Bowl Design

[Steve Friedman]

Since learning how to carve a bowl this year, I have been looking for the opportunity to make a really large bowl. Large green logs are not easy to find in suburban NJ, so I told everyone I know that I was looking for one.

Well, my efforts finally paid off and I was given three very large green half-logs this weekend. I would really appreciate some input into how to put these to best use.

Two of the logs are oak, each 18" long and 20" in diameter. One question is whether oak is too hard to carve by hand? The other is how to design the bowl. I will lose a large portion of the logs if I use the typical elongated swedish bowl design. I was thinking of making more rounded (or square-ish) bowls with these, but have no idea how to do that, particularly how to handle the end grain. I believe that the ends need to be thicker than the sides for structural reasons. If I want to maintain the wound - square shape, the sides would need to be thick as well. Wouldn't that make the bowl too heavy to lift? Should I carve these bark side up?

The third log is poplar, 30" long, 18" in diameter. My main question is whether the log is too big to make one bowl. I don't want to end up with a bowl that I can't lift.

Thanks for your help.

Steve

[Judy Kingery]

Hello Steve,

Just to clarify, I'm not a master carver by any stretch - what I mostly like to do is wood turning. But I have carved a few things. And in doing so maybe a few suggestions is all - I doubt I'd like to carve oak. Some people might. It's ok to turn, but a pretty tough wood.

Now Poplar I really do like. To turn and carve, it's a bit softer and will cut a bit more cleanly in both applications. I like the vanilla and green colors. Most of the bowls I make generally range in diameter from 6" to oh the largest platter I've done is about 30". And maybe 2" deep on that one. The bowls somewhere around 5-9" depth.

I did turn a Cherry bowl last year about 28" in diamter and maybe 10" deep and it is a bit heavy or cumbersome, pretty enough, but not really functional unless someone wants a fruit bowl or something on the table.

Oh and your other question, I carve just like I turn with regard to a bowl. Bark side is bottom of bowl to go with the curve. Half the log, top of the bowl will be your biggest area, the halved portion, bottom will be the curved, bark side if that makes sense.

Hope that helps! Maybe someone else will chime in with more specific suggestions, best to you,

Jude