I'm always impressed by the grain patterns that result from wood choices you guys make. This article helped me understand a little better how you guys choose your blanks.

 Hope the link works.

https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/cutting-bowl-blanks-from-a-tree/

Edited February 24, 20215 yr by DuckSoup

Thanks, Bob! I'm going to include this in this week's "Wednesday's..."

That is an interesting article. Not only the cut but how you place the blank on lathe can make a lot of difference. I usually do not but I know some who do reorient the bowl blank between centers to center the grain patterns in a bowl.

Great article. Looks like I have been doing it wrong. He has the top of the bowl toward the outside and bottom of the bowl towards the center. I have been doing the opposite. I will have to try it his way.

3 hours ago, RustyFN said:

Great article. Looks like I have been doing it wrong. He has the top of the bowl toward the outside and bottom of the bowl towards the center. I have been doing the opposite. I will have to try it his way.

It can be done either way. Lets forget outside & inside.  If the hollow is in the center of the log you could call that traditional. If the hollowing starts on the outside of the log that is natural edge, it does not matter if the barks stays or falls off still a natural edge.

Also, the “traditional” method can sometimes yield a slightly larger bowl if you choose to keep the sap wood. 

I grew up calling them a wedge cut vs a flat cut. For me most times the choice is determined by the species of wood. The softer woods have more sap wood in the middle so a flat cut is a little more unstable. If it’s a harder wood like maple then both cuts work fine  and then it’s a matter of choosing which orientation fits the blank. By that I mean sometimes I will reorient the blank to show more of a spalted area etc. As Lew said with a wedge cut you also need a fairly large section of a log to get a decent size bowl. 
Paul