Richard Raffan turns his favourite item for the 16th 4-Ways project.

This 4-Ways project is to turn my favourite item. I enjoy the challenge of turning simple bowls because simple - getting the proportions and curves just right, is never as easy as it might appear. On top of that, here I had problems hollowing the very hard gidgee, so you see how I clean up patches of torn grain on the inside of the bowl, and then deal with a few typical minor problems as I complete the foot. Here are links to the other 4-Ways videos:
Tomislav - • Turning my favourite i...
Sam - • My Favorite Woodturnin...
Mike - • Turning a Gonk - 4-Way...
4-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on KZbin at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.

[@mootnmike]

There was a time i would take a trip to millers dale and watch you turn. I am now sitting at home in New Zealand, eating my lunch and watching another masterclass and so grateful. Thank you for sharing your time and skills.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Those Craft Supplies symposiums were decades ago.... must have been the mid-80s.

[@glencrandall7051]

A nice piece of work Richard. I do like the second bowl better. Both are quite nice though. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

[@Winterbourne_wood_turning]

After watching your videos I now rarely use a negative rake scraper and the two I have left will eventually become normal scrapers as a I loose steel off them. I have learned so much since I started watching you and as I think I have previously stated, I particularly like seeing how much usable wood you can get from a lump on the bandsaw. I never waste anything now while trying to emulate you.

[@jackthompson5092]

Nice bowl Richard.

[@Tim_Pollock]

Very pretty bowls and always a treat to watch you turn. That transition area on the inside of bowls from wall to bottom is always the hardest line for me to get correct.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

That transition is always tricky given that it needs to relate to the bowl profile. The amount of wood in the transition affects the overall balance of a bowl.

[@Tim_Pollock]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Tricky indeed. Your encouragement on the use of scrapers and the video you did on bowl shapes/profiles helped me tremendously with that trouble area.

[@AsherLangton]

I recently won one of your gidgee bowls in a fundraising auction (beautiful bowl and beautiful wood!) so it's great to learn something about this wood and its challenges. Thanks!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm delighted to hear it's still around. It's probably over 30 years old.

[@mohammadrezaahmadi3270]

سلام کارهای شما عالی هستش

[@robertwhittle2292]

Small world, I also used to go to Millers Dale all those years ago and I am now sitting watching this demo in New Zealand, nothing changes.

[@dagwood1327]

That is a beautiful piece. I had never heard of the wood species. It is beautiful. You do make it look easy. I recently had a chance to carve a very old piece of ebony. It was a delight. I have a few more pieces of it. I notice a bunch of trollerz in the comments. I do believe if they could they would tell Rembrandt how to paint.

[@SpunbyGreenJeans]

Thank you for sharing Richard. I always learn things ftom watching you turn.

[@DavidBird-uu8km]

Very nice both bowls turned great I love the beeswax finish. Off to see the other three. Thanks.

[@paulplager9498]

Nice work, as always Richard. Beautiful piece of wood there.

[@jamesbrunk9817]

I turned a kiln dried cherry bowl this weekend and was having the same problems with endgrain near the rim as you just showed. After struggling scraping and scraping, I turned to sandpaper. I am glad to see a seasoned professional doing the same! Thank you for your great videos.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

In the early 1980s when I was introduced to power sanding I met several 'big name' turners who started with 36-grit. After the initial shock I soon realized it's just another way of obtaining a smooth surface, and by far the easiest way to smooth picked-out endgrain.

[@bradbyers7505]

I had to pause to look up Gidgee. I find the wood species from other continents really fascinating. It appears that Gidgee isn’t the most cooperative wood to turn, but the results were worth it. Thanks for naming the wood for us.

[@Michael-loves-woodgrain]

That gidgee really is rock hard, good result !

[@valeriehenschel1590]

Beautiful wood, beautiful bowl. Turning all kinds of bowls still my favorite to turn, too.

[@johnnyb95678]

Beautifully done and also really appreciate the self critique at the end. Thank you!

[@jamescarter8813]

Great looking bowl. Gidgee is a wood I have been trying to get a hold of. It is the third hardest in the world and one I am missing off of the Top Ten Hardest Woods list to turn.

[@Dericheau]

Mahalo Richard, seems like I learn something new every time I watch you turn. Can you tell me when to use the scrapper with the handle up and when to use it with the handle down? Appreciate your time. Dean.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

The angle between the top of the tool and the surface youre cutting needs to be less than 90 degrees - the negative rake. Mostly the handle is slightly up so the tool is tilted down on a flat surface whenever you cut into centre.

[@geraldmoore3686]

I finally got me some bees wax and I love using it. What stain do you use most of the time with the wax and do you apply the wax following the stain application. I love the simplicity of your presentation of each beautiful project.

[@tomislavtomasicwoodturning]

Love to pronouns Gidgee😀 reminds me of our elm tree,not always easiest wood to work with but prize once complete it is something extra...really lovely work Richard

[@josephpotterf9459]

Thanks loved the process a beautiful pair !

[@jpncompany6275]

That looks like some nice timber. I like the chocolate browns. I looked it up and another name is stinking wattle! I can't help but wonder if you've had that blank sitting on a shelf for years. I know I'm not alone in saying I save cool timber for that special project, and it ends up still around years later!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I turned a lot of gidgee 20-30 years ago when there was a market for thin bowls and suction-fit boxes. This came to me recently from a garage clearance.

[@lilolmecj]

In cleaning up a wooded lot we retrieved several interesting pieces while we got our wood shop ready to work. Now we are beginning our turning adventure.

[@peg4692]

Excellent, very nice design. Thank you.

[@jonathanmangold5024]

Superb, Richard.

[@Svendus]

❤well done i find that if i turn my 1/2 and 5/8 high speed steel deep fluted gorges a round laying on the back on the rest i get les vibrations in the cut and then rarely have the need for scrapers on face work 👍 our Sunday Woodturning gorges with in-build dust extracting works as bowl gouge and scraper in one tool do to the cylindrical design of the tool 😉

[@oldcharlie5533]

Both look perfect to me..nice graining in both of them.

[@gregdownunderinOz]

Thanks Richard. Gidgee is a lovely timber. I’ve had tenons snap off in Gidgee, so I now use mortises. I see that you used a large tenon and incorporated it into the bowl foot. Great idea, I’ll have to try it as a friend of mine gave me quite a bit of Gidgee recently.. You worked really hard to remove scratches. The angle grinder does a good job, much better than my low speed drill. I. Also don’t use negative rake scrapers since watching you and tomislav. Liked the pair of bowls. The Himalayan cedar is als a truly lovely timber, also a classic tree, cedrus deodara, should grow really well in act. Thanks for sharing.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Angle drill, not angle grinder. Runs about 1300 rpm.

[@krperry2007]

Beautiful

[@billy19461]

I for one don’t mind if your head gets in the way of the camera every once in a while. We still enjoy your videos very much.

[@cobberpete1]

I'd be happy with that result, even if you have your Doubts. Don't worry too much about blocking the view. We look to the 4 O'clock position as well 😉

[@LewisKauffman]

Thanks, Richard!

[@GeraldJensen]

Screw chucks (with the exception of the worm screws supplied with most 4-jaw chucks) for 1-1/4" x 8tpi spindles are extremely difficult to find. Every one of the several suppliers I deal with in the US have been out of stock for well over a year! I would love to have one!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

If you have a faceplate, it's very easy to make your own screw chuck: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baG0daBnqdmgp6s

[@GeraldJensen]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Found what I was looking for! Packard now has the Vicmarc 3 in 1 Screw Chuck in stock again.

[@johnchalikian3239]

Richard, once again a beautiful piece and very helpful instructions. I have wondered about the difference in the 3" and 2" disc sanding pads. What is the difference in your thinking in how and when you use them? Thanks for all your great videos.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

When I was introduced to power sanding only 3" disks were available and I rarely worked on a scale that required small disks. Being larger, the 3" disks do a much better job smoothing curves.

[@AlanYordy]

Richard, what brand of sandpaper do you use? Huge fan of your work and love all your videos. I have learned so much from you. Thank you.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

The abrasive is Colour Coded Grit www.veneerinlay.com.au is an Australian product stocked widely in Australia and by Craft Supplies USA but I don’t know who else.

[@MarklTucson]

It was very interesting seeing what you each picked as a favorite project. The gidgee is a very nice looking timber. Is one of the features of the Japanese tea bowl that slight secondary curve just above the foot before the transition into the final curve?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I think the angle on the profile is a feature of tea bowls, as well as a cylindrical foot.

[@MarklTucson]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thanks!

[@timofeyzhukov-khovanskiy9173]

That's a very lovely shape! Sometimes simple designs are the best. I concur with screw chucks holding really well. I load my 12" sing lathe with blanks below the banjo level on them and they hold great. By the way, what RPM is that angle drill going at? Seems to make quick work of that tear out! Sorry to tag on questions, but what about RPM of lathe for power sanding?

[@robertreihsen9096]

I appreciate your teachings. When do you use the power vs non powered bowl sander?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I tend to keep the Rotary Sander for finer and final sanding because it removes sanding marks. Power sanding using the angle drill is in part a shaping tool, so it's my preferred way of sanding across centre inside bowls

[@robertreihsen9096]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thanks!

[@jorisdemoel3821]

I like both of the bowls, but I see your point. Never seen gidgee turned before, it looked and sounded hard. Does it have any other properties to be aware of? (that The Sock cannot overcome?) Thanks for another educational, entertaining and informative video.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Ranked as one of the hardest woods apparently.

[@DavidQuang85]

rat biet on ve video anh đã TẠT

[@holzweg666]

Hello Richard. Sometimes I am a little unsure. You are a very experienced wood turner and a great role model for many people, including me. Is it a peculiarity of yours or does it not matter, or why do you start turning a piece of wood round with a spindle gauge? Normally a bowl gauge would have been more appropriate, wouldn't it? I know that there are many ways to turn a piece of wood, but I am often confused by this kind of thing. In many videos it is often said that you are not allowed to do this with it or that you have to use that tool, etc. But with a woodturning god like you, the wood and everything else don't seem to care, it submits to your actions without complaint and without resistance, and something wonderful always comes out of it. For me, "mistakes" often end in disaster. Well, that is probably the difference between a master like you and an amateur like me, and studying your books doesn't help either. Best wishes from one of your greatest admirers, George from northern Germany.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

It's deep-fluted spindle-roughing gouges that are not recommended for facework. Deep-fluted spindle-roughing gouges are designed specifically for roughing centrework blanks with grain lying parallel to the lathe axis. 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.

[@DS12-42]

Richard, you worked very hard removing those inside scratches. Now, me…..I just give them a once over and call it good. After all, it’s just a piece of wood!

[@dagwood1327]

I have noticed over the past 50 yrs in 4 different cultures that there is a fine line between perfection that you find in museums and something you might find in a craft store. It is generally not the materials but rather the extra effort to complete the project.

[@DS12-42]

@@dagwood1327 No tree, no piece of wood, no piece of furniture, no wood project of any kind is ever perfect. After all, nothing in Mother Nature is perfect and it is presumptuous to assume human kind can make it perfect. My point was simply to state the obvious.

[@dagwood1327]

@@DS12-42 Mine too.

[@DS12-42]

@@dagwood1327 I watch lots of Richard’s videos. He is a master wood tuner. He can make a nicer bowl in 20 minutes than I can in 2 hours. However, I noticed in this video that he spent lots more time inside the bowl than usual. That was the basis for my original comment. And, recalling when he broke a piece recently that he said, “it’s just a piece of wood.” I agree.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

​@@DS12-42 It's a long time since I turned gidgee in quantity and the inside could have been a lot cleaner off the tool - partly the wood, partly me. However it was a good opportunity to show how to deal with such a surface.

[@ОдинокийЛЕСНИК-ъ9м]

Иностранцы много говорят - слишком

[@metelgodful]

Please don't put your hands past the toll rest that's just an accident waiting to happen

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm sure you're trying to be helpful but you clearly know nothing about turning techniques. After 54 years of professional woodturning I still have all my fingers and the few scars are not associated with turning but brambles.