Wood Bowl

Mar 5, 2021

This is my sixth wood bowl!

Overview

Start: May 22, 2020
End: Mar 3, 2021
Wood Species: Jack Pine

The burl for this bowl was collected at the same time and general location as the burl for a separate bowl project while in Minnesota. It was extracted and completed in the same manner as that burl/bowl.

Bark Removal

My first step was to remove the bark from the burl. Because I allowed the burl to dry with the bark attached, removing the bark was difficult. I had to use a chisel and paint scraper until I felt comfortable with the amount of bark removed.

Tools for Bark Removal: After Bark Removal

Remove the bark immediately after extracting the burl from the tree.

Carving

Next, I needed to find a way to safely and accurately hollow the bowl.
Precise control here was critical because penetrating through the bowl edge was a non-starter. I used a dremel with diamond wheel from Home Depot¹ to progressively refine the thickness of the bowl.

Constantly check the bowl thickness. Calipers are very handy for checking thickness. It’s better to work more slowly and cautiously when coring out the burl.

Base Plug

Because the burl was rotten through its center, there was hole left open at the base of the would-be bowl.
I decided to plug this hole with a custom fitted piece of black walnut purchased from Home Depot. The plug was initially cut using a dremel and multipurpose cutting bit². Then the shape was further refined to fit the hole using a dremel and drum sander³. Once the fit was snug, I tapped the plug into the hole until it was flush with the bottom of the bowl.

1st Pass Crack Filling

The plug needed to be sealed into the base of the bowl. I used West Systems 105 resin⁴ and West Systems 205 hardener⁵ along with a black epoxy pigment⁶ (the natural color of the cured epoxy is yellow and hence, slightly ugly).

I then cleaned up the fill using a dremel, diamond wheel bit¹, drum bit³ and several polishing wheels from a polishing set⁷.

Post Filling Cleanup: Cutting Away Excess Resin Using Diamon Wheel

Post Filling Cleanup: Using Drum Bit to Remove Excess Resin

Post Filling Cleanup: Using Polishing Set to Remove Excess Resin

1st Pass Sanding

Next, I moved on to sanding the burl using a dremel, wet/dry 220 grit sandpaper, sanding drum bit³, wire wheels⁸ and several polishing wheels⁷.

Side View: Post 220 Grit Sandpaper Sanding

2nd Pass Crack Filling

Once the first pass of sanding was completed, it became apparent that the epoxy fill had small pockets formed from trapped air during the curing process.

I decided to perform a second pass filling of the hole in the same manner as the first.

These small secondary, fills were then cleaned up using a dremel and polishing wheels⁷.

Wipe Down

Before applying the finish coats of oil, I wiped-off as much of the residual sawdust from the burl as possible using a lightly dampened, paper towel.

Don’t wipe with a heavily damp fabric as this will raise the grain. Instead wipe with a mostly dry fabric or use a vacuum or soft brush to remove the residual sawdust.

Finish Coats

The last step was to apply finish to stain and protect the bowl as well as to enhance the chatoyancy of the bowl. For this I used Walnut colored Rubio Monocoat⁹ following the instructions on the back of the can. This finish is highly respected in the woodworking community as it is in-grain, requires just one application that takes about 15 minutes to apply and once dried (after ~5 days), is food-safe.