece was constantly making me change plans BUT it was definitely worth and a bowl I'm very proud of! Thank you for the comment & I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season!
Absolutely gorgeous bowl! I have a 16” swing and my largest to date is 15 1/2” oak bowl! Turning large bowls will definitely teach patience!
Thanks for your videos! Merry Christmas from North Carolina!!
Thanks Gary! That was the swing on my old jet! I remember when I got it, the first thing I did was turn a 15" bowl on there because my lathe before that was an old harbor freight lathe with like a 10" swing. I couldn't wait to get something bigger on there lol Larger bowls are definitely a good teacher and a fun experience; theyre one of the main reasons I started turning actually!
@@andrewmccarn
Thanks for your reply! I taught myself to turn using a Shopsmith MarkV. Like you 8” bowl was not large enough! Think the 15 1/2” bowl will have to satisfy me for now! Lol
Great job!!!
Thank you!
I hope you turn a bowl as a present for your neighbor that helped lift that monster blank onto the lathe. Great work you do. Love your bowls and videos.
Got one planned! He had a tree taken down in his yard a few months ago so I have something turned from that drying.
What kind of finish did you use on this bowl?
Great job! I would say you're brave for turning something that big but you make it look easy. I do wonder how many inches of gouge were ground away in the sharpening of your tools for something of this size!
I appreciate that! Truthfully I didn't have to sharpen the gouge too, too much; once I got past the initial roughing on the outside, everything else went a lot smoother. On the inside I think I only sharpened it twice!
Outstanding!
Thanks Scott!
Lovely work. Nice to see a turner turn wood.
Thank you!
Wow mammoth job. Yes difficulties and problems abound. With large bowls, probably more with natural edge
I’d like to hear more about the choices you had to make and your decision making processes. Tools used and why, total hours turning, finishing techniques and finish used and why. Moisture content starting and finishing, any warping. It looks like no bark left, why. What happened. Too many unanswered questions for me. BUT still a very interesting video
It was great to watch the turning but a little more commentary would have made this a better instructional video.
I have a vicmarc vl300 lathe ( I’m Australian) and it turns 600 mm over the bed which is about 25 inches. I’ve turned that size and it’s great to turn BIG bowls. Mine was a crotch piece, I’ve other half still to turn. ( camphor laurel with a lovely colour streak through it)
Your Finished bowl looks like endgrain but you started with cross grain.
Thanks very much for sharing.
You're spot on about large natural edge bowls and difficulties! They tend to go hand in hand. To answer a few of your questions, the only tools I used were a 5/8s bowl gouge and a 3/4 round nose scrapper; total hours - I am not sure as I didnt even think of keeping up with it lol - finishing technique was just power sand 80-320 and finish with tung oil; moisture - another thing I am not sure as I don't really check that often anymore, it was very green when I started though; for the bark - this tree was cut down in the summer causing the bark to fall off, it was already starting to when I prepped the bowl blank so I went ahead and just took the rest off; There was warping but that's intentionally done as I like to let the bowls warp, I think it adds a unique characteristic to the piece. I hope this helps & I do appreciate the feedback and comment!
Great job... I turn the 2436 but don't have the extension so my max so far has been 23+/- but was able to core them out. You didn't show..did you use a jam chuck to remove that tenon? Again great job (I love to turn the big ones also but they are getting harder and harder to get up on the lathe I hate to bother my neighbors 😂)
Lucky! Thats my dream is to have the 24/36 with the extension. Would love to be able to see what it can do lol and yes thats correct! I have a homemade jam chuck I just use for these bigger bowls. Yeah the bigger bowls are my favorite but I agree, I don't like bothering them to come help lift some crazy heavy wood lol but I appreciate the comment!
Your videos are excellent 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I appreciate that!
@@andrewmccarn well deserved mate, I haven't found better produced turning videos on yt or other videos for that matter
WOW, I have a Laguna half that size and somtimes the larger blanks scare me , and I bet you have given all your close people on the block a nice bowl so they dont mind the noise ! thanks , Bryan McCabe , AKA, Woodbutcher
Funny enough the noise has made my neighbors more interested in my turning than not! lol Plenty of them stop by to see what I'm making or turning that week. I appreciate the comment Bryan!
Wow that turned out beautifully.
Thank you!
What an absolute beast! Hat is off to you (and your neighbor). I love your front yard--just drop your unwanted trees off here and I'll get around to them...:) When you mounted the rough blank on your lathe without the tailstock engaged, was there any concern about the bearing or spingle bending?
Yeah I wouldn't have been able to turn it without my neighbor, He's the muscle of the shop! lol But I was a little bit. This version of the 18/36 is the 110v so its not really made for this kind of work and its something I wouldn't do too often but I was pleasantly surprised when I turned it on for that first rotation. It didnt have any struggle getting up to speed or starting which I kind of anticipated it would. But once I got the first corners turned away, it was running very smooth.
Cricky what monster bloody outstanding piece as usual, keep the dream alive son, Merry Christmas to you and your family. Aussie Aussie Aussie GDAY MATE from brisbane Australia
I always look forward to your comments Ernie! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas as well!
Very nice
super cool
Thanks!
Fabulous bowl. Sorry you didn’t get that “biggest bowl” goal, but you get the joy of trying again. Good judicious use of epoxy for the void areas. That’s a great neighbor you have. Looking forward to the next video.
Thank you Doug! Yeah I was hoping this would be the "big" one but those cracks had something else planned for me lol I don't do much with epoxy but those little knot holes are perfect for it. and He's a great man! Love having neighbors like him.
Also what kind and size of screws did you use? I'm fixing to turn a huge bowl myself. I get alot of mixed reviews on type and size of screws.
I can't remember the name of the brand but I found them in lowes by the heavy duty construction screws. They are black and have a hex head like a bolt. I switched over to them a few years ago when my normal screws kept bending/breaking and theyve been fantastic. Havent had one break yet.
Glad to see you back! Beautiful bowl Andrew. I assume you turned this wet? Not twice turned?
Yes sir to both questions! Turned it to final thickness that first afternoon and then it got to dry for a few months.
Very nice work Andrew. You need to get a track on the ceiling with a chain hoist and ice tongs or an engine lift with ice tongs before you break your neighbors. Lol
I have thought about that but I am not so sure my rafters would be any stronger than me and my neighbor! lol They are not the highest quality construction lol I have considered a hoist on wheels though!
so beautiful brother.. great work!
Thanks Anthony!
Nice filming . May God bless
Thank you Richard!
Absolutely stunning
Thank you!
Beautiful
Thank you!
❤beautiful
Thank you! 😊
HOLY CRAP !
Thats what I was thinking trying to move it around & pick it up! lol
all i can say is WoW!
Thanks Mark!
What size faceplate did you use for this?
6" faceplate!
Just curious. Seems like your the type of person who would know.
What frame rate and shutter speed do you do those slider shots with?
I’m mainly wondering because I love these videos, BUT, when I showed my wife she couldn’t handle the spinning.
So I’m wondering if it’s a frame rate shutter speed thing that can be made more pleasant, or just a spinning object thing that she’ll just never like haha
I shot them at 23.97 FPS and the shutter speed really just depends on the lighting that day lol Im not sure of anything else I could really do honestly with the gear I have. With the slider I use, If I go below a certain speed to keep the movement slower, I pick up vibrations from the motor which makes the shots unstable. I could definitely understand why moving shots could cause that since its two things moving at the same time at different speeds but thats the first time someones said that so Im not sure! lol
@@andrewmccarn part of me was wondering if the wider shots have a high shutter speed due to lighting conditions. It’s fine, looks good. Better than most can accomplish haha
I’m not being critical by the way. Just thinking of how you could make some of this easy on the eyes so people like my wife can watch the bowl spin at times haha
The bumps are noticeable with low frame rates I assume? Or do you require a different shutter speed to minimize other factors?
The spinning is a bit trippy when it’s going fast so I assumed high shutter speed if you were using a standard frame rate. Seeing how blown out those windows are in a lot of shots, you may be having trouble exposing for everything depending on your set up as you said.
Not sure what the lighting setup is, camera setup is, but I’d close the aperture or use some ND to get a slower shutter speed. 2 x the frame rate is a good start for motion blur but you may know this and have your reasons. Frame rate should be fine. Closing the aperture would get you sharper shots for the wide details anyways if you don’t do that already.
If none of those things are an option you can try to control the light. You can try dollar store transparent shower curtain to drop in the windows when you need to cut a little light just to see how you like it. Have them set up so you can just put them up or drop them down for fast changes.
Some stuff you get with the hard light is really desirable like 7:58 with the hard light on the bowl and you being more underexposed I saw just as I was typing this haha.
You have a really good look achieved so I’m just thinking of what it is that will make some things easier to look at for MORE people. So they can be like “hey you, look at this.” And they won’t do what my wife did and say she can’t do the spinning haha.
Beautiful ❤️
Thank you!
Beautiful 😻
Thank you Tony!
Oh my. You, sir, have big bowls.
I see what you did there! lol
You need an engine hoist if you are going to keep up with breaking your own records, lol ;😂😂👍👍
Trust me, I have already been looking into one! lol Would help a ton!
How much do you think it is worth?
Bowls this size are really dependent on the wood species and time. Something around this size I would price anywhere from $400 - $600 give or take. I will have this one available for $550 just to give an idea!
@@andrewmccarn thanks buddy, now i know i am underprice😉
Wow, looks like you could use a cherry picker! She is a beauty; thank you for sharing!
If I ever get a bigger lathe & do these types of bowls more often, you bet I will be getting one! lol I appreciate the comment!
Personally I am not a fan of turning red oak. You make red oak bowls look beautiful. Very nice bowl!
Thank you!! I use to not care for oak myself. It was one of those woods I couldn't stand because EVERYTHING was made of oak when I was growing up lol But I have come to really appreciate and enjoy it these past few years.
Dude save your neighbor's back and get a chain hoist
Much respect for what you do. Takes lots of nerve, patience and skill to do that. I actually miss doing things like that.
Extremely impressive. 🪵🪵🪵
Great job Andrew a beast of a bowl 👍👏🙌
Thanks Tim!