just started turning

Not a bad looking hunk of Locust. When you speak of the grain above, you're confusing growth rings with grain direction. You're looking at the growth rings - the grain runs the length of the tree from ground to crown. Grain is generally perpendicular to growth rings. Your chunk looks fairly straight grained - at least as straight as Locust allows. Bowls from wood cuts such as yours are generally turned with the base or the lip oriented on the flat sides.

As to holding the blank, you could use a scroll chuck, like this:

or mount the face plate with screws onto a scrap wood block and then glue the bowl onto the scrap.

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

David For a look at making a bowl, try my web site at

Dave

Was thinking about this comment about buying your wood and would like to offer some suggestions - at least while you're still at the beginning stages of learning. I rarely buy wood unless it's an exotic I can't find locally or something that just has a special grain or look that I'm after.

• Whenever you hear a chainsaw, follow the sound to the source - like a zombie or someone hypnotized- "Gotta -- see - - what -- they're -- cutting -- up."

• Let your family, friends and co-workers know you're looking for wood. If they're taking down any appreciable sized tree, or pass a newly downed one on the way home, or their neighbor is clearing one... LET YOU KNOW.

• When you see a new construction development scan the property for cut trees. Ask the head contractor or land owner if you could have a bit.

• Call your city maintenance department - many have wood piles from storm-downed trees or other removals.

• Join a woodturning group. The monthly raffle, yearly auction, folks just willing to help spread their wood wealth will offer you plenty of turning stock. (If you aren't familiar with groups in your area, post your city & state/province/country and I'm sure someone here can direct you to a group.

The first 4 suggestions may run you into the situation of needing a chainsaw. Stihl and Husqvarna are the top two most recommended by experience loggers, cutters and turners - a decent saw will generally run $300-$500 new, but you can usually find used ones at dealers or in the classifieds for much less.

Just some unsolicited advice - Careful turning and Happy New Year.

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

You'll need one too. Neandering is fun. I've been playing Paul Bunyan this year. Took down a bunch of trees (pine trees, so not much interest to me as lumber or turning stock) with hand saws and an axe. Felt like a real man.

I have a pretty good pile of Norway maple from a neighbor's pruning job. Lots of twigs that aren't much good for anything, but some of it is up to

Neandering is getting old. I have a JET mini, and this stuff was all cut to

Neandering is getting *really* old.

I have carpal tunnel. I don't need to be doing this much work with hand saws, no matter how much exercise my lard-laden posterior needs.

So I'm thinking realllly hard about getting a chainsaw.

I need a new maul too. It's sad. I've almost broken this one splitting little sticks of maple. Back when I really used this thing, I used to split seven or eight cords of wood at a time, and I never broke the handle. I've really let this poor thing down. The Craftsman logo is long gone too, so I guess I have to pay for a new one.

Just to add one warning to the good advice you've already gotten:

TURNING IS ADDICTIVE !!

Bob Moody

I made some Christmas baubles as a first try, and man is that fun. Especially when you can just make the chips fly and not worry about what you're making. But I bought some bowl blanks and the whole thing changes now. My questions are these: If you look at the end grain of the blank, it runs from bottom left up to the top center then back down to the bottom right. Do you turn a bowl so the grain runs with the bowl or against it? And is there something to hold the bowl in place other than a plate with screws in it? Here is one of the pieces I won on ebay:

Dave

Dave If a picture or two would help explain the bowl process, try my web site under Roughing a Bowl. It goes from start to finish without a chuck.

We'll have to compare bowls. I'll bet mine looks worse than yours. :)

I really need a bandsaw ASAP. Roughing a square hunk of log into a round hunk of log is no fun at all.

I got a bona fide bowl out of it though. The ugliest bowl you ever saw, and only 3.5" in diameter, but it's a bowl!

Dave, get a stool and sit on it while you turn....save those knees. Glenn Hodges Nashville, Georgia

Knees, back, shoulders. Got to say all those years of being an athlete catch up to you on the downhill side.