Gents, can you tell me what the most common bowl diameters are, if that exist, and if any of you have a bandsaw bowl blank cutting jig to show off I'd sure appreciate it.

I know I can turn bowls from any diameter, but if I have a jig that I can use with my 14" bandsaw to cut blanks to round at common diameters, than I think that would be a good thing no?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

How big you can go is determined by your lathe size.  Anything smaller I let the piece of wood/log determine how big it will be.  There is not requisite for size.

Dan has it right, there are no hard fast rules. It really depends a lot on the intended use and the wood you have to work with. Everyone wants to turn BIG bowls but they aren't really practical, a 12" bowl is a pretty big bowl for most kitchens or dining tables and makes a nice salad bowl size.

 

Steve

Instead of thinking strictly in diameter, think about symmetry. Any bowl looks better if the proportions are correct.

Here's an interesting article invoking the "Golden Mean" in bowl turning-

http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/russ2.shtml

 

And another article on design/shape

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/05/woodturning-design/

Thanks again for the great suggestions and links guys.

How about cutting the blanks to round first, do you do that, or do you just rough it on the lathe? And if you do cut to round, do you use a band saw jig, or just draw a round circle on the blank and free hand saw it?

Depends on your lathe John.  Cutting it close to round before mounting on the lathe is always best. With a big/heavy enough lathe less work at rounding it is required.   For now get it as close as you can.  As you turn and learn you will find you can do the same work with less.  For now safety first and experience will give you the confidence to skip a step or two in the future. 

1 minute ago, HandyDan said:

Depends on your lathe John.  Cutting it close to round before mounting on the lathe is always best. With a big/heavy enough lathe less work at rounding it is required.   For now get it as close as you can.  As you turn and learn you will find you can do the same work with less.  For now safety first and experience will give you the confidence to skip a step or two in the future. 

Thanks Dan for the great feedback.

13 hours ago, John Morris said:

Thanks Dan for the great feedback.

John you do not need a jig. Find some discarded plastic signs ....should be plentiful on the road. Cut round discs from the material you decide to use in 1 inch increments from 5 inch to whatever the max size of your lathe is. Be sure to mark center and drill or puncture the center to mark center on the blank. You can then either place the template on top of the blank and cut outside the line or mark the blank with marker and cut. Once you get a better eye for round you can cut without the template.

 

Cutting is not a requirement but when turning a 20 inch blank you will be glad you did this to improve balance.