Lots of hardwoods available  1.   Generally this is where I begin. Many hardwoods are received here. If you are a town resident you can have as much as you want whenever you want. Just great for me!	A typical log from the trunk of a locust tree 2. This a locust wood log. This is probably a honey locust because the wood has a distinct yellow color throughout. The diameter is approximately 12"	locust log cut longitudinally with chain saw 3.  I cut the locust log lengthwise exposing the center heartwood. From these two halves, a minimum of two bowls could be made.
Delta 13" three blade thickness planer  4.  I usually plane both sides so that when I cut the blank from it, the blank will be more balanced than if I relied only upon my chainsaw to cut it quite even. This is especially important on large pieces or else the blank will turn too unevenly and cause severe wobbling and danger to the operator.	The diameter of a bowl can only be as large as the diameter of the log 5.  Now, it is just a matter of using your scribe to make a rough outline of a circle in a selected area, so that you can cut out a nice circle blank on your bandsaw. For now mine can only accomodate about a 5.75" thick piece of wood.	The most challenging part of preparation for turning a bowl. 6. With the wood being 'green', i.e. wet, the best way to rough out a bowl, the blade needs to be very sharp and if I have to stop during the cutting process, the blade will bind up in the kerf (the space left behind as the blade cuts through the wood).  Usually it goes through the wood without any interruptions.
For safety sake, I fill all 9 holes with strong screws 7.  I use a Shopsmith lathe motor for the bandsaw and a 2nd Shopsmith motor for the  lathe portion.  I attach an aluminum faceplate to a selected side of the blank and attach it to the belt driven shaft off of the motor.	this happens to be walnut wood but here you see that you turn the outside first, including the base. 8. I inserted this photo so that you can see the setup for the shaping of the outside portion of the bowl. While using this faceplate one also creates the base of the bowl and a cutout area inorder to attach a wood chuck so that the inside portion of the bowl can be created.	A locust bowl with the groove turned into the base for the chuck; one can now turn the inside. 9.  This is the outside bottom of the bowl with the cutout portion so that the wood chuck can be attached.
10. The wood chuck has been attached, tightened with a special hex wrench, and is ready to be checked for eveness by turning the motor on briefly. Typically, after I turn the bowl around, I have to re-turn the outside portion to true it up to a balanced diameter.  The painted red object is the tool rest for your chisel. Without it, one could not shape the bowl.	partially turned on the inside. You also shape the 'top' portion of the bowl from this side. 11.  With the faceplate removed and the partially completed wood bowl reattached to the lathe drive using the wood chuck, one is ready to 'gouge' out the inside for the bowl.	a maple bowl ready to dry naturally. 12. Here the bowl is essentially finished in the rough state and will now dry for 3+ months.
ready to turn 13. Here is a spalted maple blank getting ready to be formed into a bowl. It happens to be the largest bowl I've done and the largest diameter bowl this lathe can do.	looking nice! 14. Slowly it begins to take shape.	about ready to turn it around. 15. I added a small base to bottom, cut the opening for my other chuck and prepared the sides so that it is pretty balanced and acceptable as a bowl.
16. I've reversed the bowl to gouge out the inside. I also have to re-turn the outside so that it is even in diameter.	17. I forgot to mention that I 'set my outer limits' for the inside portion of the bowl by using a parting tool to establish my operating diameter.	finished ! Here is the completed bowl.  It has dried for about 3 months and is ready for sanding and finishing.  All bowls are finished with Tung Oil and then either left this way or a spar urethane finish applied. No wax or other temporary finish is applied and no stain would ever be used.