Bowls

I've been making bowls like crazy here lately. It's very rewarding and brings in some money as well. My neighbor and I are making bowls for the Eagle River Knife Company and decorative bowls that we sell on our own. The only problem is waiting for them to dry. We had to make a homemade kiln to speed up the process. Waiting several months per bowl just wasn't cutting it. Now we can dry a bowl in 2 days. The process starts by selecting the wood. Most of the bowls I turn are birch that I get for free.

Here's what the slab looks like before turning.
http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._7127114_n.jpg

Then the roughing begins. The wood is very easy to turn when wet, but to avoid warping and cracking I have to leave at least 10% of material on the bowl. This only takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

Roughed bowl ready for drying.
http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._6775272_n.jpg

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._2766951_n.jpg

After 2 days in the kiln the bowl is ready to be final turned and sanded. This can take over an hour, depending on how fancy the bowl will be.

Here's a typical bowl for Eagle River Knife Company.
http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._5116037_n.jpg

You turning those on a lathe?

Yup a Craftsman 15" Bench Top Lathe.

Looking Good. What do you seal them with if they are to be used for food........?

Very impressive work Doug. Looks excellent.

That's a nice job. Very cool.

Doug - not having done any wood turning on a lathe - do you have to get the starting piece cut a little "rounder" before you start turning it? Seems like the oblong shape would be a little dangerours to start turning.

Very Cool Doug ! :)

Not really meaning to answer for Doug, but I know most wooden kitchen utensils are sealed with Olive oil. It has some antibacterial qualities/properties, which makes it safer for eating/cooking.

Great work Doug!

Very cool, do you have a pic's of some that are completed?
Or is that it pictured?

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Originally Posted by Sourdough

Looking Good. What do you seal them with if they are to be used for food........?

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I use peanut oil, but olive oil would work just fine too.

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Doug - not having done any wood turning on a lathe - do you have to get the starting piece cut a little "rounder" before you start turning it? Seems like the oblong shape would be a little dangerours to start turning.

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Most of the time we do knock the corners off, expecially on thicker pieces. This one was fairly shallow and I was lazy. Having the tailstock on the piece takes most of the danger out of it though.

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Very cool, do you have a pic's of some that are completed?
Or is that it pictured?

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Here are a few decorative bowls and the last one on the right is a standard wood bowl.

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._2103851_n.jpg

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o..._4723060_n.jpg

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o...5/9df99741.jpg

Doug - Both peanut oil and olive oil can go rancid. They won't kill you but they smell and taste awful. You can use food grade mineral oil or beeswax. You could use walnut oil or almond oil but some folks have an allergy to nuts. Coconut oil could also be used. Warm the oil then apply it in the direction of the wood grain. Allow it to dry for 5 or 6 hours then reapply. Depending on the wood you will need four or five coats of oil. You'll also want your customer to know what you've used because they will need to re-oil the bowls periodically.

You've done some beautiful work, by the way.

Thanks for the pic's, mighty fine work there, really like the one with the real dark grain on light wood.

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Originally Posted by Rick

Doug - Both peanut oil and olive oil can go rancid. They won't kill you but they smell and taste awful. You can use food grade mineral oil or beeswax. You could use walnut oil or almond oil but some folks have an allergy to nuts. Coconut oil could also be used. Warm the oil then apply it in the direction of the wood grain. Allow it to dry for 5 or 6 hours then reapply. Depending on the wood you will need four or five coats of oil. You'll also want your customer to know what you've used because they will need to re-oil the bowls periodically.

You've done some beautiful work, by the way.

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Yeah I never really thought of the peanut allergy. I have tried the beeswax, but didn't like how it turned out. Thanks for the info, sounds like you know a little bit about this. :) And thanks for the compliment.

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Thanks for the pic's, mighty fine work there, really like the one with the real dark grain on light wood.

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Thank you. Those unique ones are hard to find. Gotta find a good burl to get patterns and colors like that.

Oh beautiful!

I don't know squat about making bowls but I've made a lot of wood stuff back in the day. Cutting boards were what I used the mineral oil on.

I'll be honest, at first I was like WTF bowls? lol

But very nice work. I've wanted a lathe for the longest time for all sorts of things. Bowls never even crossed my mind. How much do they sell for if you don't mind me asking?

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Originally Posted by JPGreco

I'll be honest, at first I was like WTF bowls? lol

But very nice work. I've wanted a lathe for the longest time for all sorts of things. Bowls never even crossed my mind. How much do they sell for if you don't mind me asking?

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Well the ones I make for the local knife company I get a flat $50 each. The decorative bowls vary by size and species. Anywhere from $50 to $150 each. I've made a few serving platters and will be making cups and coblets soon too. Plus I'm still making knives to sell as well. Maybe I'll be able to quit my job soon :)

Finished this one late last night. Put three coats of dark walnut oil on it.

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o...5/a22e69e0.jpg

that's some fine work. a lathe is high on my list of priorities, but i'll need a dual purpose variable speed setup if i'm going to do wood turning, since my primary interest is in machining.