By Devore O. Burch

As a student at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth, Texas, I was fascinated with all types of woodworking, espe­cially lathe turning. Part of the woodworking curriculum was a year of lathe turning, and this was where I learned to make this bowl. Our instructor told us that his lathe instructor was from Germany and the bowl had its origin there. It had a foreign name which I don't remember, but the students just called it a "Weird Bowl."

I have shown these bowls to experienced lathe turners, and they are puzzled by how they can be made on a lathe.  Actually it is not all lathe work, but most of the shaping is done on the lathe.  Though it looks complicated, it can be made by any worker with modest skills if he has a lathe, band saw, and a few hand tools such as spoke shaves, wood rasps, scrapers, etc.

This bowl offers an opportunity for some striking designs by having laminated buildups with contrasting colors of exotic and domestic hardwoods.  For your first attempt, though, I strongly recommend staying with the basic design and one type of wood until you master the technique. Honduras mahogany or white pine are excellent woods to start with. Both have good turn­ing characteristics, are easy to glue and fairly strong.

            Start by preparing the rough blank as shown in Figure 1. A one-piece, solid block is fine but not necessary. You can glue up your blank in a number of ways; Figure 1 shows the easiest and most eco­nomical method. Use a good wood glue such as an aliphatic resin (yellow) or plastic resin glue. Avoid polyvinyl ace­tate (white) glues. White glue never really hardens and will creep under load. After the bowl is turned, the glue contact sur­faces are very narrow, but I've never had a joint fail using the recommended adhesives

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            When the glue is dry, find the center of the blank, saw the rough diameter on a band saw and then mount the blank on a lathe faceplate. Turn at slow speed until the block is true and round and the outside surface is perfectly flat. This is important, so check the surface with a straightedge to ensure perfect flatness.

            To help with the rest of the turning, make cardboard check templates as shown in Figure 2. Now turn to the shape shown in Figure 3, using Template 1 to check as you go. Sand to finish smooth­ness, but do not round off the square comers. Rounded comers will create a depression along the joint line when the bowl halves are mated.

            To proceed with the second stage of the turning you'll need to flip the blank over and mount it on a special fixture as shown in Figure 4. While the blank is still mounted on the faceplate from the first phase, mark the exact center by cutting a small hole with your skew. This will help index the piece for proper remounting.

            The fixture consists of two parts: part A is made from 3/4" solid stock cut to a 9" diameter, part B is 1/4" plywood, 10-1/2" in diameter. Center part A on part B and attach the two with six #8 X 3/4" round head wood screws. Drill a hole in the center of the fixture so you can line it up with the small index hole in the blank. Attach the fixture to the outside rim of the blank with screws and then mount this to the faceplate. Now, turn the second stage as in Figure 4, using Template 2 to check the progress. Sand to finished smoothness.

            Remove the piece from the lathe and take apart the turning fixture so you end up with just part B attached to the blank. The next step is to draw a cyma curve on the surface of part B as shown in Figure 5. Cut cross-sectionally through the bowl with a band saw following this curve. The cyma curve shown here is for a bowl of somewhat conservative design. Varying the cyma curve has a drastic effect on the shape of the finished bowl. I suggest using this curve for your first bowl; you may want to put a really wild shape in your next one. After the cyma is laid out, go to the band saw and cut through the turning fixture, bowl, and all. Be careful to avoid the screws.

            After bandsawing, remove the fixture from the turning. (Incidentally, the two halves of part B may be reattached to part A and used over and over again.) You now have the turning cut into two pieces. Place one on top of the other, so the flat surfaces mate. You can now see what the completed bowl will look like. The two halves will be somewhat offset at the ends and the center; split the difference of the offset and glue them together under moderate pressure. I use a glue press, but a large bench vise, or bar clamps with a flat board on each side of the bowl will work. 1/4" dowels will help to maintain perfect alignment of the two halves during glue-up.

            After the glue is dry, most of the remaining shaping is hand work and is a joy to perform if you enjoy the feel and smell of fresh cut wood with sharp tools. First mark some pencil guide lines around the edges to shape the top surface of the bowl into a pleasing blend of contours. Remove offset sections with a coping saw, then mark parallel guide lines around the outside and inside of bowl. Shape and smooth the bowl with a spoke shave, rasps, and sandpaper. I use a sanding block like the one in Figure 6 to work the inside joint line.

After the final shaping and sanding is completed, it's a good idea to sand a flat spot on the bottom of the bowl to make it sit level. This can be done by touching the bowl to a disc or belt sander, or with a hand plane. Use care on a power sander to be sure you get a properly positioned flat area.

…After applying the finish of your choice, a piece of felt on the bottom adds the final touch.