i helped clear a few trees for my sister-in-law and grabbed a couple of cherry log segments for bowl making. i cut a few blanks up and then sprayed them with bug juice to kill the ants which were pretty much killing the tree. even letting it sit outside for a day was enough to get this knot to check. the way the knot is on this piece gave me the idea to try a live edge bowl since it will be completely removed as waste wood. the corners on this blank were just over 16" so i needed to cut them off before starting.
essential green woodworking tools, a couple quick whacks at the miter saw does the trick. i mounted this the wrong way for a live edge bowl, but it will still do the trick. mostly it is just going to be a little more difficult to clean up the glue block face. with it properly balanced i am able to get the speed up to 1500 rpm right off the bat and get the blank rounded out.
i made sure to stay out of the line of fire for the bark flying off. and i saw a spider crawling around while mounting. angry, dizzy, flying spiders? no thanks. and now i just clean up bottom face since i didn't mount it completely square. just a few push cuts and a little scraping with the wing. it doesn't need to be a finish surface, just a slight concave for the glue block to mount. pardon the wind noise, it is the fan behind the camera. after removing the blank from the lathe i use a hammer and chisel to remove the small bit where the spur center was holding. it just needs to be sure to not interfere with the glue block mount.
i'm using gel ca glue between the mount and the blank. the straight wire goes through the glue block to help keep it aligned. i come up from the bottom to start shaping the outside of the bowl. each successive pass i remove a little less wood. from this angle you can see the bottom shape of the bowl as it forms. and the pretty shavings cling to the curtain behind me. once the rough shape is defined i need to start cleaning up the steps with a pull cut. this cut creates the even curve of the outside of the bowl. i need to rely on the bevel and good tool control as i am turning air especially towards the wings.
final surface prep is done with the shear scrape using the wings of the gouge. there isn't really a bevel so being gentle with the tool is essential as i get to the unsupported parts of the bowl. now on to the hollowing of the bowl. i start at the center and work my way outwards. after a bit i noticed the tool was losing an edge very quickly. i decided before i sharpen i wanted to clean up as much of the bark as i could without getting too close to the edge. there is so much fine grit from dust being kicked up which gets lodged in the bark. when i was at the last 1" or so i started taking passes only a little over an inch as i approached the wall. this allows me measure the wall thickness and decide how think i want the walls of the bowl.
then i go resharpen and go nice, slow, and consistent on a final pass for a clean cut and even wall thickness. i move down the wall each time at about an inch and change, resharpening before each final pass. at the center i can't measure with calipers. so i take the center down feeling the bowl bottom regularly to estimate the shape. then a final pass there for the final bowl shape. next i move in with the sander to remove any tool marks on the inside and a little on the outside. a few gentle taps with an old chisel and hammer frees the piece from the glue block. i then use some old leather pieces and a paper towel between the glue block and the bowl. the tail stock is brought up to support the piece while i shape the foot.
the speed is down while i do the shaping here, so my cuts are quite a bit more gentle. push cuts are used to remove the bulk of the material. the bottom is blended with the curvature of the rest of the bowl. i try to cut inward for the foot with the large gouge. but i wind up switching to a small 1/4" traditional grind gouge. what i couldn't blend with the bowl gouge i use the sanding disc. and snap! i use a chisel to clean up the remainder of the nub on the bottom. i'll spare you the rest of sanding and finishing process and move right on to the glamour shots.
i really enjoyed this one. this cherry is beautiful wood. and it cuts wonderfully. even the bark stayed on nicely. i think i will enjoy working with the next few sections of log. thanks for watching and leave any comments or questions below. and god bless.
