Richard Raffan turns a rectangular bowl

Things don't always go as planned. You see two false starts before this 156x120mm (6½ x 5¼) bowl emerges from the third blank. At the end you see it re-chucked so I can remove chuck marks. All the turning is in real time. This is a fun project that can be more than a bit frustrating when shaping the rims, but that can also lead to plenty of design opportunities.

[@ShevillMathers]

It is the small imperfections that show it is handmade, rather than churned out by a machine in some distant place. Thanks once again for sharing your skills and tips for us newcomers. Greetings from Tasmania Australia 😁🇦🇺🦘

[@borisfurlan9792]

So smooth and spot on gesture. Can't get tired of watching you working that beautiful grain! Thank you!

[@dotmyles6381]

Thank you, Richard, for this terrific presentation, it has helped mu understand quite a few things on this particular project, very much appreciated.

[@johnnyb95678]

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. I learn something everytime I watch one of your videos.

[@powellmrp6335]

I first met you in person in the 90’s, when I was with you at Provo in 2000. I’d spent hours previously with your books and videos. I also attended your rather wonderful sessions in Houston. The only way you’d remember me is that I don’t have a left hand, and you were a bit curious that I could do fairly decent turnings. And today I’m still a fan and admirer, and learning new things. My profound thanks to you, Sir, and I am so pleased to have belatedly stumbled onto your channel.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I seem to recall a one-handed cleric/preacher....

[@powellmrp6335]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Great memory -- that'd be me! Again, thank you, Sir.

[@MichaelAttwoodDesignStudio]

Wonderfully informative, thank you for sharing your skill and demonstrating master level techniques with the turning community. Looking forward to following your methods and giving this a try.

[@heretoserve5023]

MR RAFFAN, I AM SUCH A BIG, BIG FAN OF YOURS!! THANK YOU FOR POSTING AND SHARING YOUR WORK

[@robertcornelius3514]

Me, "It can't be done." Richard, "Hold my beer."

[@terryyancy3957]

Very nice bowl Richard. I'm going to have to try this. Thanks again for sharing. I'm still practicing with the shear scrapers and love the finish I'm getting off the tools. Turning is more pleasant than sanding torn grain. Thanks again for sharing!

[@adrianlachlan1452]

used to watch your videos years ago and also purchased some of your dvds.....still amazes me how simple you make it look.,...lol

[@paulplager9498]

Incredibly beautiful. I love the wood color choice. This is some of your best work.

[@DennisSuitters]

YAY, some monday lunchtime viewing. I must give rectangular bowls a go. I have a few Tas Blackwood offcuts that would suit this style. Thanks for the idea Richard, now to watch, while having a Goose Egg Sandwich.

[@paulplager9498]

Beautiful bowl, Richard. I love the wild grain in it.

[@victoryak86]

Always great to watch your masterful turning Richard. I think showing the bits that didn’t work out due to splits is also helpful as perseverance and not getting discouraged is needed in turning or any other type of workmanship. Beautiful piece by the way. Enjoying the four way projects. I like your style👍

[@Atomic.woodturning]

Beautifully done!

[@user-vn1di7uo1m]

Это прекрасно? Это БОЛЕЕ, чем прекрасно!!! Спасибо, Ричард.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

This own't translate - Это не переводится

[@joehimes9898]

Thank you for leaving the splits in for us to see and learn.

[@jigster2607]

I absolutely love this bowl.

[@jackthompson5092]

Very beautiful winged bowl Richard.

[@beverlym5465]

I love everything about it ❤

[@josephpotterf9459]

Thanks Richard , much learned here

[@brianhawes3115]

I like the sound of you clicking the tool down on the rest, and you also seem to adjust the rest a lot, two good techniques I’ll try and employ

[@seamusday1964]

I invariably learn something from every one of your videos, thanks for taking the trouble to make these invaluable videos and imparting 53 years of knowledge and experience. While you are doing these odd shaped bowls, how about a 3 sided bowl from a cube tutorial?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I've more than enough lined up without venturing into emerging and 3-sided bowl which have never interested me, so I'll probably give that a miss - especially as there are some good videos on those already.

[@dtork47]

Thanks again Richard always Lear from your videos and all your knowledge. Thanks as always for the inspiration!

[@seamusday1964]

Fair eniough. I have a 7" cube of tamarind I thought that might work well for that and was interested in what your approach might be. Thanks again

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

@@seamusday1964 You'd secure the cube by jamming it between cup centres, get a foot on either end and take it from there. When you start to hollow it becomes a variation of a natural edge bowl with three points to cut cleanly. I might yet give it a go.....

[@cirrusdesigngroup]

lovely work thanks for showing us how

[@Tim_Pollock]

Wonderful!

[@terrysharp908]

Excellent, thanks

[@DavidBird-uu8km]

Very nice great video.

[@ashleyhoward8926]

I have wondered fior a good while why you prefer the tool rest at 45 degree angle, now I know. Thanks for all yout efforts.

[@tjjones3375]

I always find these videos one part woodturning, one part philosophy.

[@jakegevorgian]

By the time they measure the exactness of the foot, you'd make a couple of more usable beautiful bowls.😊

[@robohippy]

I did a bowl turning demo over on the Oregon Coast 2 weekends ago. It has been so long, I couldn't remember who I learned the trick of using a forstner bit do drill a recess for mounting bowls. I told them I thought it was you. Looks like my memory actually worked....

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Who knows, Reed. I've only recently rediscovered this technique for small blanks but vaguely recall drilling recesses for the 3-jaw engineers chucks we used in the 1970s before any modern chucks came along.

[@myfanwyscrivener6387]

Very clever

[@heretoserve5023]

There is nothing in the world I wish more than if I could be a woodturner in my next life (if that's how it works) and do the kind of things that you do with a lathe! [I spend much of my days watching wood-turning videos and fantasizing what it would be like if I could sit at a lathe and turn my own pieces!] YOU ARE SO FORTUNATE AND YOU COMPLIMENT THAT GOOD FORTUNE WITH SUCH SKILL AND THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS I APPRECIATE YOUR VIDEOS SO MUCH SO AGAIN THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

[@heretoserve5023]

What I am trying to say is that YOU ARE LIVING MY DREAM

[@boooshes]

Thanks

[@glennclarke9787]

Thanks Richard, for telling us what speed your turning at?😅

[@edwardukleja4583]

Another really useful video. I an curious why you used a recess initially rather than a screw chuck.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

When blanks are too light (in weight) to throw on a screw, a recess makes for faster mounting on the lathe.

[@afterthought9]

I’ve been struggling to get the curve to continue nicely at the bottoms of bowls. Any tips…or a possible short video idea Richard? Thanks for another great video.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Any of the bowl videos should give you a good idea of how I go about achieving satisfactory curves, plus kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3LKaWBuj5urrZI on bowl design. Cutting a few bowls in half is a very useful exercise - then your eye can confirm if you've cut what you thought you'd cut.

[@kenvasko2285]

I do like the asymmetry. I wasn't sure at first, but it's all good. I see that the final sanding is a bit fussy. Too bad about the Osage, I really like it in a bowl.

[@horsetowater]

33:34 could you use winding sticks to check parallelism Thanks for sharing, beautiful

[@DS12-42]

You worked hard to get there, but good end result.

[@joeydupre6153]

Richard, how accurate does the center point, thickness and shape have to be to start with?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

You can create bowls with a length three or four times the width. The more symmetrical the blanks, the less vibration as work proceeds. For an even rim on the final bowl you need an even wall thickness. An uneven wall thickness means and uneven rim and some design opportunities and those will depend on what you have.

[@greglongenecker1772]

Boy I’m surprised that you don’t get your pinky caught in the turning as close as you hold it there!!!

[@drpaul1152]

where can you get a hand held depth drill like the one shown in video

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

You might find a depth at one of the specialist woodturning suppliers., but it's easiest to make your own using a twist drill no larger than ⅜-in / 10mm.

[@lindonnikprelaj5403]

Does anyone know what type of lumber he used for the finished product?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I don't know what the wood is. I got the blank in a job lot. It's probably a eucalypt and might be Sydney blue gum.

[@garylawrence7547]

Richard, it seems that you’re taking some very aggressive roughing cuts with that half inch spindle gouge.

[@brettbkeogh]

Hi Richard could you suggest which Vicmarc shark jaws are the most versitile for the VM100 and VM120 as there are about 3 options for each chuck. Also would you consider doing a video on reliable wood turning species, the ones we should be keeping an eye out for and those to avoid. Many thanks for the time you spend helping developing our skills and knowlege. I meet you as a student visiting Sturt workshops in the early 1980's and have been a follower ever since.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

In my chuck video kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3yvm6era9NlpZo I opt for the 55mm Shark Jaws on a VM100 chuck if I had to choose just one chuck. Before downsizing I used 68mm Shark Jaws on a VM120 much of the time and often regret selling them. I'll probably replace them with 74mm Shark Jaws on a VM100. Recommending timbers is difficult when I don't know where you are. I turning mostly claret ash, silky oak, box elder, Blakely's redgum, and elm recycled from Canberra streets and gardens. Further north you might have access to camphor laurel, jacaranda, and Sydney blue gum. Further south and in Tasmania I'd be looking for blackwood, eucalypt burl, musk horizontal scrub, myrtle, and huon pine.

[@brettbkeogh]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning many thanks Richard much appreciated.

[@brettbkeogh]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning I might add I tried two of those bowls today 😩 tricky little things. Your blank was about 120x75 mm ? How thick was it as the thickness seems to make a difference. Cheers

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

@@brettbkeogh Around 50mm is about right for thickness for early efforts. You can go thinner for a square plateÚ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pV6lnKyEnq54os0.

[@sethwarner2540]

Ahh, you cut the corner off! Now what?

[@harlowchandlerjr.6371]

Lovely piece: much more so than the Osage orange would have been in my opinion. It's just not a wood that suits that elegant shape. Too distracting.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

In a few months osage orange turns brown so the initial bright yellow isn't a problem. As always, it's the form is what helps a bowl survive for generations.