How do they DO that?

[Dan Hintz]

I'm not sure if there's a term to describe the form, but take a turned plate and make the entire edge wavy (like someone superimposed a sine wave around the entire face of the plate). This is the best I could come up with for a pic (minus the handles):
http://www.carlyngalerie.com/images/Red%20Rosenbaum%20wavy%20Bowl.jpg

Is the main form turned to size, and then they switch to hand-carving to take care of the waves? If not, I cannot imagine how to do such a form on a fast-spinning block... your tool would have to go back and forth at the right spot, or else be automated.

I've seen large-diameter wooden platters/bowls with this pattern (some on here, I believe). I imagine an indexer would help here, but not by much...

[Bruce Pratt]

I'd guess thin and wet. Turned as a flat rim and then pulled upward slightly at positions around the rim to put in the waveform.

[Doug W Swanson]

It's gotta be thin and wet. Then shape it around a form or use banding to pull it into the desired shape. I've seen tutorials on making cowboys hats and they turn the wood almost paper thin.....

Here is an interesting link...

http://www.hardwoodgallery.com/index.html?target=dept_60.html&lang=en-us

[Dennis Ford]

I recently did a bowl something like that;
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=152948
The bottom was turned fairly thin and the sides tapered up to a wide rim. The the waves/ripples were carved. I used a 4-1/2" grinder with an abrasive disk to hog off most of the waste, then used palm gouges and sandpaper for finishing.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I would imagine you could steam a thin turned bowl from green wood and bend it anywhere the specie allows. When it dries it will hold the shape.
faust

[Dan Hintz]

Dennis,

I think your post was the one that got me thinking about it. Now I know...

Thanks!

[David E Keller]

I would think carving would be the only reliable way to get consistent curves like that. Something like wet madrone might curl and twist, but you would be hard pressed to control it I think.

BTW, the piece in the photo looks like glass instead of wood.

[Thom Sturgill]

Saw a session at a symposium - turn the vessel to the greatest dimensions - thick at the edge - lay out the wave on the edge and start carving. You are not going to get enough movement even with steaming to get that kind of wave. The edge is not long enough, you would have to stretch it.

[Joe Bradshaw]

Dan,
look up Charles Farrar from Concord, NC. He does bowls like that from wood.

[Andrew Kertesz]

The Del Stubbs video shows him doing something similar. What he did was to turn it super thin, wet sand thus keeping the piece pliable and then manually push and pull for the wave form. The picture looks like glass which is a whole different story since glass when hot is almost a liquid medium.

[Dan Hintz]

Yes, it's a picture of glass, but at the time it's all I could find that had the pattern I was looking for.

[Josh Bowman]

Do you suppose it's a warped plate. I know Reed Gray does green forms to finished thickness, then lets them warp. I've done a few and the edge will make a "sine wave" edge and not crack, if the form is consistant in thickness.

[Tim Rinehart]

That edge is definitely a signature of work done by Charles Farrar, a local woodturner here in Charlotte/Concord area and a good friend to all of us locally.

He frequently does demonstrations on this technique, which as Thom pointed it, is done by leaving heavy stock at the outside edges and getting aggressive with a carver to remove bulk of stock to desired shape and then refining.

He makes it look oh so easy...but it like alot of things, would take practice to achieve a nice look and balance.
http://www.charlesfarrar.com/?page_id=26#7

As mentioned, this could be partially achieved by warping a green item, but with potentially less dramatic or desired outcome. I would think if one really wanted to 'force' the warping, some techniques similar to making a cowboy hat could be applied, where a use of rubber bands and various bending jigs help guide the desire shape.

[Wally Dickerman]

Turners who do that kind of work usually use power carvers such as Proxxon or Arbotech to do most of the wood removal. The piece is turned to it's largest dimension and then the carving begins. You can do a variety of styles. Just use your imagination.

The recent posts about Gary Stevens and his very large burl carvings is a good example of the extremes. H does his carving with a chain saw.

Wally

[Josh Bowman]

Do you suppose it's a warped plate. I know Reed Gray does green forms to finished thickness, then lets them warp. I've done a few and the edge will make a "sine wave" edge and not crack, if the form is consistant in thickness.

Whooo! That's not from warping. Formed, carved or magic!
http://www.Charlesfarrar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/15.jpg (javascript: void(0))

[Dan Hintz]

Josh,

That's definitely the most extreme version I've ever seen...

[Ryan Baker]

The previous picture is obvious. But in less obvious cases, you can tell whether it has been bent or carved by looking at the grain lines. Bent shapes will have continuous grain lines, while carved ones will not.