How to Make a Wooden Bowl

Carving and curating crockery items is one of the most amazing recreational activities of all times. Once you get into it, there is no going back. You learn to make new products and cherish your creativity in seeping manners. There are different carving materials but wood is one of the handiest ones. Surprisingly, if you are learning online, there are many sources you can take good learning from.

The content is a bit scattered and luckily, we have jotted it down for you. The conflicting ideas and concepts from various sources needed some filtering and here we are with the step by step guide on how to make a wooden bowl. Specifically, bowls are the easiest ones to curate and once you take on it, curating everything else seems easy.

If you are just starting, you need to explore the concept and idea of wooden creation. There are a few tools and things you need to carve items such as a lathe, a saw and an electric blade etc. Also, if you are a beginner, this guide is for you because we have jotted down a tutorial with minimal tools. Know more in the elaborated guide and steps below!

Choice of Tools and Start to Carving

Selecting the tools before starting is the most crucial part. For this wooden bowl, the tools used are a 4.5-inch angle grinder and other few tools from King Arthur’s tool. You can start with a grinder working on the exterior of the wooden piece. Smooth the shape by exfoliating the rough edges and evening down the surface. The rough surfaces become smooth in a controlled and fixated manner. The grinder lets you see the progress of your work through the opening in the wheels. Once you have worked your way through the exterior ends, then you take on the interior part.

Interior and Exterior Carving

After you have made your way to the exterior, get towards soothing down the interior. Grab a few tools including the clamps and scrap the wooden surface inside the piece. You have to keep in consideration the thickness and density of the piece that you want to create. Scrape through the shape and carve a smooth surface flat from the edges down and deep from the centre. You have to be careful that you don’t carve a hole anywhere on the interior or exterior surface. Once you have reached the desired shape from the inside and outside, you get to the sanding part of the wooden bowl.

Sanding a Bowl

It surely takes time to reach this step without essential tools like a lathe. All in all, it is still worth the time. It usually takes half the time to reach the sanding part with lathe and grinders. Although, you do need a sanding system to carve a wooden bowl even without a lathe. Sanding is important because it keeps the bowl-bound for a longer period of time. With a sanding system that has efficient shafts and attachments, it becomes easy to sand the exterior and interior parts of the wooden bowl. The finishing on the outside and inside varies because of the shape and also, the personal preference of the curator.

Japanese Technique, Shou Sugi Ban

To further strengthen and smoothing down the exterior surface of the bowl, most curators choose a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi Ban. Shou Sugi Ban involves burning the wood down on a controlled temperature to protect it from sun rays, deteriorating and insect attacks. All you need is a propane tank and a good light to see better. After you burn the wood, scrub away the powdered residue that appears on the surface. Afterwards, it gives a look of a fine finished smooth surface with a good texture. You need a good brush to get on with the smoothing process that gives your bowl a nice finesse look.

Dye and Dry

As the exterior of the wooden bowl gets dark after the Shou Sugi Ban technique’s application, it really comes in huge contrast with the interior texture and surface. To even down both the colours so they complement each other, use a bright coloured dye for the inner surface. Thin the dye down with water or any oil-based agent first. Afterwards, apply a thin layer on the inside and leave it to dry.

Waxed and Soothed

After the dye has blended in the surface of the bowl and has given the surface a fine and smooth texture with shine, the next step is to make it more glossy. Grab a jar of beeswax and mix it with absorbent oil blends and apply a thin coat over the interior surface of the bowl. Beeswax makes the shine durable, blocks the dye in the surface and makes the bowl smell good as well.

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