A New Maple Bowl – Wood Turning

An Odd Sort of Blank for Wood Turning.

When she visited recently Roni brought some blanks for wood turning with her. Among lots of blanks for plates and natural edge bowls were some Maple blanks. I had turned a beautiful (if I say so myself) bowl when I was down at hers last. So she knew that I liked the wood and so I was delighted to accept these wood turning banks.

The blank I chose for turning today was about 9″ by 4″ (my lathe will only take blanks up to 10″ across). Wood turning blanks often have the outer edge painted (in this case a tasteful pink) to stop the wood drying out too soon and cracking.

There was one problem with this blank;

The problem with wood is that it does not grow symetrically. This wood turning blank was unbalanced because there was almost one half missing due to the way the tree grew. The issue for wood turning is that with the blank revolving at several hundred revs per minute the lathe, and everything else, vibrates and bounces. Add to that razor sharp cutting tools and there is a recipe for disaster!

Top Tip; Always count your fingers before you start wood turning and when you finish. You should have the same number both times!

Wood Turning this Blank, The Options

I seem to like making straight sided bowls, there is something that appeals to me in them. If I aimed for that with this bowl there would be a huge hole on one side of the bowl. Not that there is anything wrong with that and it can look wonderful and interesting. However I decided to go for something different. A sort of inside to out curve.

The Outside Finished

I applied the first coat of oil before taking the bowl off the lathe to turn it round to form the inside. With the bowl reversed, held on the lathe by the spigot, you can see see the finished curve, the trick will be to mirror the curve on the inside.

Wood Turning the Inside

Wood turning the inside of a bowl is more difficuylt that the outside. The main reason is that the bowl wall should be of an even thickness so finesse is the order of the day. Finesse is not one of my stregnths. In other words the curve on the outside has to be matched by the curve on the inside. Add to that the need to have the wall of the bowl flow, without any obvious transition, into a flat bottom. In my experience forming the inside is more painstaking that the outside. Obviously, you can make the inside a lot easier to turn by your choice of outside curve. I will take that to heart one day……..

Off The Lathe

Once finished on the inside and sanded the bowl is oiled and taken off the lathe. Ready for the oil to dry completely and for polishing. In spite of not being polished I think that I can be pleased with the result.

The finished bowl is just under 9″ by 3 1/2″

More explanation and an example of wood turning here.

Tags: maple bowl, wood turning