Worked on a little bowl for a woodworking friend in Alabama. The blank is from a piece of Spalted Maple from a friend in Virginia. So, you might say this bowl is getting ‘round (pun intended).

I cut the blank using a homemade circle-cutting jig for the bandsaw then mounted what will be the open end of the bowl on a faceplate. Next, I turned the outside shape and an internal recess on the “bottom†to fit into my chuck. Using this method, the screw holes from the faceplate mounting get cut away as the bowl is hollowed out.

Once this is done, the faceplate is removed and the blank mounted on the chuck,

When I turn this shape, I like to leave the center material intact to provide support for the piece.

Once the bowl is hollowed out about half way, the “center post†can be removed. I don’t think there is any hard and fast rule about this or when to remove the center but this works for me. Up to this point, most of the hollowing has been done with a bowl gouge. At this point, the spalting was tearing pretty badly so I coated the inside of the bowl with thin CA and allowed it to set up. To get the inside to the final shape, I used a variety of scrapers.

Once I was satisfied with the overall shape and wall thickness, I sanded everything I could access through 220 grit.

Now it was time to turn my attention to the bottom of the bowl. In the past, I had always left a small rim or foot on the bottom of these turning. Those made the piece appear to float above the surface on which it was setting. This time I decided to eliminate that foot. When I shaped the outside of the bowl, I left enough material on the bottom to keep allow the recess to be turned away without cutting through to the inside.

Using the Longworth chuck and some extra-long vinyl covered post; I reversed the bowl mounting. It might have stayed in place with just the pressure of the posts but the nylon fiber packing tape made me feel more comfortable.

The recess/foot is trimmed away.

Again, due to the punky spalting, I saturated the bottom with CA and allowed it to set up before continuing.

Although a little hard to see, the bottom is scooped out slightly to assure the bowl will set flat.

The overall size is about 7†in diameter a little less than 2†tall and the wall thickness around 1/8†thick. Finished with several applications of oil-based poly and buffed out with paste wax.

 

Safe Turning!

 

 

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

That is an awesome looking bowl and a great explanation on turning one. I like the recess bottom also. I have done that on several bowls. I do like the look as if it is floating above the table, but I like to see it sit flat also.

Here is a picture of one I turned several years ago. This one was about 8" in diameter and about 5-6" tall.

I really love the look of the spalted maple. Every piece is so unique.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying

Beautiful bowl, John!

John Moody said:

That is an awesome looking bowl and a great explanation on turning one. I like the recess bottom also. I have done that on several bowls. I do like the look as if it is floating above the table, but I like to see it sit flat also.

Here is a picture of one I turned several years ago. This one was about 8" in diameter and about 5-6" tall.

I really love the look of the spalted maple. Every piece is so unique.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying