A Lesson In Thin.

Usually, I keep the walls of my bowls at about 3/8s of an inch. It seems to be the most visually appealing to me now. But there's another reason: it's a lot more forgiving the thicker you turn, in keeping a gentle curve. More, things are less likely to start moving if you stay thick.

This is a piece of Ash that had two large cracks running down the center. For fun, I repaired the cracks and started into it, and decided to try a thinner bowl; much like my favorite pasta bowl I use in the kitchen.

I was amazed the bowl moved out of round before I even turned it over to hollow it out. By easily a quarter inch. (I'm also experimenting with placing objects in the pictures to help you gauge the size of the things I'm working on.)

This is the first thing I turned bigger than 12" round. Other than that one piece that exploded in my face, requiring several stitches. But that's a story for another day. I need to make a jig so I can finish off this bowl. Currently, the jaws I have are too small. Stay tuned to see how that turns out.