Whatnot Dish

Woodturning Design Project

The Ideal Gift Bowl

by Joseph M. Herrmann

dont remember where I got the idea for this bowl, but Ive made quite a few of themso many that I cant even remember all those who have them. Ive given them for housewarmings, birthdays, Christmas, and the various WoW Swaps at the symposiums that I attend each year. They dont take much time and can usually be made from scraps that may be lying around your shop from other projects. In fact, I made this one from a 2" thick piece of stock that I had left over from a huge entertainment center, which I recently built for our home. The size of the wood required for the bowl can vary anywhere from 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" thick x 7" to 9" in diameter.
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The wood for this bowl was at the upper end of the suggested limits and measured 1-5/8" thick x 8-1/2" diameter. I used red oak for the bowl, but it can be made from virtually anything that you have. Ive found that red oak is a little difficult to work with because you have to be careful of chipping and tearout, so sharp tools are a must throughout the entire project. Sanding can also be a problem, because if you are too aggressive, the soft wood can be undercut between the growth rings and produce a wavy surface. And finally, finishing can be a problem as well, depending on your process, and I will explain more about this later.

Please refer to all manufacturers labels for proper product usage.

Wood: 1-5/8" x 8-1/2" diameter red oak or species of choice Tools: lathe; planer; bandsaw; 4-jawed chuck; shopmade jam chuck or vacuum chuck (optional); drill press and drill bit for screw chuck; screw chuck or faceplate; live center; assorted chisels, including parting tool, 1/2" and 5/8" bowl gouge, heavy skew, Ray Key skew, shear scraper, and texturing tool (optional); diamond hone; compass, ruler; woodburner to sign work MDF disk about 1" larger than bowl for jam chuck Assorted grits of abrasive paper 1" wide strapping tape Finish of choice

SUPPLIES

chuck, so it was only natural to make the foot the same diameter as required by my chuck. Chuck jaws are initially machined as a circle and then they are cut into four pieces. When mounting anything in a chuck, the closer you get to that perfect circle, the better hold there is on the blank. My jaws measure about 17/8" completely closed and they would normally be opened up about 1/8" to 1/4"which puts the foot at about 2-1/8". I wanted a bit more stock to allow me to remove any marks left by the chuck, so I decided to make the foot about 2-1/4" in diameter (see Fig. 3). Start the lathe, locate the center of the blank, make a mark, measure out a 1-1/8" radius, and draw a circle. Use a sharp parting tool to define the foot and make a cut about 3/16" deep (see Fig. 4). Then, because it is required by my chuck, I formed a dovetail. The next step is to waste the wood away from the foot so that it stands proud of the surface (see Fig. 5). Use a 5/8" bowl gouge to rough shape the exterior of the bowl. Forming an ogee can be difficult, so keep an eye on the profile from the side as you are turning. Once the profile is close, shear-scrape the profile to refine the shape (see Fig. 6). The area adjacent to the foot can be difficult to shape correctly. I think it should be somewhat round rather than flat, and Ive found that a heavy skew used as a negative rake scraper will define the profile quite nicely (see Fig. 7). As I said, oak can be difficult to sand, so I used a dedicated shear scraper that I made after an Al Stirt hands-on class to remove any imperfections (see Fig. 8). The scraper is sharpened by honing the top with a heavy diamond hone and then using it as a burnisher to pull up a burr, which must be renewed often. The scraper is held at about a 45 angle off the tool rest and pulled along the wood (see Fig. 9). You can get quite aggressive with the tool and remove a substantial amount of wood, so be careful. Once all the tearout is removed and the surface leveled, you can sand the surface. I started with 180-grit abrasive and worked up to 320. On larger bowls, I usually use the tailstock for additional support, so before I forgot, I brought up the tailstock live center and made a mark on the foot of the bowl (see Fig. Fig. 3

OUTSIDE CONTOUR

LETS GET STARTED

I saved this piece of oak because it had some nice curl in it. Begin by finding the center of the board. Set the compass for your desired radius and draw a circlein fact, I drew two of them because I didnt capture enough of the curl with the first one (see Fig. 1). Obviously, the circle needs to be cut out and this was accomplished on a bandsaw. I planned to use a screw chuck to turn the bowl; therefore, a pilot hole was needed. My screw chuck requires a 1/4" hole and this was drilled on the drill press using a brad point drill (see Fig. 2). I like a brad point drill because I think the center point is more accurate than an ordinary twist drill bitjust be sure to include the tip of the brad point when determining the depth. Once the blank is securely mounted on the screw chuck, determine the diameter of the foot. I knew I wanted to reverse-chuck the bowl and turn the inside on my 4-jawed Fig. 2

DETERMINE THE FOOT DIAMETER

Fig. 1 Draw a circle of the appropriate size for your bowl. Drill a pilot hole for the screw of your screw chuck. Check to be sure that your blank will fit securely in the chuck.
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Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Draw a circle and use a parting tool to form the foot.

Remove any excess wood from around the foot. Fig. 8

Rough out the contour of the bowl.

Fig. 7 Refine the area adjacent to the foot. I learned about this shear scraper and how to sharpen it from Al Stirt. Fig. 11

Fig. 9 The shear scraper will remove most imperfections easily. Fig. 12

Fig. 10

Locate the center of the bowl with the live center in the tailstock.

Use a chatter tool to texture the area adjacent to the foot.

Define the textured area with a skew.

10 ). This will come in handy when the bowl is reversechucked to finish off the foot. Not having this mark complicates matters, so get in the habit of imprinting the mark. The area adjacent to the foot is a difficult area to sand and some additional handwork is often required. Ive found that you can eliminate the problem by texturing the area. I just recently discovered a chatter tool that Steve Sher man developed as part of his Nano System (www.shop.nanotoolsr.us/DUALTOOL-CHATTER-CUTOFF56 Woodturning Design June 2013

TOOL-CT.htm). Ive not been a fan of chatter tools, having never found one that produced a good pattern, but I got some nice ones in a recent hands-on class with him and decided to try it here (see Fig. 11). In retrospect, oak wasnt the best choice for texturingthe pattern was okay, but nothing spectacular. I like to define the textured area and used a modified Ray Key skew to do this (see Fig. 12).

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Form the ridge between the rim and the bowl cavity with the bowl gouge.

Round over the rim with the bowl gouge.

Excavate the cavity for the bowl and sand to 320 grit.

Fig. 16 Slightly round over the edge of the ridge with abrasive paper. Fig. 19

Fig. 17 Use MDF for the jam chuck if you dont have a vacuum chuck. Fig. 20 Fig. 21 The rim of the bowl must fit snugly.

Fig. 18

Refine the foot of the bowl.

Lines made with a skew will frame your signature.

Sign your name on the bowl.

INTERIOR CONTOUR

Remove the blank from the screw chuck and mount it in a 4-jawed chuck; be sure that it is running true. I like to divide the top surface by eye into thirds and plunge the edge of the 1/2" gouge in to create a ridge that will define the rim and the bowl cavity (see Fig. 13). Be sure that the edge is sharp with no chipping; recut if necessarymine was about 1/8" to 3/16" high. Begin to roll the rim over to the edge of the bowl after

first cleaning up the edge with the gouge (see Fig. 14). Shear-scrape the surface to remove any imperfections and sand to 320 grit. I wanted the edge of the rim rounded over on the top edge and Ive found that the easiest way to accomplish this is to power-sand it. Excavate the interior of the bowl with the 1/2" bowl gouge and sand to 320 grit (see Fig. 15). Using your fingers, check to be sure that there is a nice flowing curve prior to
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sanding. Be careful not to oversand and undercut the growth rings. I like the ridge to be sharp and crisp, but not so sharp that it is a possible danger. Therefore, I use a piece of abrasive to lightly soften this edge (see Fig. 16). All that is left to do is finish turning the foot, and the bowl must be reverse-chucked once again to accomplish this. I would normally use my vacuum chuck for this and if you have one, use it. However, I know that many readers do not have one, so Ill describe an alternative method. When I first started turning, the vast array of chucking methods didnt exist; you jam-chucked everything one way or another. The easiest method to reverse-chuck a bowl to finish off the bottom was to attach a hardwood or plywood disk to a faceplate and excavate a cavity in which the rim of the bowl would fit. A good fit was mandatory, otherwise the foot would be off-center, so accuracy was important. Even though I really hate the smell of medium density fiberboard (MDF), I find it quite handy for reverse-chucking. Usually, I cut a disk about 1" (or so) larger than the exterior rim of the bowl and attach it to the screw chuck. MDF doesnt take a screw thread well, so dont overtighten. I had a disk from a previous projectthe chucks can be reusedso I used it; by the looks of it, I probably made it to reverse-chuck a bowl similar to this one (see Fig. 17)! The cavity had to be enlarged about 1/4" to allow the new bowl to fit, and some of the wood inside the jam chuck had to be turned away to allow the rim to rest flat. The rim of the bowl must be fairly tight in the hole and Ive found that the base of the bowl should be flush with the surface of the jam chuck (see Fig. 18). Bring up the tailstock for support and to make sure that the bowl is perfectly centered in the jam chuck. I like to add a little insurance to make sure that the bowl doesnt pop out of the chuck by reinforcing the fit with strapping tape. I also wrap the ends of the tape with more tape around the circumference of the MDF disk (see Fig. 19). To finish off the foot, turn a small cove on the edge of the foot to eliminate any marks that might have been left by the chuck and to eliminate all traces of how the bowl was held for turning. I also hollow out the interior of the foot and leave a little surprise for those folksusually turners who like to inspect the bottom (see Fig. 19). After sanding

JAM-CHUCK THE BOWL

the foot, I use the Ray Key skew to incise some lines for added decoration and to provide a place to sign my work (see Fig. 20 ). I use a woodbur ner to sign my name, the year made, and the species on the base of the bowl (see Fig. 21).

Fig. 22

APPLY THE FINISH

I start the finishing process by applying a coat of oil.

COMPLETE THE FOOT

I think simple is always best when it comes to finishing and my method is simple. I apply a coat of oil to the piece, wipe it dry, and allow it to sit over night (see Fig. 22). (Note: With an openFig. 23 grained wood, such as oak, the piece A heavy coat of Deft is must be continually applied with a brush and checked to make wiped off with paper towels. sure that the oil doesnt leach out of the pores. If it does, and is allowed to dry, there will be little shiny spots that will detract from the finish.) Next, the piece is flooded with a brushing lacquer such as Deftand allowed to sit for five minutes or so. Then wipe it off completely with paper towels (see Fig. 23). After it has set for several hours, steel wool the surface with 4/0 steel wool and re-apply the oil, making sure that it is completely wiped off.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope you will try your hand at making this bowl. It is a quick and simple project, and will be a surefire hit with anyone who gets one. The bowls can be made from many different species and each one will be unique.

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