Woodturning A Sequoia Bowl
I milled up a huge Sequoia tree trunk two summers ago with my friend Brian. We got many beautiful slabs out of the tree. We also got many odds and ends and funny shaped pieces. I took one of these pieces and thought I could turn it on the lathe to make a big bowl. I had just gotten my 36 inch J. A. Fay & Egan Co. 950 lighting band saw and was able to cut the Sequoia piece into a circle. I was also able to cut the piece closer to a bowl shape by angling the table on the band saw. I rough turned the bowl and then let it sit for a year. I picked it up again and as I started to finish it, I realized I was going to need a big jaw chuck to hold the bowl so I could work on the bottom. I was also going to need a method to get the surface smooth as the lathe tools were leaving a fuzzy surface in the soft wood. After another year passed, I made large jaws for my lathe chuck out of MDF. These worked great for holding the bowl while turning the bottom. I used my large angle grinder to sand the surface of the bowl while on the lathe. This solved the fuzzy surface problem. In the end, the bowl turned out great. It is 5 inches high and 19.5 inches in diameter.
Milling the original Sequoia tree trunk
http://youtu.be/wmWWouH9HV4
that is a beautiful piece of woodworking
Love your work, especially that stop motion chair video, truly amazing.
You sound just like me. I have been building things for years and most if not all have been for my own enjoyment or given away as gifts but nothing sold for cash. I have people telling me I should be selling my works but I don't have the skills to sell my things for what they'd be worth and so I just hang on to them and enjoy them every day. Keep up the amazing and let me know when you want a shop boy to sweep the floors, that shop is amazing!
Very ingenious solutions! And he'll of a nice shop, thanks for sharing.
I think you weren't holding the bowl gouge correctly. Looks like you were using the tip instead of the wings. Nonetheless awesome bowl.
Beautiful shop and great skills. Subscribed!
that was cool thanks
Nice bowl and I envy you all the space in your shop.
I… like the pauses you make while narrating. i´m going to… try and do that
CONGRATULIONS FRANK,YOU REALLY ARE A GREAT ARTIST.HERE IN BRAZIL I AM SENDING YOUR VIDEOS TO MY FRIENDS.
PARABÉNS FRANK VOCÊ REALMENTE É UM GRANDE ARTISTA.AQUI NO BRAZIL ESTOU ENVIANDO SEUS VÍDEOS PARA OS MEUS AMIGOS.
More bowls please Frank!
Beautiful job on the bowl and you do NOT look two years older at the end of the video. Must have been the linseed oil. 😉
wood work is quite an art.
Hats off to a real artist!
Hello Frank, Great videos. You mentioned that not using gloves was safer. I what way? Is it related to gripping the tools?
Hi Frank, I've been watching your videos for a while now and I have to say that you are my favourite youtube woodworker. As a university student, I don't have the means to have such a large workshop, but I hope that when I graduate I will be able to do some of the projects that you do. Thank you for posting such great videos.
what do you even do with a bowl that big?
It's funny how defects can make something beautiful, isn't it, like if it didn't have that knot in the middle it wouldn't be anywhere near as nice!
Hi Frank,
What editing program do you use to create your videos?
Thank you,
Riley
I find it cool how we can watch you learn and get better during this video.
very nice
It's mind blowing how long he waits to let the bowl dry, I would be so impatient
Is there anyway to take a chunk out of the wood than just shaving it down?
The bowl looks awesome.
always enjoyed your shows
That's a wonderful bowl Frank. There's a lot of learning gone on here. Thanks for all your efforts
What do you do with all these bowls you make?? Where do you put them??
Really great video Frank. You are very inginuitive with your circle cutting jigs and mounting methods. Thanks for the inspiration, really. -Chris
Beautiful