Richard Raffan turns an 8"x3" bowl from very dry hard elm

You see this hard and dusty elm turned in real time, and how I deal with difficult endgrain.

[@EXARCWithGrandpop]

Thank you again for your videos. With so many woodturners on youtube, it hard to find one that gives such good instruction. At this point I only look at others on youtube just to see different finished products. I'll stick with you instruction on how to get it done.

[@jpncompany6275]

All my Elm trees are dying from Dutch Elm disease, but it makes a nice turning. We call it piss elm here because it stinks when wet.

[@DancingFox6]

Taking off the foot was an improvement. I had a little bowl that bothered me slightly for years. My husband liked it a lot and he was horrified when I said that I’d figured out what was wrong and headed for my shop with it. I reduced the foot by a lot rather than removing it entirely, but even husband agreed it looked a lot better and now it doesn’t bother me anymore 😊

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Good story! It's always worth the risk, even though we know it might end in tears. How else can we learn and improve and learn to trust our eye.

[@MarklTucson]

Your explanation of the tool techniques as the project develops is very instructive as was the demonstration of how you dealt with the troublesome grain on the inside of the bowl while finishing it. Showing the difference between the finished bowl with and without the foot was very helpful. One of the things I'm trying to improve is the ability to critically judge the esthetics of a finished project -- seeing these kinds of examples really helps with that.

[@northernhumidor5615]

Nothing I enjoy more than putting that bar of beeswax on a finished bowl. Lovely bowl sir.

[@glencrandall7051]

Very well turned Richard. And very well narrated. As has been previously stated you are about the best in instructional videos. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

[@bobh5616]

Thanks Richard, I really appreciate your willingness to share your experience. I have your book as a ready reference, but the videos are much more informative.

[@Svendus]

❤Nicely done we have a lot of elm trees here 🇸🇪that are dying so there are a pretty much material for wood turners 👍

[@Tim_Pollock]

Never turned any Elm before. That's really pretty Richard.

[@soxkoglunibaba6306]

From start to finish, with all is so educational. Great work Richard

[@cobberpete1]

I actually liked the original foot, but it's your bowl so your design. Thanks as always

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm easy either way, but this was a good opportunity to show how easy it is to remove the foot without bowl or Longworth chucks.

[@Svendus]

Some do not like the foot 🦶 and it was a smart and easy way to turn it away ❤️

[@johnnyb95678]

Thank you for sharing your experience and how you deal with issues as they arise when turning.

[@scottstubberud1137]

Awesome video as always Richard. I was turning some elm yesterday that came from a neighbors tree. Here we call it Dutch elm or American elm, the variety we have. It seeds and grows like a weed here in New Mexico and most people try to get rid of it but I actually love it, especially free! It was full of worms and fully dried and very hard. Often when I turn it I actually try to leave some of the bark and sapwood on the piece as it has some beautiful diversity in an 1/8” thickness of wood/bark once turned. Sometimes on smaller pieces I will leave bark flat spots on either side of the bowl and leave the pith of the branch in the piece. I will hand sand those flat spots partially through the bark and leave it basically live edged on 2 sides of the bowl. Of course some of the worm holes remain in the piece mostly in the cambium layer but it lends character to the piece in my opinion. This tree was killed by the critters in it and if I got rid of all the worm eaten wood I would have nothing to work with. Lol! Elm is a challenging wood to work with but it has some really cool character in it that I really love. Cutting and sanding it to get rid of all the little spots of lifted grain is difficult at times but sometimes I leave it a little rough and don’t spend the time getting it perfect (which is hard for a perfectionist to do) but I seem to sell these pieces at the occasional craft show fairly well. I charge less for them because I don’t spend much time on them like I do other perfect blanks and let the wood with all its flaws attract the attention. Richard, I have told you this before, but you have influenced my wood turning more than any other person. I have read multiple books by you from decades back and I have quite a library of material by you and I appreciate everything you do for us. You are a gem, and have a humble heart that comes through in all of your videos. Be blessed my friend as you bless others. Take care, Scott. O yes, and your mentee Tomislav is a chip off the old block!

[@terrysharp908]

Excellent as always, thanks

[@la_casadeltornero]

Gracias maestro saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷

[@burnleyize]

We ALL were faster back then!!

[@blackcoalwoodworking]

Fantastic! I appreciate sharing your wealth of knowledge

[@jackthompson5092]

Beautiful elm bowl Richard.

[@Sealight007]

I was working on dry elm a couple of weeks ago. I still have some more elm. Thanks for this video. Back to work!

[@raydriver7300]

Your videos are interesting and enlightening. Thank you for sharing 🌞

[@micheleheddane3804]

Masterful. Very pretty wood

[@paulplager9498]

You have to love the grain of the blank

[@IOSARBX]

Richard Raffan, This made me so happy! I liked and subscribed!

[@alanmckeown6462]

Very nice bowl

[@Mckmake]

Lovely!!

[@harlowchandlerjr.6371]

I'm not generally fond of beads, but that band is perfect.

[@davidcochran9322]

Beautiful bowl with and without foot. Nice Elm increasingly difficult to obtain in UK sadly.

[@randyscorner9434]

Always excellent and inspiring. I am envious of how fast your roughing is. What angle do you grind your spindle gouge to?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Most of my gouges and scrapers have a bevel of about 45°. I use different bevel angles for different cuts. You see the facework bevels from about 11:30 in my Uses of a ½" Spindle Gouge video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaq2qWiond6pnLM

[@JonathanBeldon-or8ij]

Can you please explain the grind you have on your ½" bowl gouge that you are using for hollowing? The right and left wings look very different. I love your videos!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

There's a video on the asymmetric bowl gouge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ-xc3WMZp6Mgtk

[@nemoemanon6679]

I turn American elm frequently and sometimes Siberian elm and find elms dull tools comparatively easily, even when green. Once dry it’s so hard it’s extremely frustrating to the point of futile to turn.

[@brianhawes3115]

I think it’s great that you put out so many videos, before I found your channel I watched you on a Taunton press dvd over and over again, you used the right wing of your bowl gouge up the outside of a cherry blank and I was sure that would be a huge catch, but it turns out to be one of my favorite ways of finishing the out side, thank you so much

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

That's the back cut, never to be attempted using a spindle gouge.

[@Pato290763]

At what time of the video is the cut they are talking about?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

@@Pato290763 Brian is referring to a video I made about ten years ago with my publisher Taunton Press. You see the backcut at 8:40 in kzbin.info/www/bejne/inrZg4Kvi5ehbNk. Here at 6:35 you see much the same cut using a spindle gouge, with the point of cut only slightly above the point of the tool. Using the side of a spindle gouge is a certain catch. You'll see the backcut using bowl gouges in several of my bowl videos.

[@Pato290763]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning ah ok, I understand now! thank you very much!

[@SirBenJamin_]

I've just ordered 5 sheets of 8x4' MDF so I can make some of those live center tips. Should be able to make at least 4 in different sizes

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

If you mean the tails centre spacer, this is how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emrKiqKXe5Kmns0

[@burnleyize]

One new: a question- Do you make up the design shape wholly as you are turning it, or do you have a general idea before you start?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I have a general idea of the shape I want as I start. Changes in design occur mostly when I encounter unforeseen splits or other defects that have to be removed to create a finished piece free of said splits and defects. Turning bowls for a living, I try to retain the maximum possible dimensions because bigger bowl = higher price. This approach to maximizing my return on materials sparks new ideas.

[@JohnWII]

That seems like a pretty powerful dust extraction setup. What unit are you using to drive it?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

It's a small Jet unit about 1½-hp 1100 cfu. You see how it's set up in my lathe and dust video kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqjYd3hnYpukeJI

[@jorisdemoel3821]

A very fine looking bowl with some lovely figure. That must be the msot sandpaper I've seen you use on a single piece so far. What sort of drying time would you have gone for with a piece of elm this size? Thanks for another instructive and entertaining video.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

An air-drying a blank this size takes at least four years. This came to me from a clearance sale. I know it was at least 10 years drying and probably another decade, maybe two. It was very dry and quite hard.

[@josephpotterf9459]

Thanks Richard I noticed i might be holding my gouge more horizontal than you . As you seem to point the edge up to the surface i'll try that to see if i get a better finish.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

That's not necessarily a problem. It rather depends on your height in relation to the lathe centre height, ths size of the gouge, and the height of the rest. The important thing is to have the portion of the edge cutting at about 45° to the oncoming wood.

[@josephpotterf9459]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thanks

[@thehomelander2183]

is it key to have an extraction fan when turning or just a choice? thanks.

[@user-qk2hw9zj1s]

Великолепно, Ричард! Великолепно!!! С удовольствием смотрю каждое твоё видео, смотрю и учусь. А это редкое видео, где ты изготавливаешь большую чашу. И если можно - два вопроса. Я не совсем понял, как ты отмечаешь глубину чашки. Ведь ты точишь глубже той точки, которую отмечаешь сверлом. Или ты сразу сознательно сверлишь отверстие не до конца? И второй вопрос. Отчего появляются на древесине плохо шлифующиеся участки (в твоём видео это 25 минута просмотра)? Это особенности внутреннего строения древесины или недоработка исполнителя инструментами? У меня периодически возникают подобные проблемы при итоговой шлифовке. Спасибо за видео.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Обычно я сверлю примерно на 2 мм меньше глубины, чем мне нужно. Я предпочитаю быть осторожным, чтобы иметь право на ошибку. Плохо отшлифованные участки: торцевые волокна обычно труднее ровно разрезать и обычно требуется немного больше шлифовки. Электрическое шлифование дрелью обычно является более быстрым способом сглаживания сложных торцевых волокон, когда строжка или скребок не работают. Если все зерна порваны, проблема в том, кто держит инструмент. Если это всего лишь небольшой участок, то это дерево. I usually drill about 2mm less depth than I'll need. I prefer to be cautious so there's margin for error. The poorly sanded areas: the endgrain is usually more difficult to cut cleanly and usually requires a bit more sanding. Power sanding with the drill is usually a faster way of smoothing difficult endgrain when a gouge or scraper don't work. If all the grain is torn, the person holding the tool is the problem. If it's just a small patch, it's the wood.

[@user-qk2hw9zj1s]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Спасибо за ответ, Ричард

[@robertcornelius3514]

I sure wish you had another camera angle showing us the angle of the tool handle. Nice bowl.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm wondering which of the many possible alternative angles you have in mind. There are bowl videos showing how I hold the tool (then people complain they can't see somethign else). These might help: Body movement open bowls - kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5DdoY1vba-NZ8k and kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqKxn6qja6menNk and Spindle gouge on bowls low view - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHuQmJ1ph6mUfLc

[@Asafzarbiv]

Hi, thanks for the informative video. I want to ask about the finishing process. You applied a layer of boiled linseed oil and a layer of beeswax. Ive always been told to apply three to five layers of oil. So my question is, is one layer of oil enough? Or do you apply more later? But then you have wax on so.. If you can help me and explain it to me. Thank you so much.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I finsh most pieces as you see in this video with just one coat of oil to fill the pores in the wood. The advantage of an oil and beeswax finish is that when utilitarian bowls are washed the finish comes off, after which a patina develops with use as it does on a wood chopping or serving board, wooden plate, or wooden salad bowl. On pieces that won’t get wet, the oil and beeswax is a good base for ongoing care and regular polishing. My observation is that hard finishes and sealers eventually crack, look terrible, and need refurbishing, whereas my bowls tend to look better with age and use.

[@Asafzarbiv]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning thank you so much, seems much less time consuming then what im used to. I think im going to like it😁

[@kenvasko2285]

I could go either way on the foot. What swayed you into taking it off?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I thought it might look a bit better with no foot and also it was an opportunity to show how to remove a foot without bowl or Longworth jaws.

[@Daca023]

Im sure you've gone over it before and I've heard you say if you only had one tool, it'd be a ½" spindle gouge. What make you choose the spindle gouge over the bowl gouge so much?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Deep-fluted bowl gouges are designed for hollowing bowls where strength is required working well over the rest. Since 1970 I’ve used spindle gouges for turning bowl profiles. You don’t need the strength of a deep/fluted bowl gouge working close to the rest, so using a less expensive tool when the cut is close to the rest makes sense, at least to me. Regards having just one gouge/tool, a deep-fluted bowl gouge isn't nearly as versatile as a spindle gouge.

[@Daca023]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning ahhh it finally clicked in my head. A combination of overhang stability and cost effectiveness when not needed. Makes perfect sense, thanks.

[@richardhefty]

Does properly dried wood generally sand to a cleaner finish than something you've dried in the microwave? The grain in this piece looks almost like you've put the finish on, when you're only halfway through sanding. Maybe Elm just has a really well-defined grain?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

It's unwise to make blanket statements about wood as each piece is slightly different. This bit of elm didn't finish as cleanly off the tool as I expected.

[@burnleyize]

Oh! Oh! DONT tell me about having a devil of a time getting the blank off! I used every word in my vocabulary! And then I remembered something about a monkey wrench applied judiciously to the tenon….

[@terrysharp908]

I made a strap wrench for that problem

[@OregonOldTimerWOODTURNING]

Friction is between the jaws and the wood. I try to remember to wax the blank before I put it on the screw. Try but usually fail. So I pop the screw out of the chuck, step over to my bench vise, clamp it on the screw, and easily spin the bowl off.

[@MichaelKieweg]

So sad to see the foot go.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I couldn't pass up the chance to show how easy it is to remove or change a foot.

[@danielspain7231]

14:23 I thought hmm is tomato sauce a new finish? 🫡