yarn bowl

[byron constantine]

I have made a yarn bowl for a friend so he can give it to his wife for christmas. The bowl is made
out of mesquite 8""x4". What i need to know is about cutting the j slot. How deep do you cut it
and how wide is the slot? Anyone made one of these? Byron

[Joe Ruden]

I have made a couple. I came down about 1.5 inches. For the slot you just need to make sure that it is very smooth so it does not catch the yarn.

[David Gilbert]

I have made a bunch of yarn bowls. I have seen a lot of different styles and prefer a narrower slot, probably about 1/8" wide in the shape of a "J" or a reverse "J". The end of the J has a hole that is 7/16" in diameter. I like the hole to be a little below the center point of the bowl. My bowls are all callabash style and close in a bit on the top. (I can't tell from your photo if yours does this.) So if the bowl is 5 inches high the hole is probably 2 1/2" or more down from the top. I tilt the J so the slots starts directly above the hole. If you google "Twist Collective Shop" and follow the link you will see some of my old bowls. I cut my slots with a Japanese keyhole saw and then sand the slot with sandpaper starting with 80 and go up to 320. This gives a nice smooth slot and hole and rounds the edges nicely. One other consideration is where to cut the slot. If you cut it on the end grain, the entire slot can be pretty fragile. If you cut the slot on the side then the inside of the J can also be fragile. (I have broken these both ways.) One other thing is that I practice on some older bowls before I cut the final slot. I also use a vacuum chuck that I mount on my workbench to hold the bowl when I am cutting and sanding.

Cheers,
David