Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

Marty G wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty



I think you'll find that to buy a blank of that size will be expensive.
Have you considered laminating a blank of the desired size by using
scraps? If contrasting woods are used in the lamination the resulting
bowl can be quite attractive.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

For me, a 12 x 12 x 12 blank would get me 2 six inch deep bowls. One
12 inches deep is just too deep for design and general use, not to
mention the difficulty of turning one that deep: special tool rest to
get that deep, probably a bowl steady to prevent too much vibration,
and specialty gouges for turning that deep. If you really eat that
much popcorn, a 14 inch or more bowl about 6 inches deep would be
better.

Now, why do you need to let the wood dry for a year before turning?
You can green turn to final thickness (about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick),
slow dry it for about 2 weeks, and you will have a nicely warped bowl.
This is my prefered style. You can also green turn a blank, leave it
about 1 inch or slightly more thick, seal the end grain and let it dry
for a couple of months, then remount and return it. Thick turned bowl
blanks are easier and faster to dry than 6 inch thick slabs, which
never totally air dry in the center.

You can also laminate some pieces together, and if you have a planer,
joiner, and a bunch of scraps, you can get dry wood this way.

robo hippy
On Sep 14, 6:00*am, Nova wrote:
Marty G wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. *Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. *I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

I think you'll find that to buy a blank of that size will be expensive.
* *Have you considered laminating a blank of the desired size by using
scraps? *If contrasting woods are used in the lamination the resulting
bowl can be quite attractive.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Marty G wrote:

Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even
if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. Does
anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart
or Narda.

TIA
Marty

Marty, back when I was first beginning to turn bowls, I got the bug to turn
some rather large ones and, like you, did not have source of large bowl
blanks. Being married to a "downeaster scot" I looked around and the light
went on. Take a pine 1x12 cut it into squares that equal the width of the
board and glue up a stack - making sure to alternate the grain. Works like
a champ and also looks pretty good.

Deb

Marty,

I can't hurt to contact your local tree service and see if they are
cutting down anything interesting.

If you show up with a chain saw and donuts and/or 12 pack they will
sometimes let you have a crack at the wood.

Obviously they have some liability propblems that you will have to
cooperate with.

I've had good luck making big bowls out of pine, walnut, ash, maple
and butternut, all trees that needed to be felled for other reasons.

And as pointed out elsewhere, get 'em home and turn 'em right away to
rough size. I weigh my rough blanks, and when they stop loosing
weight, I figure that they have hit equilibrium and finish turn them.
Works for me. Good idea to seal the end grain on the rough turned
blanks to avoid cracks.

Old Guy

On Sep 13, 10:38*pm, "Marty G" wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. *Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. *I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

On Sep 13, 11:38*pm, "Marty G" wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. *Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. *I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

Hi Marty, Why not turn a compound bowl. You can do any size you want
from a flat board.
I set up a site last year showing exactly how to do it. You can find
it here. http://segmenting.biz
I have to agree with the others that 12" deep is much too large but if
thats what she wants it can
be done with a compound bowl.
Bob
http://www.outofcontrol-woodturning.com

On Sep 13, 7:38*pm, "Marty G" wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. *Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. *I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

Hello Marty,

You've had some good advice, but the simplest way to get a bowl of the
size you want is to make a bowl from a flat board. If you can't get a
flat board wide enough, laminate two pieces together to make a 12" x
12" board or a 14" x 14" board. Make sure it is nice and flat. Mark
diagonal lines on both sides of the board, plus one vertical line from
the center to the outside dege on both sides. Mount a piece of plywood
about 3/4" thick on a faceplate that is as big around as your board is
square. Saw your board round on the band saw or by some other means.
Mount your faceplate with the plywood disk on the lathe. Turn the face
of it true with the lathe if necessary. Now, jam your piece for the
bowl between the plywood disk and a live cup center in the tailstock
(a Oneway live center, a StebCenter live center, or a Nova Live Center
will all work). Now decide how large you want the foot of the bowl to
be, it should be about 1/3 to 1/4 of the diameter for good stability.
Draw a circle of this diameter on the wooden disk.

Now, take one of those pieces you cut off when making the blank round
to use as a space marker. Starting with the foot diameter circle, use
the piece of wood to make marks and circles out from the foot circle.
Scratch out the foot circle. Now put a mark on your tool rest at a 45
degree angle. This angle needs to be headed towards the center point
of the spindle. Now, line up that angle line on the tool rest with the
outer circle and place the tool rest as close to the wood as possible
without hitting it. At the outer circle, take a thin parting tool (I
find the thin fluted parting tool made by Robert Sorby to be best for
this, but others will work) and aligning it with the 45 degree angle
mark on the tool rest part off the outer ring. You can stop and remove
the ring or let it set there and spin with the wood while you cut the
next ring. Do this until all rings have been cut except the foot
diameter ring.

Remove the rings from the lathe and reverse stack them. Sand off any
rough edges or tea rout. Use Titebond II or III and glue the pieces
together starting with the largest ring on the bottom. Do this as
quickly as possible making sure each of the pieces is as centered as
possible. Now, clamp the assembly between the tailstock center and the
backing board on the faceplate. Tighten down the tailstock until glue
squeezes our around the rings. I generally like to add one more piece
to the foot before clamping the assembly on the lathe. That extra
piece is a waste block for either screwing a faceplate to or to grip
with your chuck.

The next day after the glue has had an opportunity to set up mount the
bowl blank on the lathe. It is ready to final turn, sand, and finish.
The bow walls will be fairly steep and you don't have a lot of
flexibility for shaping. Actually, if you got these things cut exactly
right and assembled on center, you might just be able to power sand
the bowl to finished shape. I've always turned them, but if your skill
level is not great sanding might be a good solution for you.

I've made a lot of bowls this way and find it an economical way to use
up flat wood.

Good Luck,

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

"Fred Holder" wrote in message
...
On Sep 13, 7:38 pm, "Marty G" wrote:
Ok the Wife SWMBO want me to turn a large bowl for popcorn for xmas, Since
Ike missed central Texas there is no big trees down around here and even
if
I could score the logs they woulnd not be dry until next year. Does anyone
know where I can find a 12x12x12 or 14 blank of a fairly soft wood. I am
only a soso intermediate turner and don't want to try it with purpleheart
or
Narda.

TIA
Marty

Hello Marty,

You've had some good advice, but the simplest way to get a bowl of the
size you want is to make a bowl from a flat board. If you can't get a
flat board wide enough, laminate two pieces together to make a 12" x
12" board or a 14" x 14" board. Make sure it is nice and flat. Mark
diagonal lines on both sides of the board, plus one vertical line from
the center to the outside dege on both sides. Mount a piece of plywood
about 3/4" thick on a faceplate that is as big around as your board is
square. Saw your board round on the band saw or by some other means.
Mount your faceplate with the plywood disk on the lathe. Turn the face
of it true with the lathe if necessary. Now, jam your piece for the
bowl between the plywood disk and a live cup center in the tailstock
(a Oneway live center, a StebCenter live center, or a Nova Live Center
will all work). Now decide how large you want the foot of the bowl to
be, it should be about 1/3 to 1/4 of the diameter for good stability.
Draw a circle of this diameter on the wooden disk.

Now, take one of those pieces you cut off when making the blank round
to use as a space marker. Starting with the foot diameter circle, use
the piece of wood to make marks and circles out from the foot circle.
Scratch out the foot circle. Now put a mark on your tool rest at a 45
degree angle. This angle needs to be headed towards the center point
of the spindle. Now, line up that angle line on the tool rest with the
outer circle and place the tool rest as close to the wood as possible
without hitting it. At the outer circle, take a thin parting tool (I
find the thin fluted parting tool made by Robert Sorby to be best for
this, but others will work) and aligning it with the 45 degree angle
mark on the tool rest part off the outer ring. You can stop and remove
the ring or let it set there and spin with the wood while you cut the
next ring. Do this until all rings have been cut except the foot
diameter ring.

Remove the rings from the lathe and reverse stack them. Sand off any
rough edges or tea rout. Use Titebond II or III and glue the pieces
together starting with the largest ring on the bottom. Do this as
quickly as possible making sure each of the pieces is as centered as
possible. Now, clamp the assembly between the tailstock center and the
backing board on the faceplate. Tighten down the tailstock until glue
squeezes our around the rings. I generally like to add one more piece
to the foot before clamping the assembly on the lathe. That extra
piece is a waste block for either screwing a faceplate to or to grip
with your chuck.

The next day after the glue has had an opportunity to set up mount the
bowl blank on the lathe. It is ready to final turn, sand, and finish.
The bow walls will be fairly steep and you don't have a lot of
flexibility for shaping. Actually, if you got these things cut exactly
right and assembled on center, you might just be able to power sand
the bowl to finished shape. I've always turned them, but if your skill
level is not great sanding might be a good solution for you.

I've made a lot of bowls this way and find it an economical way to use
up flat wood.

Good Luck,

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

Thanks Fred, I might give your way a try. I would most likely turn to
almost finish just because I hate to sand anything rough to a finish sanding
point.