A variation on the normal checkerboard economy bowl

[Justin Stephen]

I'm sure I am not the first to try this but I don't recall ever seeing anyone else post this design so I thought I'd drop it here in case anyone wants to try it.

I created a 10 1/2" board of 1/2" strips of maple and walnut but then resawed it and planed it down to two 1/4" boards. I cut alternating concentric rings 1" at 45 degrees on a scroll saw, cutting from one board on the whole inch and the other on the 1/2 inch so that there was an overlap of about 1/2" between each stacked ring. By cutting at 45 degrees, I increased my working room to about 3/8" versus the 1/4" I would have had if I cut the rings at 90 degrees. Rough drawing (ignore that little bit in the middle):

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Of course, the 3/8" assumes perfectly cut rings and perfect gluing, neither of which ever happens in my shop. http://segmentedwoodturners.org/forum/images/smilies/smile.png

By using this designed, I obviously ended up with a very tight checkerboard pattern but I also ended up with a much more open form than would normally be achieved with a bowl from a board.

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I didn't nail the outside curve well at all and there was a little bit of chipout on the inside where the wall meets the base, but it was good enough to gift to a relative for xmas. This design also requires more than the usual amount of sanding between rings to avoid gaps. Final dimensions were about 10 1/2" wide by 4 1/4" tall, turned to between 1/8" and 3/32". Finish was 3 coats of sealer and 3 coats of WOP, if memory serves.

[Allan Ferguson]

I like that pattern. A good job!

[Paul Williams]

Very nice. Good tight joints and I like the shape.

[Rick Fisher]

I really like it .. learned a bit from your drawing as well..

[David Delo]

I'd say one of your relations should be very happy. How many hours do you think you have in this piece?

[Rick Fisher]

Why did you call it an economy bowl ?

[Mike Tilley]

Haven't seen that before nice looking bowl and good job making it.

[Don Nicholas]

I as well learned from your discription. One question, by 1/2" overlap do you mean the segments are 1/2" over your bowl shape as drawn?
Very nice design well done
Thanks for posting.
Don

[Justin Stephen]

Why did you call it an economy bowl ?

Normally you would stack rings, cut at an angle, made from one board. I guess the "economy" part comes from the lack of wasted wood. The downside of "economy" bowls is that you are somewhat locked in on the shape of them. There are numerous ways to give yourself more freedom of shape but they require more stacked rings and therefore more wasted wood.

[Justin Stephen]

I as well learned from your discription. One question, by 1/2" overlap do you mean the segments are 1/2" over your bowl shape as drawn?


I cut one of the 1/4" boards into rings that were 4" in diameter, 6" in diameter, 8" in diameter, etc. I cut the other one in rings that were 5" in diameter, 7" in diameter, etc. A 6" ring has a radius of 3", while a 7" ring has a radius of 3 1/2", so when I stack the 7" atop the 6", there is a 1/2" overhang on each side. The bottom drawing is an accurate cross-section (assuming perfect cuts and gluing, of course).

[Justin Stephen]

I'd say one of your relations should be very happy. How many hours do you think you have in this piece?

I honestly don't know, not all that much. The most arduous part was probably cutting the rings out on a scroll saw but that is pretty easy when the wood is only 1/4" thick, even cut at 45 degrees. Like with traditional segmenting, much of the time invested is waiting for glue to dry. I usually give a glued ring (Titebond Original) about 30 minutes of clamp time before I feel safe truing it up with a sanding block on the lathe. Sundays at home watching football often find me clamping rings during commercials. :)