Wood Bowl from Oak Burl
Woodturning Project

Another piece of oak saved from the firewood pile.

I thought I could get some nice slabs or even make a couple of book ends or something out of this but the woodturning part of me got the best of it.

Roughing Out the Bowl Blank

I drew a 12″ circle on the piece with the big hump in the middle. And then I roughed out the circle on the bandsaw….very rough!

I found what I thought was a center and ended up using my Nova Scroll chuck with the woodworm screw and the far side tailstock. It was rough going at first but it settled down after I started putting some shape to it. I was using my Sorby 1/2″ Bowl Gouge and it cut the oak like butter.

Cut A Tenon For Nova Scroll Chuck

I worked the far side and formed a tenon, I decided this would be the top of the bowl since the side that was mounted in the chuck needed a lot taken off the be shaped properly. Everything going good so far.

I haven’t used a woodworm screw method of attachment with the Nova 2 Scroll Chuck much, in fact I only tried it once before. I was surprised by the fact that it held tight and did not strip out. I tried it with the tailstock against the piece at first but then pulled it out to cut the tenon on the back of the oak burl blank.

After the tenon was shaped I flipped over to the back by the chuck and started shaping the bottom of the bowl. Everthing was going good, the bowl was taking shape ….it wasn’t going to be as big as I wanted but I still might get 10″ out of it on the outside top of the bowl.

Roughing Out the Bottom
Of The Oak Burl Bowl

I did some more roughing on the bottom and the shape was coming along well, I stopped to check it out because I noticed a grabbing feeling. I was using my DIY 5/8″ circle carbide cutter to rough now, it worked great ….in fact it works much better with the circular cutter than with the square cutter. I made the tool using 5/8 x 5/8 square bar and it allows me to extend it quite far beyond the tool rest, also absorbs a lot of shock. Carbide turning tools are more forgiving than traditional woodturning tools and when I’m a little unsure of sticking my nice Sorby bowl gouge into a oddly shaped rotating piece of oak….. I use my go to carbide woodturning tools. If you haven’t tried these types of tools and you are new to woodturning, they can really boost your confidence.

Oh, Oh! ….A Great
Big Hollow Knot

Anyway, I noticed a big ole knot, actually a hole that makes the whole piece look like it is hollow on the inside. Pretty much a piece of firewood now.

But then I came up with an idea, not sure if I will follow through or if its worth the effort.

The piece is hollow enough that I might be able to fill it with epoxy …something like alumilite. I heard of someone using alumilite with coffee grounds. Not sure if I want to invest the money or time ….will put it on hold for now.