Most folks do not know how much work it takes to prepare a bowl blank for drying and then eventually re-turning into a stable bowl. Bowls dry anywhere from 1-6 years depending on size.
Cutting the log into blanks:
Cut lengthwise 2/3 longer than the diameter.
Cut that peice in 1/2 lengthwise
Cutting the blank round, well sort of.
Sometimes with the chain saw sometimes with the bandsaw using a circle cutting jig.
Turning them into bowl blanks for drying.
The outer and inner portions of the bowl are turned round but left thick so the bowl does not crack during drying. [Left: spalted aspen, right: cherry].
Some previously blanked large pecan bowls that are dry.
Waxing the bowl to slow down drying.
In Utah the bowls dry fast and crack! The hot wax seals them and slows down evaporation.
Turning one that is mostly dry (pecan)
The final reward
Nothing better than being buried in shavings.
OH! I couldn’t resist slabbing this piece of siberian elm that was not a bowl candidate… cutting board??
