David Sudekum Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 Recently I was given a 12 inch wide 10 foot board that was 1 inch thick. It was stored out in the weather for several years. Upon cleaning up the board including all the cupping I found that this was a cedar board and that the grain had been brought out most dramatically. I decided to make a bowl with it. This bowl is 10 inches in diameter and 3 3/4 inches tall. This bowl was totally cut using the scroll saw. The rings were cut at 22.5 degrees. The bowl was sealed with tung oil then top coated with 4 coats of satin lacquer. DW Wayne and Harry Brink 2 Quote
lew Posted January 27, 2016 Report Posted January 27, 2016 Awesome! Love the grain patterns and color! Quote
Courtland Posted January 30, 2016 Report Posted January 30, 2016 Wow and wow! Sorry late to the show on this one. I love this concept, because you don't need to be a wood turner to make a bowl! So David, I get the fact that the rings were cut at 22.5 degrees, but was there still a ton of sanding to do to get it all smooth? Surely those rings did not line up just perfect! Quote
David Sudekum Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Posted January 30, 2016 3 hours ago, Courtland said: Wow and wow! Sorry late to the show on this one. I love this concept, because you don't need to be a wood turner to make a bowl! So David, I get the fact that the rings were cut at 22.5 degrees, but was there still a ton of sanding to do to get it all smooth? Surely those rings did not line up just perfect! There is a trigonometric formula to figure out the angle to cut. I know some of you guy's eyeballs just rolled in yer heads when trig was mentioned however it is REAL simple. In fact the calculator function ( scientific ) of your computer can do this quite easily. Long story shortened is the the ring thickness, the wood thickness, the kerf all have a relationship. For the most part you can ignore the kerf as the scroll saw blades kerf is so small for the most part. The formula has you divide the thickness of the ring by the thickness of the wood that you are going to be making the bowl from. This will give you a decimal number. For instance you want a ring that is 3/8 inch wide. So 3/8 = .375. The wood you want to use is 3/4 = .75 so you would divide .375 / .75 and get .5 using the calculator function click on the Inv button and then the trig-1 and hit enter. This will give you a angle of 26.565 degrees. This is the optimum angle to set your table at to cut the rings. The closer you get to the 26.565 degrees ( a use one of those wixey angle gages ) the closer the rings will fit on top of eachother. Accurate cutting of the rings and accurate setting of the cutting angle are important as they determine how much sanding you have to do. It takes practice. There is a website that will help you with the angle calculation - Angle_Calculator. Oh and before I forget if you have a table tilter saw the angle is left side down cutting counter clockwise. For a head tiler saw it is opposite head tilt right and cut clockwise. That said I know this is a ton of information in a short time. I am quite willing to help anyway I can so questions are welcome. A friend of mine has written a book on how these bowls are made and has several projects that go from very easy to advanced level. If you plan on making bowls, vases things like this I suggest you get a copy. Wooden Bowls from the Scroll Saw This is a great primer and once you master the concept your imagination is the only limiting factor. DW Courtland, Wayne and Harry Brink 3 Quote
Courtland Posted February 4, 2016 Report Posted February 4, 2016 David, sorry for the late reply back on this, thanks for the great information. As far as finishing, or sanding I should say, how much leveling is required if any at the glue joints? Quote
David Sudekum Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) I 26 minutes ago, Courtland said: David, sorry for the late reply back on this, thanks for the great information. As far as finishing, or sanding I should say, how much leveling is required if any at the glue joints? If you plane the stock flat before you start there is no problem with the glue joints as the mating surfaces are the top and bottom surfaces of the stock you are making your bowl with. So with a little prep you can get the top and bottom surfaces flat and with a bowl press like this one you can get consistent good glue joints every time. The press shown has a 12 inch from corner to corner spacing. This particular one is about 6 years old and gets used about 3 - 5 times a week or more. They are easy to construct. With a good sanding there is no need to do any kind of leveling. Sand them smooth to at least 220 grit. I generally go to to 220 and stop and let the finish do the rest of the smoothing. DW Edited February 4, 2016 by David Sudekum Quote
Courtland Posted February 4, 2016 Report Posted February 4, 2016 Awesome David, thanks a heap, and I'll look into that book you recommend. Thanks! Quote
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