DIY Network

Satin Bowl Finish From "Woodturning Techniques" episode DWTT-109

The bowl is nearly complete! Just a few more touches need to be added.

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Figure A

Steps:

1. The bowl, which will be hot, is cooled in a bucket of water. This also rinses off the soap lubricant.

2. The bowl is recentered on the lathe form and using non-abrasive pads, the surface is cleaned and buffed (figure A). To achieve a satin finish, a coarse grit pad is applied first, and followed with a fine grit pad. Use separate pads for metal bowls; if the pads are later used on wood projects they will leave black marks on the wood.

Tip: (Before attempting to spin, it is necessary to check center alignment on the lathe. Put point centers in the head and tail. Move to bring centers together. If the points line up, the machine is ready to go. If not, the metal disc will not stay in the lathe and spinning will not be possible).

3. The inside of the bowl can be polished in the same way, if desired. However, polishing will move the convex bottom in the opposite direction, so once the finish is achieved, the bowl will need to be remounted in the lathe in the first position to push the dimple back in it's proper place.

Figure B

4. For a shiny finish, a buffing tool is mounted to the lathe and Tripoli buffing compound is charged to the tool. The bowl is then buffed at a speed of 1700 to 1800 rpm's (figure B).

5. The buffing tool is next changed to a new buffing tool and a white diamond compound is charged to the tool; this finer grit gives an even brighter finish to the bowl. Note: Both buffing compounds are commonly available at most hardware stores; always use a different wheel for each of the compounds. If you mix the compounds, the polishing quality will be diminished.

6. Smaller buffing tools are used to polish the inside bottom of the bowl.