Maple Wedding Bowls

[Baxter Smith]

This past summer my sister was talking about about cutting a tree beside their front porch. When I heard it had now grown too big and had to go…… I volunteered to help!;) It was just a spindle when they built their log home there 18 years ago but full sun does wonders for a red maple. Or at least for limbs, which it mostly was after the first 4 or 5 ft of trunk.

I was able to core one of the trunk sections in September and let dry for future use. When my nephew announced his engagement and wedding date earlier this spring, I knew what that future use would be. :)

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The bark inclusions were soaked with CA then any cracks were filled with walnut dust and CA again.
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The large bowl measures 12 x 4 ½. The middle one measures 9 x 3 and the smallest 5 ¾ x 1 ½. The two larger ones were turned to 3/8 thickness with a ½” rim. The smallest bowl is a little thinner. Finished with 3 coats of Mahoneys walnut oil applied a week apart and allowed to dry between coats. I then applied two coats of a walnut oil/beeswax mixture.
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This is the first set of bowls I have returned so am curious about a couple things. Does there seem to be a preference on wall thickness between different sized bowls in a set? Keep them all the same, make them progressively thinner, or do what I did this time, large ones the same and the smallest one thinner?
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The other concerns the profiles and using the oneway coring system which I picked up used. I kept the original bowl blank about as “full” as possible then used the #2 knife(if I remember correctly) to cut out the middle bowl. Could I have gotten a steeper/fuller curve on the side of the middle one by using the #3 knife and moving the pivot point further away from the headstock and past the center of the ways. Probably that’s as clear as mud! Just thinking outloud as I’m sitting here. ( Any suggestions other than the Mcnaughton:D)
Comments and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated!

[charlie knighton]

great set of bowls, great present, no suggestions for wall thickness beside look at each bowl seperately

[Jim Burr]

Good news Baxter!! My wife and I are going to re-marry and guess what we want!? Just kidding;) If I ever step up to coring, there will be a knock on your door...those are so well done!

[John Keeton]

Baxter, while I no nothing of coring, I do know beautiful bowls when I see them! Very nice work on these.

As to proportions, these seem to "stair step" nicely, and make an aesthetically appealing arrangement, and I would think that other dimensions (radius, thickness, and rim dimensions) would need to diminish accordingly as the bowls become smaller. That would mean progressively thinner, and a tighter radius, with a slightly smaller rim.

What you have done certainly appears to have worked well.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Haven't cored any bowls myself but I know these will be appreciated as a wedding gift! Very pretty set!

[David E Keller]

That's a great gift, Baxter! That last photo is too cool with all the bowls nested together.

I don't know much about coring, but then there aren't many trees big enough around here to make it worthwhile.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks all. I am hoping the wood will be a hit coming from the house where he has lived since kindergarten - minus the time at college. The colors almost match their wooden wedding bands as well(birdseye maple and walnut). Pretty neat looking and made by someone in British Columbia. The engagement ring is similar but has an inlaid band of pink granite from one of their climbs of Katahdin. (the first place I took my wife on our honeymoon;)) I didn't try to work any rocks into the bowls.:)

[Tim Rinehart]

Nice looking set Baxter. I think what John said about stair-stepping the proportions provides the most pleasing look. I've done only a handful of cores to date, and used a stair step approach and was very pleased with proportions staying consistent.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks Tim. I don't remember handling a set of cored bowls. Most of the ones I see posted here seem to be turned thin and they all look to be about the same thickness.

[Russell Neyman]

I don't really know what you mean by "coring" a bowl; but I suspect you're using a center saver system that allows you to save a ton of material by turning nested bowls out of one blank. I've looked at these for years, but just can't justify the tradeoff between the $500-700 investment for a full system and the additional bowls produced. Now, I live here in the Seattle area where big trees, wood, and bowl blanks are plentiful, so perhaps I'd sing a different song if I lived in Oklahoma or SoCal. Anyway, your wedding gift set will be a wonderful lasting memory. Congratulations to you and the newlyweds.

[Michelle Rich]

wow, what a gift. these are beautiful Baxter. To my way of thinking the smaller the bowl the thinner the wall..keep it proportional. But if you did not, so what? They look great in the picture. and when one thinks about it, the bowl will just be steadier to use if the wall adds weight.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Baxter those are beauties. They are going to love those. As far as bowls go when coring Baxter I generally stair step them.

[Cathy Schaewe]

What a special gift! And you did such a nice job - I have the oneway, but haven't experimented with how to set it differently, so can't answer your question. That's probably because I think coring is boring (ha), and I'd rather be turning....

[Michael James]

Look good from over here Baxter, and there will be lots of memories tied to those bowls too. I would guess that you would want them proportional according to your perspective, not others. Trust your instinct - you're doing nice work these days :).
Michael

[Roland Martin]

What a nice set of bowls and a gift that will be forever cherished.

[Harvey Ghesser]

That's a beautiful wedding gift! Nice work Baxter! I'm sure it'll be around much longer than a blender!

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!


I don't really know what you mean by "coring" a bowl; but I suspect you're using a center saver system that allows you to save a ton of material by turning nested bowls out of one blank. I've looked at these for years, but just can't justify the tradeoff between the $500-700 investment for a full system and the additional bowls....
I know what you mean about the payback unless you were selling a lot. I don't, but the corer/center saver was used and part of a package deal. It has come in handy several times when I have had special/sentimental wood or burls.


What a special gift! And you did such a nice job - I have the oneway, but haven't experimented with how to set it differently, so can't answer your question. That's probably because I think coring is boring (ha), and I'd rather be turning....
Thanks Cathy. I tend to agree that coring using the oneway isn't particularly exciting(though I have managed to mess up at times). If the wood is pretty all the way through, it is still neat to see the results.



That's a beautiful wedding gift! Nice work Baxter! I'm sure it'll be around much longer than a blender!
Thanks Harvey! Hopefully they will be used as much! And if they break, they could at least help keep you warm.:)

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice set of bowls Baxter! They're going to make a great gift. I think a coring system might be my next big purchase, but it's probably going to be a little while before I take the plunge.

[John Hart]

Very nice Baxter! I don't want to get married...but I'd be willing to get a divorce if you're giving them away for that sort of thing!!! :)