This project was a long time in the making - I bought the wood back in July. It wouldn't have taken so long if it hadn't been just a personal ambition - this wasn't made to order. So if you're thinking "Geez, I'd really like a hand-turned segmented wood salad bowl and serving bowl set but can't wait four months" (because I KNOW you are thinking JUST THAT) don't worry, it won't take so long if I'm getting paid for it.
So the first step was picking out the wood. I chose bloodwood, maple, walnut, and purpleheart, because I liked the color combination. Other woods would be gorgeous too though - yellowheart, cherry, the possibilities are endless. Then step 2: Design. Using AutoCAD I drew up the profile I wanted, and figured out how to cut the pieces, and then laid them out on the board I would use to maximize the use of the wood. Turned out I could get four big bowls and 8 small bowls from the wood I had bought. From there, rendering it was just a few more steps. That's what I posted in August.
The next steps were to cut the wood, turn the bases, glue the rings together, sand one side of each ring, glue one ring on (see picture below), flatten the top to receive the next ring and turn it to a circle, then glue the next ring on and so on till all layers were glued on.
The next step, and the really nerve-racking one, was to turn each bowl to its finished shape. So many things could have gone wrong - I had to go thin - didn't plan on adequate tolerances during my design - and the bowls at any point could have broken out of the chuck, burst apart into their consituent 61 pieces, or any other number of things. Turns out that little scrapes and nicks on my hands were as bad as it would get! Once the bowls were all turned to their finished shape, I had to sand, oil, and wax the bowls, and this is the finished result:
The project was AWESOME. I have to admit I'm proud of this one. I'm going to try and enter it in the county fair next summer, I think. Or state fair or however that goes. In the mean time, I'd love to have another go, but I just need to find a buyer for the next set - like I always say, I sell to support my habbit. Happy shopping.
So the first step was picking out the wood. I chose bloodwood, maple, walnut, and purpleheart, because I liked the color combination. Other woods would be gorgeous too though - yellowheart, cherry, the possibilities are endless. Then step 2: Design. Using AutoCAD I drew up the profile I wanted, and figured out how to cut the pieces, and then laid them out on the board I would use to maximize the use of the wood. Turned out I could get four big bowls and 8 small bowls from the wood I had bought. From there, rendering it was just a few more steps. That's what I posted in August.
The next steps were to cut the wood, turn the bases, glue the rings together, sand one side of each ring, glue one ring on (see picture below), flatten the top to receive the next ring and turn it to a circle, then glue the next ring on and so on till all layers were glued on.The next step, and the really nerve-racking one, was to turn each bowl to its finished shape. So many things could have gone wrong - I had to go thin - didn't plan on adequate tolerances during my design - and the bowls at any point could have broken out of the chuck, burst apart into their consituent 61 pieces, or any other number of things. Turns out that little scrapes and nicks on my hands were as bad as it would get! Once the bowls were all turned to their finished shape, I had to sand, oil, and wax the bowls, and this is the finished result:The project was AWESOME. I have to admit I'm proud of this one. I'm going to try and enter it in the county fair next summer, I think. Or state fair or however that goes. In the mean time, I'd love to have another go, but I just need to find a buyer for the next set - like I always say, I sell to support my habbit. Happy shopping.
1 comment:
I think that they look even cooler with food in them! I think that you rock!
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