Cutting Bowl Blanks

[Dave Fritz]

apple.jpg This is a small trunk of an apple tree we cut down some time ago. Even though it was treated it split as you can see. I'd like to cut it in half through the crack to make two small bowl blanks. Normally I'd use my chain saw but this is pretty small and would be hard to hold. I've seen people stand a blank upright and cut on a band saw but that makes me nervous. I'm not sure what type of blade to use. I'm sure the base would have be perfectly flat so the blank wouldn't rock at all. How would you cut the blank in half through the pith to make two little bowl blanks.

Our five grandchildren have through the course of years helped us pick apples from this tree. I'd like to make each a small bowl or dish to have as a remembrance.

[Gary Baler]

Dave, I do this all the time. Keep your hands even on both sides of the wood with light pressure feeding the wood. Don't force it, but let the blade cut. Basically, I just hold the wood lightly... I don't try to overpower it. If something should happen, I want any pressure that I am placing on the wood to be at an angle that my hands won't slip off into the blade. My mind is set that I will let the wood go if something should happen.

DO NOT try to cut across the log horizontally. It will hurt you.

[Prashun Patel]

Make two cuts, one on either side of the pith.

[Steve Eure]

I do it all the time on my band saw. I have made a sled to help with longer and more irregular logs. Put a piece of wax paper under it to help move the blank. AsGary mentioned, both hands to the side with light pressure.

[Dwight Rutherford]

Reed Gray has a u-tube video about cutting blanks. I use a 3tpi blade for cutting wet wood.

[Michael Mills]

I tend to be overly cautious.
Given most bowl shapes, the ends near the bark will be turned away.
Cut two scraps (one for each end) and screw into the work. They only need to be 1/2 the width of the log.
Use your fence with the square blocks against it and let the free side fall away.

[John K Jordan]

apple.jpg ...I'd like to cut it in half through the crack to make two small bowl blanks. Normally I'd use my chain saw but this is pretty small and would be hard to hold. I've seen people stand a blank upright and cut on a band saw but that makes me nervous. I'm not sure what type of blade to use. I'm sure the base would have be perfectly flat so the blank wouldn't rock at all. How would you cut the blank in half through the pith to make two little bowl blanks.

Dave,

I've cut up a lot of pieces exactly like that. I also cut through any radial pith cracks. Unlike cutting round pieces crossways or very oddly shaped pieces, it is perfectly safe if the bottom is reasonably flat. If it rocks a little I cut a thin wedge or two and cram it into the gap on the bottom and slide the wedges with the piece. If the end is not square enough for you so a cut through the pith will angle the blade too much you can make a cut with the chainsaw or use bigger wedges as needed to square it up.

Here are my first and second cuts on a piece similar to that. Before making the second cut I might use a little hatchet to knock off some evenness so one side will move against the fence nicely (or use another little wedge next to the fence)

processing_wood_.jpg processing_wood_2.jpg
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Note that I cut spindle and other end grain blanks at the same time.

If the one end is not square enough to make the proper vertical cut, another way I work is lay the log down and cut it length ways down the center. This is also perfectly safe since the wood is 100% supported for the whole cut. To decide how to cut I lay the log on the table and use a square on each end to mark verticals then use a straight edge to draw a cut line on the top with a red sharpie pen. If the log might roll a bit or from side to side I'll use my hatched again (or my shop chainsaw) and hack a narrow "kind of" flat down what I want as the bottom. However, this is not necessary - just hold the log with two hands and guide it and it down the line. Some people don't even draw a line but just eyeball the cut by lining up the blade with the kerf behind the blade but I think drawing a line is better.

Another way is to use wedges again. I save the corners when cutting bowl blanks from dry planks so I always have a pile of various wedges curved on one side and flat on on the other. I pick 1 or more where the curve sort of matches the outside of the log and support the log in several places. I cut without the fence, eyeballing the line from one end to the other, again sliding the wedges with the log. I've never had even a hint of a problem and don't expect to since the cut is well supported. I suppose if you were not used to this you could attach the wedges with hotmelt glue or screws.

This is a lengthwise cut in progress on a piece of spalted maple and a hatchet trim shot.

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For all of this kind of processing I use a 1/2" x 3tpi blade.

I cut all my smaller log sections on the shop bandsaw using one of these two ways, as long as it will fit on the bandsaw either standing up or laying down.

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It's great that you are making something special from that piece!

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Or if you live nearby drop it and we'll cut it up!

JKJ

[Bob Bouis]

I really am not a fan of cutting logs on the bandsaw. Logs are round and heavy, not well suited to being cut on an upright bandsaw. Better to make a center cut with a chainsaw, then put the halves flat on a sled and cut them there.

If you are going to split logs with the bandsaw, the best way to do it is to make the first cut along the bark edge of the log 90 degrees to where you want to make your center cut, so you have a flat, then make the center cut through the pith while resting the log on the edge flat you just cut.

ETA: for that last cut, put the log on a sled so you can line the pith up on both ends of the sled, then slide it through. That way you get a straight cut through the pith.

If you cut the log and stand it on end like people often do, two bad things happen: 1) you get rip shavings which will clog up your bandsaw fast, and 2) you can't see the pith on the bottom, making it hard or impossible to get a straight cut through the pith. You also have to use wedges to make the log sit straight if your crosscut cut wasn't perfect (and it wasn't), which is unpleasant at best and dangerous at worst.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

apple.jpg This is a small trunk of an apple tree we cut down some time ago. Even though it was treated it split as you can see. I'd like to cut it in half through the crack to make two small bowl blanks. Normally I'd use my chain saw but this is pretty small and would be hard to hold. I've seen people stand a blank upright and cut on a band saw but that makes me nervous. I'm not sure what type of blade to use. I'm sure the base would have be perfectly flat so the blank wouldn't rock at all. How would you cut the blank in half through the pith to make two little bowl blanks.

Our five grandchildren have through the course of years helped us pick apples from this tree. I'd like to make each a small bowl or dish to have as a remembrance.

This is exactly the reason I never wait with turning my wood, rough turning the wood will give the wood a chance to move without splitting, turns easer also, and since there is so much less wood, it dries quicker in a brown paper bag without splitting.

Right now for what I can see, the log has some twist in it and you will loose some wood because of the way it has split, I hope the pit is in the center, but you have not much of a choice now of how to cut it in two halves.

You can cut it in the upright position like you have it sit, I use a ½” 3 tpi blade, it has a set for green wood, cutting in the upright position will give you long stringy sawdust, and it is not as easy to cut that way, just takes longer.

You can lay it flat and cut it that way, have the cut go right through the center of the log, you can very easily hold it that way and cut into two halves, though the cut might not go through the pith, like I said you have very little choice now.

Get whatever you can make out of it, and then give it time to dry properly and slowly in a brown paper bag.

[Don Orr]

Why saw it at all ? Why not just split it where it already wants to be split? Just a thought.

[Sid Matheny]

Hey Dave not heard from you in a while. I would saw it standing on end as you show it if you have enough room but I would get it as flat as possible on the bottom first. If your jointer is wide enough you could use it.