12 inch diameter maple & cherry bowl


susieq4131

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Kyle,

Thanks for asking. I have two methods of glue up:

First method, I take large slabs of walnut, maple, cherry wood, etc. (1 1/2 inches thick is preferred) and run them through my 15 inch planer to the desired thickness I want. This results in a bowl with no seams except for the rings which are scrolled and glued.

Second method is to glue up strips of wood - in any thickness, which are 1 1/2 inches high, in lengths that are 1/2 inches longer than the diameter of the bowl I plan to make. Glue the face grains together, let dry and plane to the desired thickness. This method is like making a bread board and offers the flexibility of experimenting with different wood design patterns.

My usual bowls are 12 inch, 13 1/2 inch, and 15 inch diameters. My wood thickness varies from 22mm to 28mm thick depending on the angle I want to cut. The thickness of the bowl ring divided by the thickness of the wood will determine the angle to cut the bowl which results in the least overhang on the stacked rings, which saves on sanding. Using the cutting angle chart, from Carole Rothman's book titled "Wooden Bowls from the scroll saw" the angle is determined. This determined angle is used for cutting the bowl and drilling the entry holes in the bowl slab for cutting each ring.

Once bowl is cut, I glue up the sides of the bowl with non-toxic clear glue and place them in my bowl press. Once dry, I sand the interior of the bowl with my tilting spindle sander using the 3 inch spindle. Next I glue on the bottom of the bowl. Once dry, I sand the exterior of the bowl with my tilting spindle sander, again using the 3 inch spindle. Bowl edge is shaped with a mouse sander. I finish sanding the entire bowl using the mouse sander with grits of 100 through 600. Finish is three applications of 100% tung oil and buff with a cotton or wool buffing pad.

I have pictures of the wood slabs, bowl press, and a wood slab being cut on my website under shop equipment. www.susieq4131.com

For more information on wooden scroll sawed bowls, Carole Rothman is a great source. Her bowls are very small and utilizes common wood thicknesses. However, the general information can easily be adapted to larger bowls.

SQ

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Nice writeup. I think I got you confused with Carole (was it her book presented on the TWW blog last year?). The somewhat herringbone pattern of your bowl makes for nice contrasts.

I saw on your 'other items' section some trivits. Are those out of solid-surface material or soapstone? Doesn't look like soapstone on the pig, but I know some people scroll it. I have a lot of Inuït carvings in soapstone so it always catches my eye :)

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Paul-Marcel,

Thanks for the nice comments about the bowl. Yes, Carole is still very active on the Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts forum.

The pig cutting board is made from Corian. It was easy to cut on the scroll saw but very messy. Precautions have to be taken so as not to breath in that stuff. I love the finished products cut from Corian, but hate the hazardous dust which results. Pattern maker for the cutting board is noted on my site and yes did come from that magazine.

Great blog you have there!

SQ

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You should do a video of the prosses of making a bowl. I like your work. Very nice stuff! Have you ever done any serving platters?

Thank you for the nice comments. It's funny you should bring up serving platters. I've actually had several people ask for them, just recently. Going to have to pry myself away from the bowls and try a platter. :D Haven't tried a video. But it might be fun to put something like that together.

SQ

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Nice bowls Susie, Maybe you should carve some fruit to put into the bowls. I like the technique you use. It looks like a good way to use up all the small pieces of scrap.

This technique came about from some scraps I had on hand. I glued them up on the edge grain, planed them down and cut out a bowl. Now I use this technique often.

As for carving, I carve the interior of spoons, after cutting out the design on the scroll saw. Beyond that, I haven't done much carving. But anything is possible. No telling what the future will bring - perhaps wooden fruit. :D

post-1522-002191300 1288052883_thumb.jpg

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