Salad Bowl
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Nick Arnull makes this lovely salad bowl and servers
1.The finished salad bowl and servers. Looks like a delicious salad, too!
I have seen many superb examples of salad bowls at other turners homes but it is one particular item I have made for other people but not for my wife Jane.
Hopefully now when we have guests they can ask, "Is this one you made Nick?" And I will happily be able to answer, "Oh yes!"
In the January and February issues of Woodturning (see WT184 and WT185) I looked at rough turning and re-turning to the lathe. I covered rough turning in considerable depth including making nested bowls. For this project, I used one of these rough turned bowls that has been residing patiently in the top of my workshop.
The salad bowl needs to be made of an interesting timber so it looks attractive on your table; and the base of the bowl needs to be large enough so it is stable in use. For the design, consider what diameter and depth is required, how many you need to serve and how easy is it to toss your salad in the bowl. It is also important that the finish you use is food safe and it can be replenished. Vegetable oil is always good because it can be found in most kitchens.
For my salad bowl, I chose sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) but ash (Fraxinus excelsior), beech (Fagus), sycamore (Acer), walnut (Juglans nigra) or even fruit woods (if the sizes required are available) are also ideal.
To compliment this bowl, I made the salad severs using a contrasting timber, in this case, walnut (Juglans nigra) as it would be lovely and dark with a coat of oil. The blank was 25mm (1in) x 25mm (1in) x 230mm (9in).
Glossary Rollover a term to view its definition
- Bowl Gouge
Bowl Gouge
A cutting tool with a deep flute and a heavy cross-section. These are normally made from round bars and the flute is milled out. The round bar fits into the handle thus giving the tool a great deal of strength to enable it to overhang the toolrest a long way in order to hollow out deep bowls. Its primary function is for faceplate - or bowl turning - but it can also be used in spindle work. The bevel angle is ground to suit the user but is anything between 40 degrees and 80 degrees. Traditionally, bowl gouges are ground straight across, but many turners prefer to grind the wings back. There are many terms for a swept back bowl gouge - fingernail grind, O'Donnell grind, Irish grind, Ellsworth grind, lady's finger - to name a few. There may be subtle differences in these grinds, but generically they are all bowl gouge grinds where the wings have been ground back.
- Scraper
Scraper
As its name suggests, scrapers scrape the wood rather than cut it and generally leave a poorer surface finish on the wood than cutting tools. Unlike cutting tools, do not use the bevel rubbing technique with a scraper. In fact the 'bevel' is really a clearance rake and allows the cutting edge to come to a sharper edge. Sharpen or hone it often and take very light cuts with a scraper. You should get shavings; if you are only getting dust, resharpen it. Scrapers come in all shapes and sizes - square edge, round nosed, French curve, box scrapers and hardwood scrapers. The picture shows a 1/2 inch round nosed scraper.
- Skew Chisel
Skew Chisel
An extremely useful tool but has a reputation for being difficult to control. Certainly you can get some nasty catches with it but it is worth mastering. It is used mainly in spindle work and produces a very fine finish from the tool, requiring little, if any sanding. Planing cuts, peeling cuts and slicing cuts can be made with the skew as well as turning beads, coves and 'V' cuts.
Typically, the cutting edge is ground at 60 degrees to the axis of the tool - hence the term 'skew' and the tool has two bevels whose inclusive angle is anywhere between 25 and 45 degrees.
Skews are now made in three styles - rectangular section, oval section and rolled edge section.
top tips
- Always use a rough turned bowl if you want it to be round when finished
- Mix enough adhesive to glue the handles to metal bits and know what solvent is required to clean up any excess
- Have everything to hand and work in a clean area
- Always use a freshly sharpened tool for the final cut on any work
- Do not apply oil to parts of your work that require gluing as they may resist the glue
- Use new discs when power sanding. They can quickly become dull and will appear to be cutting but will only be generating heat instead
health and safety
- Protect your eyes and lungs at all times, and work at a speed that you feel comfortable and safe.
- Always reduce the lathe rotation speed when using wood that is not round, and when using alternative chucking methods that you are not familiar with.
- Keep the tool rest between you and the work. Never let your fingers cross over to the other side.
Diagrams Click an image to enlarge
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