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I'm just beginning bowl turning and can't seem to avoid these deep blemishes in the exterior and interior of the bowl. Are these pockets naturally occurring in the wood or am I causing them through poor technique?
I have only used a Ellsworth Signature Bowl Gouge so far.
It's called Tearout.
That is tearing the fibers. Most of the time when you see that the fibers of the wood are tearing out instead of being cut/sheared by the gouges.
There are three thing that can cause this. One is the wood itself. Some species are a little more prone to this than others. Also wood that is starting to spalt or rot is more likely to do this as well.
It can be reduced quite a bit by technique. The more aggressive the cuts you make with the gouges the more likely it is going to tear vs. cut the fibers. So as you get closer to the finished shape you want (especially if you see this happening, the finer and gentler the cuts you want to make.
Also KEEP the Gouges SHARP. Sharper gouges are more likely to cut the fibers instead of pulling them out and causing this problem. It took me a while to figure these things out. (I also don't like how it looks most of the time and it takes FOREVER to sand them out once you make the mistake.
So, to reduce/eliminate this, when you see your piece is prone to this, make sure your gouges are sharp and if it continues, then take less aggressive cuts. I've done this to save bowls. I sharpen the gouge and then take very light cuts, it can 'erase' those big holes, at least to the point it doesn't take long to sand them out the rest of the way.
