How to make a simple wood bowl on the lathe

In this video I show the techniques and tools needed to turn a simple wooden bowl. I used niangon wood for this project. 

First of all this is a side grain bowl. It is easier to hollow this way, with minimal tear out.

I marked the diagonals of my blank and drew a circle with a compass. I roughly cut out the circle on the bandsaw.

I then mounted the stock on a face plate with four screws.

I turned the stock true using my roughing gouge. After that I switched to a bowl gouge and started shaping the exterior of the bowl. 

I then used my calipers to measure the diameter of the jaws of my chuck. I then marked the area on the bottom of the bowl to make a mortise to fit my chuck. I made the mortise with the bowl gouge and a parting tool. The parting tool was used in  a diagonal. This way the mortise’s walls are at an angle. As a result the chuck’s jaws can hold the bowl much better because they are at an angle also.

This piece of wood has a knot. This is a fragile area, so I reinforced it with super glue.

I sanded with 100grit moved to 220, then 320 and finished with 500grit. At 500, I wet sanded with mineral oil, which is food safe.

I then mounted the bowl on my chuck and started the hollowing process with my bowl gouge.

At some point I used my depth gauge to check how far I went.

I finished the interior with a few light passes with a round scraper.

I sanded the interior and finished it with mineral oil.

The bowl came out great. My stock had a really big knot and I was afraid it might brake. Fortunately everything went well and the knot gives a really nice character to the piece!