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I lowered the lathe speed and brought up the tool rest, then started the lathe and touched a pencil against the side of the bowl base. I shut the lathe off and found that the pencil had only touched the bowl through about 1/4 of it revolution. I rotated the bowl until the mid point of the pencil mark was at the top, backed off slightly on the tailstock pressure, and used a mallet to give the bowl base a couple of taps straight down. I tightened the tailstock back up, re-started the lathe and touched the pencil to the base again. When I shut the lathe off and inspected again my pencil line was reaching about 1/2 way around the bowl base. I backed off the tailstock pressure again and gave a couple of taps to the mid-point of the pencil line, then re-tightened the tailstock. This time when I started the lathe the bowl was running true.
Photo #14: Truing up the bowl
With the bowl running true I returned to my bowl gouge and refined the shape of the base, blending it into the curve of the bowl wall. I left a stub tenon where the tailstock is supporting the bowl.
Photo #15: Refining the form