Club Business
No club business was formally discussed.
Announcements:
- Mann Tool Fall Event, Oct 4–5
- John is scheduling demos for 2026. Consider showing us how you turn.
- Steven Pritchard is scheduled as the October demonstrator
- Holiday Luncheon scheduled for December 13, 2025
Demonstration
George Edwards demonstrated how to turn a 3-cornered bowl, a visually striking form that showcases the beauty of grain and color while challenging the turner’s skill with grain direction changes.
The 3-Cornered Bowl Process
To make a 3-cornered bowl, begin by making a cube with equal-length sides. This dimension is critical to finishing with a bowl with equal corners. George began with a cube made from three mahogany boards, approximately 6" on each side.
Two diagonally opposing corners were clipped and flattened to accept a spur drive. These clipped corners will be wasted as the bowl is completed.
With the blank diagonally mounted and turning at approximately 400 RPM, George began the rough out of the 3-cornered bowl using a bowl gouge with light pull cuts. Keeping the cuts light protects the 3-corners from distortions and break-outs. As the roughing cuts progressed, the lathe speed was increased to approximately 700 RPM.
Clean-up cuts were made by cutting “downhill”—cutting towards longer grains into the bowl’s larger diameter. A tenon was added with a parting tool.
Hollowing the Interior
The bowl was mounted in a chuck in preparation for cleaning out the inside. George took time to “design” the wall thickness, offering a cautionary note that finishing the corners required cross-grain cuts, making the corners susceptible to breaking. Turners were advised to cut slowly and lightly, leaving reasonable thickness to add strength to the corners.
George then cored out the center of the bowl using a marking technique with a Forstner drill to aid removal of interior waste. Internal cuts were completed with pull cuts, targeting consistent wall thickness throughout the hollowing process.
Once the interior was cleaned up, the bowl was mounted with a jam chuck and the tenon was removed.
Show ’n Tell
Members shared their recent turnings and work in progress.
