a couple of cedar bowls

[mick59wests]

Hi all,

I have not posted for a while but here are a couple of cedar bowls. I scored the cedar when my next door neighbour (who basically does furniture restoration) was horrified when the bloke two doors down was going to wood chip the bottom of a cedar tree. In the end my neighbour did not really know what to do with it, so I decided that I could help out and remove this burden :D.

The wood was cut a few months ago (less may have been wasted if my neighbour consulted me earlier but I cannot complain) so were fully turned as what I would call semi-green wood.

First the live edged oval bowl:
This was first shaped with a chainsaw to remove as much waste as I could, especially from the 'long ends' but also from the short sides.
For lived edged, I usually do the initial turning between centres (a screwchuck in the headstock and a live centre in the tailstock). In this way I can adjust the live centre to help centre it better so I get the lower sides equal. However, this was too big for my lathe to turn between centres so I 'used the force' and created a recess with a large forstner bit for my small (but solid) faceplate. I will not say it is perfect but 'the force' was with me on that day :).
While I have been finishing this bowl (still doing coats of Danish Oil) the bottom has warped so it currently rocks on the short sides. My current plan is 'to give it a while' then sand it flat and refinish the bottom. I did turn the bottom 'up a bit' (concave?) so it is suppose to rest on the outside (around 12mm diameter). I do not have a belt sander so still need to work out a good way to do this, especially going through the grits. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I'd also be very much interested in other people's experience with turning this type of bowl as I can see myself doing more of these in the future if I get some decent sized logs.

The more standard salad / chip bowl
Not too much to say about this. However at least one photo should show how much it was warped but so far (a couple of weeks) it is holding together quite well. The base is pretty basic so hopefully next time I can do something a bit better.

Of course any comments (adorations especially :D) are most welcome - just kidding, I am interested in suggestions.

cheers

Mick334583334584

[Bluegum]

Hey Mick, they look good mate. I like them. :2tsup:

[chuck1]

Well done! Those natural edge bowls are good in summer!

[Paul39]

Mick59,

I really like the oval one with the bark on. The cedar I get around here does not split and check as much as other local timber.

For sanding bottoms I have several round disks made of scrap plywood just under size of 6 inch sanding disks. The backs are made to grip in a chuck but they can be made to go on a face plate. I sand the face smooth and finish with tung oil to have a slick surface. I use peel and stick sanding disks.

I mount the disk on the lathe and run at 700 rpm. The sanding disk over the edge lets me slide the bottom of the bowl at an angle over the edge to make a concave bottom. I slide across, turn 1/4 turn, slide across, repeat, repeat, until it looks good.

I first flattened the bottom on a piece of sandpaper stuck on a piece of plywood, and later found a piece of granite in a dumpster that was cut out to inset a sink, that is nice and heavy and flat.

I use lots of timber picked up off the side of the road or given to me in various states of dry.

If just cut, I rough turn, leaving wall thickness of the bowl about 10 - 15 % of the diameter. I then either soak the bowl for about two weeks in a half and half solution of hand dish washing liquid and water, or boil overnight in a crock pot, let drain dry, wrap in 5 - 7 layers of newspaper and let sit in the shed about 6 months.

I then turn it round as it has dried quite oval and let it sit on a shelf for a couple of weeks or longer. Then back on the lathe to see if it is still moving. If it is 1/8 inch or less out of round, I'll finish it and let it sit around the shop for a couple more weeks before I sell it.

If it is still moving, I set it aside or stick it in the microwave and give it 15 seconds, feel it for temperature, 15 more seconds, feel, repeat until it feels warm to the touch. Let it sit with door shut until you think of it, then do it again. If you get in a hurry it will split.

Do a search "turning green wood". Lots of people have ideas on how to speed the process.

With all the different techniques, some split and some don't. Leaving a log in the round is almost a guarantee that it will split. After cutting a tree into blocks and waiting a day, most will start a crack that can be used as a guide to either split with a wedge or chain saw through the pith of the log. Painting the ends with wax, junk paint, or the coating made for the purpose will help control splitting.

In this climate one year of drying time per inch of timber thickness is normal. (Which is why we rough out bowls from green / wet wood.)

[mick59wests]

Paul,

thanks for the excellent detailed reply. Some great ideas for me in re-flattening the bottom of warped bowls. In general, I plan to leave them warped but need to have them sit properly so I want to concave the inner part of the bottom but flatten the outer rim.

cheers

Mick

[mick59wests]

Well done! Those natural edge bowls are good in summer!
thanks. However, I do not ge the reference to summer:?

cheers

Mick

[chuck1]

The wings usually generate wind when I have turned them having extra breeze!

[smiife]

Hi mick,
Good to see you have posted some of your work!
I like the natural edge bowl, sides are very equal
looks very good, well done