Is there a way to remount a bowl?

A vacuum chuck? But remounting it to be perfectly centered would be, tough

If you only want to re-do the inside, it might be possible, but it will be more work than making a new bowl...

And even then, it may not be (probably isn't) perfectly round, which means it really cannot be perfectly centered. But....

Depending on shape, etc. - clamp the rim in something like cole jaws or a langstroth. Which are weak. Remember always that they are weak. Take a pre-cicularized piece of scrap and glue to the bottom - I like the old fashioned paper in the joint method (glue paper glue.) Turn the lathe by hand as you nudge that as close to center as you can get it, and clamp with the tailstock. Wait 24-48 hours, leave the tailstock in place, and true the scrap up. Now turn it around and chuck it. That's about as good as you are going to be able to do, I think.

If the bottom is only somewhat flat, you may need to start by making it more flat for a good glue surface.

Cut a disk the same size as the bowl either the interior or exterior of the bowl and use the tail stock on the center of the disk. This should get you close enough, and you can use the tail stock to apply pressure for gluing. I use the tailstock to glue layers of my segmented bowls, See pictures at:

ray80538.home.comcast.net/~ray80538/SegmentedBowl/segbowl.html

course there is no longer a tenon on it, it has a smooth, somewhat flat bottom. Is there a way to somehow remount this so I can work on the inside again? My fear is that if I glue it to a blank I'll never really get it exactly centered and it will not spin true, making it worse.

course there is no longer a tenon on it, it has a smooth, somewhat flat bottom. Is there a way to somehow remount this so I can work on the inside again? My fear is that if I glue it to a blank I'll never really get it exactly centered and it will not spin true, making it worse.

Depends on what you plan to do to the inside. If just sanding and re-finishing, it doesn't have to be perfectly centered. Flatten the bottom on a wide belt sander and glue it as suggested above. A vacuum chuck works fine for this, also. I have just re-sanded and re-finished 6 bowls that had a messy finish. My vacuum chuck disks have concentric circles drawn on them which helps center the bowl, but it is never perfect so the sanding is done at low speeds. I was a little leery of it holding a bowl by the base, but so far have never had one come off the chuck while working on it. Can't say the same about Cole jaws.

 Of course there is no longer a tenon on it, it has a smooth, somewhat f lat bottom. Is there a way to somehow remount this so I can work on the ins ide again?  My fear is that if I glue it to a blank I'll never really get it exactly centered and it will not spin true, making it worse.  

Hello Jim,

You've had several good answers; however, if you don't have Cole Jaws, or a Vacuum chuck, you need something else. Before I had Cole Jaws, Longworth Chucks, and Vacuum chucks; I used the following method to remount a bowl after it had been off the lathe. Take a wood plank (could be 3/4" or 1" plywood) wider than the bowl mouth. Mount it to a faceplate and true it up and making it round. Cut a groove about 1/4" deep that the mouth of the bowl will fit into and press the bowl mouth into the groove. Bring up the tailstock with a piece of wood that will become the new chuck mounting and glue it to the foot of the bowl. Leave it on the lathe at least overnight, then turn a tenon to fit your chuck. Once the tenon is done, reverse into the chuck and do whatever you need to do on the inside of the bowl. I know that this works, because I've done it many times.

Fred Holder

Very clever, I think I'll give that a try...

Cut a disk the same size as the bowl either the interior or exterior of the bowl and use the tail stock on the center of the disk. This should get you close enough, and you can use the tail stock to apply pressure for gluing. I use the tailstock to glue layers of my segmented bowls, See pictures at:

ray80538.home.comcast.net/~ray80538/SegmentedBowl/segbowl.html

Been reading this newsgroup for quite a while trying to learn something about bowl turning before I retire, hopefully soon. I'll have to delurk and say that Ray, you are an artist. I've done some woodworking over the years, and want to try my hand at bowl turning in retirement. The work of the people here is an inspiration. Thanks for posting that link. I've got plenty of dry white and red oak in thick planks. Is it a good wood for bowl turning?

Garrett Fulton

I have doing woodworking for 65 years, I retired 20 years ago. I have been doing lathe work for about a year so I am no expert, but it shows it is never too late to learn a new talent. Just some of my observations. I tried a few bowls from solid chunks of wood and just a personal observation have found segmented turning easier, safer feeling, more economic on the wood, and more pleasing to my eyes. YMMV. In general I find end grain difficult to finish nicely and avoid it. Try to avoid cross grain gluing. Oak works fine, a little contrasting wood add interest. Thanks for the kind compliments.

Ray