Square Cherry Wood Bowls

This is the largest of the square bowls yet (and almost the last after I caught 3 fingers while spinning it at 750rpm, very sore knuckles for a week!) Really lovely grain and colour, it sold to one of the very 1st people to see it!

Large blank ready for turning.

1st side turned, the inside is always harder, trying to copy the curve of the outside.

Knee deep in shavings just after the 1st side...

Waist high shavings after turning the inside!!

Rough finished prior to sanding & polishing...

After sanding & polishing...

The best pictures I could get....

..taken at the church that the event was being held at.

& a 2nd bowl

Slightly richer colour than the last but with the same timber

Walnut & Ash Side Tables/ Sofa End Tables

A pair of sofa end tables made from bookmatched planks of English Blackheart Walnut with turned Ash legs. I made these after making the little Yew table a while ago. Really nice result with a very slender & elegant form.

Square Oak Bowl

A square bowl, commissioned by a client with his own timber - very highly figured and characterful.

Square blank, cut & marked for screwing the faceplate on which holds it to the lathe.

The early stages of turning are were the shape and grain start to be revealed.

Very hazardous, at 750rpm the corners are just blurs, what you think is the corner is actually 2 inches from the edge. You need to stay focused- with a round bowl you'd normally run your fingers along the edge to check the shape and thickness, forget it's not round and you can find a finger pointing the wrong way!

After shaping the outside and sanding smooth you need to turn the bowl around and try to get the inside following the same curves with an even thickness, this is 'make or break' time for a nice bowl.

The last few cuts have to be smooth and sharp or you'll spend more time sanding than you did turning.

Hand polishing the bowl wih Shellac really bring out the most of the grain.

This was the 1st square bowl I've made for years and by far the biggest, I'm quite happy with it although my next will be a little deeper.