re: First attempt epoxy

Yeah, looks like some serious learning on that one. Turning epoxy with HSS tools is possible, but you want them to be as sharp as you’ve ever had them. No, even sharper. And they’ll dull quickly, so set your grinder right next to your lathe and use it frequently for touch-ups.

I mostly use carbide tools on epoxy now, especially for roughing. I’ll go back to HSS for finishing, where I’m taking small cuts and not removing much material, as I can get closer to finished that way, but I often use my HSS gouges as scrapers (which dulls them fast, but gets a pretty good surface) as I get close to where I’m going.

It’s a handsome bowl, but it looks to me like you stopped sanding before getting all the scratches out. If I have large areas of epoxy to sand, I will do 80, 120, 180, 220, 400, and maybe some 800 wet/dry before I switch over to the one-step polish which works pretty well as long as I remember to shake it up thoroughly before using it, and the spout hasn’t clogged shut, so I need to hunt down my thinnest awl. I also, more than once, have put some tung oil and/or shellac on to see better what still needs work, and then clog up sandpaper as I remove it again. I suspect alcohol might work as well and would be easier to take off again without wrecking some sandpaper. In any case, finishing isn’t a quick process.