Bowl from boards

[steve mcconnell]

After someone posted a few weeks ago about a bowl from a board, I got inspired and since LOML wanted a salad bowl, I figured I would try my hand.

This is my first segmented piece. I have to say I learned a lot. Mainly, that I need about 5 hands. Sadly, I only have 2 hands so my lines are less than optimal. Gives me a whole new respect for this style.

The proportions are also off, in that it is too top heavy, but I am still very happy with the way things turned out.

Walnut, Maple and Cherry. 14 1/2 inches wide, 5 1/2 inches tall, 3 1/3 inches at the base 3/8 in thick walls.

Thanks for looking.

Steve

[Donny Lawson]

I've never tried a bowl like that but those look great to me.It looks like something I will have to put on my list of things to do.
Donny

[Bernie Weishapl]

Very nice bowl and I like the simple form.

[Robert McGowen]

Looks good, Steve. Not being able to cut out a circle on a bandsaw pretty much rules this out for me!

[David E Keller]

I've never done one of these, but I'd imagine this one is much better than my first five attempts. I really like the form, but it's probably not a great 'salad shape' due to the narrow foot. Oh well, I guess you'll have to turn another!:D I'd be proud of that one.

[James Roberts]

Neat idea, Steve, it came out nice.

[John Keeton]

Great start to a segmenting career!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Steve - I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt! I understand that this form may not be the best for a salad bowl - but I like it! Stick with it - it will get easier!

Looking forward to the next one!

[Bill Bulloch]

Us woodworkers are strange people. We finish a project and people say how nice it looks, then we say something like: "Yea, but I made this little mistake here and I should have did this or that". We shouldn't do that, people probably will not notice or even care about it. Your bowl looks fine, you did a good job for your first. The important thing is that you know where you made mistakes and you correct them on the next try. That is how we improve.

Keep up the good work.

[Jim Underwood]

Looks good, Steve. Not being able to cut out a circle on a bandsaw pretty much rules this out for me!


You don't need a bandsaw to do this. All you need is a good sharp parting tool.

[Stephen Massman]

Great bowl.

With bowl from a board glue ups it helps to only glue two rings at a time. That recommendation also helps on regular segmented ring glue ups. It offers a lot less chance for error when you are only watching only one seam. You can glue two rings and wait a couple hours and glue the next and so on, as long as you wait for the glue to set enough to not allow movement. It also helps to apply clamping pressure to squeeze out a lot of the glue and then inspect the alignment and then tweak it if needed and then reapply the final amount of pressure.

If anyone has Fine Woodworking issues #39, and #76, they both have some good info on this technique.

Woodcraft also has an article from Malcolm Tibbetts book.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Articles/Articles.aspx?articleid=425

On the comments on small foot. If anyone wants to try this technique you can have a larger foot. The only thing a larger foot does it not allow so many stacked rings to be cut from the glue up.

Hope that helps.

[Karl Card]

I dont know that I would call anything in that bowl a mistake. You may do something different next time or wished you had made a different shape but I seriously would not call it a mistake.

I to have not done a board glue up like this but have taken wood blanks the size of bottle top blanks and did a glue up and made a bowl out of it.. it was pretty cool such as yours.

I am wanting to do one with purpleheart, yellowheart and redheart and I just happen to have some huge boards down there in the shop...hmmm