Bowling

I am supposed to be teaching woodwork to two boys (not mine!) in our home schooling group and figured it would be fun to introduce them to the lathe. But, hang on, shouldn't the teacher have some hands-on experience first? Hence Bowl One and Bowl Two. The First Bowl was from a solid block of well seasoned beech from a tree on our own property.  The Last Bowl (I know that sounds a bit final but it was a lot of work and just now I can't countenance doing it again. Maybe, like after eating a big meal, the passage of time might change my mind) was more challenging. It was loosely inspired by this Youtube clip. Click here for some more examples of what the maestros achieve.

Here's some of my progress in pictures...

First plan your work, then work your plan!

After thicknessing my timber stock (ash and sapele) to a constant thickness of ~ 18mm, and then ripping the planks to widths per my plan, cutting the segments had to be done very precisely and our saw bench rose to the challenge, although some of my joints are not as tight as I would have liked. I regret I didn't think of making a photo record until I was past this stage.

Each piece cross cut at 18 degrees either end, then assembled and clamped.
 The completed first and second ring in foreground.

A large hose-clip binds the pieces together

The ten pieces held together on adhesive tape

The rings then stacked, glued and clamped

All glued, big steps inside to smooth out! 

The outside - with some of the tape remaining

Sacrificial MDF glued on top to hold the face plate,
and how I lined the plate with the bowl centre

On the lathe at last!

Many stops and starts to re-position the tool rest

Smoothing 80, 120, 180, 320 finally 600 grit paper

The outside completed, and re-positioning the face plate

Getting through the sacrificial MDF lid

Cutting the inside wasn't so easy

Almost done cutting

Ready for sanding on the inside

The completed bowl