MAKING A MAZANITA BURL WOOD BOWL

I have just secured a large premium Manzanita piece of wood.  This wood measures 10x9 and is about 8 inches deep.  I have never worked a burl piece like this, so it should be very interesting.   I plan to keep as much of the outside of the piece intact.  This should make for a very interesting and unusable bowl.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  If you are interested in seeing my work, please check out my website at www.jaybees-crafts.com. 

I will post this project as it is being done.  I hope someone will point out the mistakes before I make them.......

 

 This piece has very rough surface, and I am anxious to see what is inside.

How to make a Winged Bowl

Sorry for the delay in getting the photos uploaded.  This is the finish bowl, but will start posting the projects as they are being completed.  Thanks for the advise and will continue to improve and hope we can get this right one day!

With each project, I am going to start posting as we go pictures.  This will help in understanding what I am doing, and hopefully you can give me some tips on improving my work and different techniques. Thanks again for the emails and comments.

.One of the most popular bowls made are the winged or bark rimmed bowl.  It is not as hard as you may think.  First you need to pick a log suitable for turning. This log can be green, and not dried to the point you need to finish a bowl.  Many turners use green timber as it is easier to turn and cheaper to find.  You can find logs from wind-downed trees, or trees removed in your area.  Make sure that the bark is firm, and not easily removed.  If necessary with turning, you can use CA glue to hold the bark in place.

Take a log, twice as deep you are looking for.  Cut the log from one end to the other.  This will give you the grain of the bowl going along the length of the bowl.  If the log is 6 inches you want to cut the length 10 to 12 inches.  This will give you an oblong type winged bowl.

Lay the log down with the bark side up, and find the center.  This will become the top of the bowl.  I like using a screw chuck to hold the bowl for roughing. I use the Barracuda chuck, but there are many different chucks you can use.  Place the block on the lathe, and center the block on the lathe using the tail-stock to hold the piece in place.  I use a 1642 Jet lathe, but many of the other lathes are suitable.  It may take several tries to center, but take your time.

Turn the lathe up to the point that it starts a small vibration and then reduce the speed.  Start roughing and start with the bottom of the bowl.  From the outside to the inside, you will make the foot of the bowl.  After that is done, you will start shaping the bowl.  From the center outward, start shaping for the desired curvature.  Be very careful at the end, as being too aggressive will result in bark removal.

Next start turning on the front side of the bowl.  Do not remove yet.  You can remove the majority of the topside of the bowl to balance the project.  After that is done, you can turn the bowl around and secure from the foot you made on the bottom of the bowl.

I recommend that you take a drill bit and drill a hole to the depth of the bowl.  This will prevent you from making a very nice funnel.  Once that is done, start roughing the bowl from the inside to the outside of the bowl.  Cut the bowl down to about ¼ inch from the bottom of the bowl.  At this point, if you do not have a vacuum chuck, you may want to cut a reverse foot for the chuck.  Cut this so that you can hold the bowl with the chuck when the bottom of the bowl is finished.  If you are using green wood, this is the point you want to stop and use anchorseal or a sealer to prevent cracking as the piece dries.

Place it in a brown paper bag and place it in a closet or a dark and damp place if possible. Leave it for about 4 to 5 weeks, or until the moisture level is around 19% or less.  I will post finishing techniques in a later blog.  However please give use your comments on finishing techniques you use.

Please take a look at the finished cherry bowl on my website at www.jaybees-crafts.com

Free Wood

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope everyone gets what they wanted from Santa!

The good news is that I have been able to secure a large amount of FREE wood.  Yes, I said free.  With this free wood, I want to pass the savings along to my customers.  Please check out at wwww.jaybees-crafts.com  

All the hand-crafted items in my inventory are at special reduced prices, so check them out for some unique holiday presents.

If you do not see what you are looking for, please let us know as I an unable to get everything uploaded.

New Lathe

I set up the new lathe this weekend, but could not do any turning yet....I need some adapters to make all the connections fit right, before I can turn anything.  I'm really impatient to start using it, but must wait for the right parts, for safety.  I will be able to turn larger projects, and have a better handle on the type turning I can do.  I will be able to finish 4 bowls I have roughed out, when I get back to the shop next week.  Even though I did not get any wood working done, we had a great weekend in the Mountains.

I will post more products next week, and hope to get a couple of bowls to show on this post.

Thanks for looking, and let me know your thoughts and ideas on turning.

Thanksgiving

I will be up at the wood shop this holiday, and hope to post some finished projects.  I have several bowls started, and hope that they are dry enough to finish.   Please keep checking back to see what is new from the shop in the hills.

I hope everyone has a great holidays and even a greater time spent with family.

Please visit my website at www.jaybees-crafts.com.  I have lowered the prices for the holidays and will be bringing several new projects to the site soon.   MONDAY ONLY!!!! November 30, 2009 (Order any item on Monday, and receive free shipping to anywhere in the US.)  If you email me I will set the shipping cost to $.00.  Thanks again for looking and check back soon and often for updates.

Check out my work on Different Sites

I have posted a lot of my work on different sites. You can view several pieces of my work on either jaybees-crafts.com or on ETSY under the jaybeescrafts. Please take a look at these sites to see if there is anything you are looking for.There are photos of bowls, pens, bottle stoppers, etc.  which would make really nice hand crafted Christmas gifts. 

I have marked a lot of the items down to help with the down size of the economy, and they are at an extremely affordable range for gifting. If you see anything, please feel free to drop me a line at jaybeescrafts@yahoo.com

New Artisans Work

I am going to start showing new artisans work on my web site. You can find their work at www.jaybees-crafts.com, under the Local Artisans section. These works are coming from the local art guild. If you like it, feel free to purchase at a reduced price for Christmas.

I hope that they do go on the site, as I feel that there are a lot of artisans that do not have an outlet for their work. With so many very talented artisans out there, their work needs to be shown. Please take a look, as I should have some work on the site by the end of the week. Let me know your comments on their work, and your suggestions for new projects.