Useful bowls the easy way
Many years ago sweet Janice asked me why it took so long to make a bowl. Step #1 is to rough turn the bowl. Step #2 is to let it dry out for at least six months maybe a year otherwise it would warp and go oval. Remembering my mantra that “would always moves” she asked whether or not a wooden bowl would go oval anyway if she used it to serve something hot and wet such as broccoli or fresh hot biscuits? I told her that it would certainly go oval just not as bad. Her logic was genius and quite infallible. Her next statement turned my bowl turning world upside down and I’ve never looked at it the same way since. Sweet Janice said “why wait six months if a beautiful wooden serving bowl is just going to go oval anyway?”
Today I turn green wet wood utility bowls through to completion all in one day. I turn the bowl, sand the bowl, apply two coats of Walnut oil and put it into service in one day. Sweet Janice loves them and our friends and neighbors often ask how I turn such a beautiful oval serving bowl and want to know where they can get one for themselves. I recently talked to a turning friend of mine who sells a lot of his utility bowls at craft fairs. He used to carry both kinds, once turned bowls and twice turned bowls. The once turned–oval bowls outsold the conventional bowls 3 to 1! So, now all he carries are once turned bowls.
One of the revelations when I started doing this is that you can actually sand wet wood. All you need to do is keep up gum rubber sanding pad cleaner handy because you will get slightly, only slightly, more clogging. Turning green wood is four times easier than turning dry wood, it is a lot more fun, usually smells a lot better, you don’t have to sharpen your tools nearly as often, it takes much less time to turn a bowl green and there is no lead time. Long streamers of shavings seemingly fly off the bowl almost effortlessly. You are able to produce usable finished utility pieces with just a few hours in the shop from start to finish. It is widely known that although I do have patience I usually don’t have a lot of patience. This method of utility bowl turning is perfectly suited to my temperament, and may well be suited to yours also.
The next time someone offers you green wet wood, try turning a piece or two from start to finish in one session. Then sit back and watch it go beautifully oval over the next month.
Because wherever you go there you are.
