Richard Raffan turns a red cedar bowl

I show how I cut a short log of Australian red cedar into blanks. Then you see how I overcome a chucking problem as I turn a small bowl.

[@MichaelKieweg]

"I come from an age where a split was a split and not part of a work of art." Made my day!! Best wishes from Germany

[@eddieagha5851]

🤣🤣🤣

[@jamescarter8813]

I had never seen the first part where you cut the sliver off to check for splits and cracks. Truly valuable piece of information. Great use of a bead, more bowl makers need to use that chucking method.

[@ericmoorehead1100]

I so admire your mastery of the art. Your willingness to share your thoughts and expertise in such well produced videos is greatly appreciated.

[@ShevillMathers]

Love your work, no musical fanfare & pyrotechnics etc. straight to what we want to see, the master at work-brilliant tutorial every time. If you are up Cairns way, we are as far apart as possible with me near Hobart, our weather patterns differ significantly. Too warm for me up your way. Greetings from Tasmania Australia 😊

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm in chilly Canberra, whereas Dave-with-the-camera now lives in Cairns.

[@DennisSuitters]

"If your hungry", love your humour. Thanks for sharing Richard, goes to show there's more to turning than just throwing a blank on the Lathe, there's a lot of consideration that goes into it, and of course the safety aspect with cracks, and artful placement of features, lol.

[@hfbowerndesigns810]

Thanks again Richard for another demo on turning. Always pick up new techniques and advice from discussion through the process. Lovely little bowl in the end. Take care Cheers Harold

[@thomaskahan3922]

Amazing work. You are the Roger Federer of wood turning : it all looks so easy. One swift pass and the bowl is formed. Loved the "twice the value" and above all the "looks alright doesn't it?" comments. Lovely bowl. I'd need half a day to turn it...

[@stuartmclellan685]

Always interesting. Particularly like the tip to cut along the medullary split for the quarter sawn pieces. Thanks Richard.

[@raydriver7300]

What a lovely little bowl. Thank you for sharing 🌞

[@jackthompson5092]

Beautiful little bowl Richard.

[@jontoolman]

Great vidro Richard. Appreciate your sharing! Thank you.

[@craigpennifold3498]

Great work showing how to use beads to hold the bowl in Vicmarc Shark Jaws. Nice bowl.

[@LAZZY0001]

"It's got its feature hole, so that makes it a work of art, therefore twice the value" .....classic comment. LOL. Thank you Mr Raffan.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Unfortunately four holes wouldn't make it four times the value....

[@paulplager9498]

Use the cedar shavings in your dresser to repel bugs. Put some shavings in a cheesecloth bag. Or an old nylon stocking and tuck it in a drawer or closet.

[@tomislavtomasicwoodturning]

Great job as always 👍

[@garylawrence7547]

It takes years of experience to understand the wood the way Richard does.

[@EricRush]

Huge improvement in audio level!

[@josephpotterf9459]

Thanks always learning here

[@brianhawes3115]

Love the bowls, but your spindle work is excellent as well, like to see how to make matching candle sticks or lamp bases, in other words two items that appear identical

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I've mostly used a skew for turning scoops and endgrain boxes. I've not turned a pair of candlesticks for 50 years - just not my thing and I'm not familiar with the traditional detailing. The man to watch is Steve Jones kzbin.info

[@kenvasko2285]

No tree is perfect and every tree is perfect. Bowls with features are perfectly acceptable. They take more time because they need special attention. As a production turner I can certainly see why you like the lack of features. What would be your preferred finish if you had it available?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

It's not that I don't like or want features. My experience tells me bowls with splits and defects are not easy to sell. Neither are bowls with particularly flashy grain patterns. That said, the features I look for are grain patterns and I select my timber and cut my blanks accordingly. Splits and cracks are defects in the wood, along with borer holes, split knots, and patches of rot, so I usually cut them out. I see no point in using second-rate material when there's plenty of good stuff available, often within the blanks full of 'features' people are turning. And I can't imagine what makes you think I'm not using my preferred finish or that if I did prefer something else it might not be available.

[@petermaier2577]

I enjoy your videos and have learned a great deal. Thank you. I’ve noticed over the years that not all sand paper is created equally. Is there a particular brand of cloth backed that you prefer?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I've been using Colour Coded Grit ever since it came on the market... and I was testing the abrasive for a year before it became colour coded. For years I'd been wondering aloud as to why abrasives weren't colour coded. Michael Mogy was listening and got some made. www.veneerinlay.com.au. I've been using it most of this century.

[@tricolorturners]

Very enjoyable. Why couldn’t you flip the blank?

[@michaelcox3462]

Thank you for putting these videos up. I have been wondering about your technique when using a scraper on the inside of a bowl and how you avoid catches? Is the tool rest set at centre height of the bowl or slightly higher? When I use one it is a white knuckle ride in fear of getting a catch!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

The angle between the top of a scraper and the surface of the wood you're cutting needs to be less than 90°. This is konwn as a negative rake. After that, think in terms of stroking the wood rather than scraping. You're not trying to get paint off a door.

[@michaelcox3462]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning I didn’t know about the ‘negative rake’. Thanks for the reply, much appreciated

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

@@michaelcox3462 You'll likely come across negative rake scrapers. These are similar to skew chisels in that they have two bevels. They were developed to make scraper catches less likely and are widely promoted as essential tools although I never understand why. Being aware of the issue, why tools catch, overcomes the problem. Mostly it's a matter of keeping scrapers tilted below horizontal, the handle above.

[@michaelcox3462]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thanks again, I'm looking forward to trying this out

[@eddieagha5851]

Interesting! 2Qs: 1. How do you decide between using just wax or a combination of oil and wax? 2. You mention might need a different kind of finish for THIS bowl. What would that be?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I usually mix the oil and wax and it doesn't seem to matter which goes on first. If a piece is full of holes or splits, then it's oil only because wax gets caught in the holes and splits. On very dense hardwoods I find wax sufficient. This cedar bowl would benefit from ongoing polishing to develop a deccent patina, but I have no idea where it is or the treatment it's getting. As a generalisation, all my work gets the boiled linseed oil and beeswax because it's a good base for ongoing wax polishing, and it comes off utilitarian bowls when washed in hot water and detergeant.

[@eddieagha5851]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning thank you.

[@garyjanes2358]

Please remind us of the finish you used here.

[@thomaskahan3922]

bee wax and linseed oil, if I understood correctly

[@OregonOldTimerWOODTURNING]

@@thomaskahan3922 Beeswax and BOILED linseed oil.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

The outside was pure beeswax melted into the wood with a rag loaded with some boiled linsee oil. Then on the inside I slopped on boiled linseed oil to flow into the split. I'll do a short video on how I finish what I turn.

[@robinbest4786]

Mr Raffan - I'd love to know what you put in the hole ! My audio completely missed it . . .

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

The hole is still a hole. It wasn't filled.

[@robinbest4786]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Ah - OK !