Wood and Acrylic Resin Segmented Bowl

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My first attempt at a multi-segment bowl with acrylic resin between the individual pieces.

A curve-sided RM bowl requires two blanks.  Here's 1 minute YouTube video showing how they were made.

 

(for more pics and text, click 'read more' below)

Curved Ringmaster Bowl from Two Different Blanks

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While the method of making curve-sided Ringmaster bowls uses twice as much wood, you can be more creative with the blanks.  I cut the rings for this bowl from two entirely different blanks.  The first was 12 segments, purpleheart with 1/4" maple spacer between the segments.  The second blank had 24 segments with alternating yew and white maple.

I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of contrast between the woods.  I wish I'd gone with a darker mid-tone brown, like walnut.  However, it's a little late now. 😏

Here is a diagram showing the plan... this is how I thought the rings might align.

For more pics, click "Read More" below

Ringmaster Curved 'Dizzy Bowl'

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Wood turners have been making dizzy bowls for years, but the Ringmaster has made the process a bit easier.  (See 'What The Heck is a Ringmaster?")

Most Ringmaster dizzy bowls to date, have had straight sides.  This is my attempt to make one with curved sides.  (See Curved vs Straight Sides below.)

                                      

So we start with a square blank, 1 3/4" thick.  The objective is two blanks, approximately 3/4" thick.

For more, click "Read More" below...

Ringmaster Curved Bowl with CNC Inlay Bottom

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Being a packrat, I have lots of exotic hardwood scraps (some pieces I've had for 20+ years) that I'm sure I'll find a use for someday. 🙄

I sawed a bunch of it into strips of various lengths and widths, but precisely 1/4" thick.  That's where the new drum sander started earning its keep -- it would have been much more difficult to achieve this without it.  For this project, there will be approximately a dozen different species of hardwood.

You can see these pieces in side shots of the bowl.

I wanted a decorative false bottom for this bowl and made it with the CNC router.  It's a Coast Salish-themed Orca, done in wood inlay.  In other words, the wood pattern is carved out with the CNC router, then filled by gluing in different coloured wood created with the router. 

The 1/4" thick false bottom is a medium brown oak.  The image has three separate inlays using dark walnut, red 'bloodwood', and the lightest eastern maple I could find.  The bottom was cut in a circle with the inside edge chamfered to fit the sloping sides of the bowl, all with the CNC router.

There are several little imperfections in it that drive me crazy, but it was a good learning experience. 

For more pics, click 'Read More' below...

Ringmaster Bowls -- Straight versus Curved Sides

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For the first few years after getting my Ringmaster, I only made straight-sided bowls, which is all you can really do when the rings are cut from one disk.

A couple of years ago, I joined a Facebook group called 'Ringmaster Lathe' (Ringmaster Lathe Group).  A member there has developed a technique of making curved Ringmaster bowls using two blanks instead of one, which he generously shared with the group.

The blanks can be segmented, and glued up using two or more hardwood species, resulting in various patterns in the finished bowl.

For my first attempt, I made one thick blank -- 1.5" thick -- and ripped it into two blanks at the band saw.  These blanks are segmented yellow cedar, red cedar burl, and a sandwich layer of 3/16" mahogany.  They were then cut into rings on the ringmaster.

As you cut the rings, you alternate from one blank to the other, slightly increasing the angle of cut for each ring.  So when they're glued together, there is a 'progressive' curvature. 

 

Now would NOT be a good time to switch on the lathe! 😁 

It is glued up at the lathe so the quill keeps the bottom centered, and each ring is positioned in 'Cole jaws' to ensure they are centered, too.  The tailstock also provides some clamping pressure.

It makes for a slow glue-up process with an hour or two between each new ring being added.  But it's worth it when the bowl turns true with minimal wobble, mounted on the lathe.

A freshly glued-up bowl is rough and requires considerably more shaping and 'cleaning up' at the lathe, than a straight-sided bowl.  A razor-sharp bowl gouge or curved scraper seems to do the trick.  Then sanding at the lathe, from 60 or 80 grit, right up to 600+. 

Bill's technique uses twice the wood and it's twice the work, producing two blanks instead of one, but I think it's worth it.

And here's the finished bowl (note the curved sides versus the straight sides of the bowl at the top of this post).

What the Heck is a Ringmaster ???

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 A Ringmaster is a device that cuts rings from a round wooden disk, in such a way that they can be glued together forming a bowl.

The Ringmaster is most commonly sold as a stand-alone lathe & motor unit as above, but you can also purchase the cutter attachment only, and bolt it to your lathe bed.  That's what I have.

The crank on the right moves a set of cutters back and forth through the blank.  In the photo above, the red circle shows the cutter travelling through the disk.

The rings as they come from the disk, and in a press being glued together.  The following are three plain straight-sided ringmaster bowls.  

These first 'practice' bowls were made with very little thought as to colour or segmented pattern.  

This is a 'dizzy bowl' which I'll describe in more detail in an upcoming post.  These are also made on the Ringmaster.

Quick CNC Router Project -- Zoe's Leash Rack

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This was a quick little project using the CNC Router.  It was to make a rack hung near the back door, where we could hang all our dog's leashes, harnesses, collars, etc.

I retired with some computer skills that lent themselves nicely to this amazing machine.  The item is designed in a computer drawing program.  Then another program writes instructions for the machine, telling it how to move the router bit 3-dimensionally.  

You can see it working in this 3-minute video.

Some New Tools

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I have purchased the following toys tools over the past few years, and enjoy them immensely.  From oldest to newest...

1.  Ringmaster Lathe Attachment

This device bolts to the lathe bed near the chuck and cuts rings from various-sized disks, which are then glued together, forming a bowl.

In the photo above, there is a red circle around the cutter making its angled cut through the blank.  More about the Ringmaster in a future post called, 'What the Heck is a Ringmaster"?"

2. Rikon 14" Bandsaw

Before this saw, I had one I'd purchased 30-ish years ago from the long-defunct 'House of Tools'.  It was a terrible saw and eventually became dangerous.  I removed the motor and took the saw to the recycle, rather than sell it to some unsuspecting woodworker who might be injured while using it.  The new Rikon has a 6" high fence and 14" of clearance for resawing.

For more pics, click 'Read More' below

Maple Burl End Table

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Several years ago, someone gave me some 3/4" slices from a 'bird's eye' maple burl.  The two largest were 'mirrored', and glued into a single piece.  From this, a round disk was cut approximately 14" in diameter.

Note the two red arrows at each end of the glue joint.

 The center spindle was eastern maple turned on the lathe.  The three curved feet were made from quilted oak.

Normally, when I bring new pieces up from the basement, my considerably better half says words to the effect, 'that's lovely, dear', and permits the new piece a short period of display time in the family room.  But eventually -- I'm sure in the dead of night -- most of them disappear to some remote corner of our home, seldom noticed again. 

But this burl table has apparently found a permanent home in our family room where any unsuspecting, innocent company might actually see it.  So far; so good ...  😁

A Close Shave

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In this vale
Of toil and sin,
Your head grows bald
But not your chin!

     Burma Shave

I am sufficiently long-of-tooth that I can remember the Burma Shave signs on driving trips in the US when I was a kid.

Maybe I had them in mind a few years ago when I went on a razor-making tangent.  A few of the adult males in my long-suffering family were about to receive more clutter from my shop for Christmas.

The set at the top is made with African blackwood, the same wood bagpipes are made from.  It is dense and oily -- perfect for a bathroom counter.

Here are two more.

Red cedar burl

My favourite turning wood is yellow cedar burl.  It is really nice to work with and has a distinctive pleasant odour that quickly fills the shop. If you can find bird's-eye burl like this, the markings really 'pop' when the finish is applied.

A Root-Ball Bowl

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Many years ago, a neighbour was removing a dead arbutus tree from his back yard and noticed a big knot or burl in the center of the root ball, so he thoughtfully gave it to me.  As you might imagine, the whole mass was a mixture of wood, small stones, and dirt.  After much blasting with the garden hose and hours resharpening tools, this small bowl emerged -- approx 6" across at the top.

Smarter Than Your Average Dog!

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My brother's companion out in the shop is an old yellow Labrador retriever named Elliott.  Elliott, being smarter than your average bear, has learned that when he hears the thickness planer start up, there will soon be a soft comfortable place to sleep and a thick blanket to keep him warm.  He immediately runs to the machine and lies down under the chip discharge. 😊

December 16, 2020    Sad news...   My brother had to make an agonizing decision about Elliot earlier today.  He had a local vet visit their hobby farm, and after a good long life, Elliott's aches and pains were gone.  My brother and his family are mourning the loss of this wonderful old dog.

The Beetle-Kill Pen

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I started making wooden pens over 20 years ago and one of my favourites was made from beetle-killed Lodgepole Pine.

In BC, the infamous 'mountain pine beetle' would eventually infect over 18 million hectares of forest-lands.  In the dead trees, the beetles usually left a distinctive greyish-blue stain streaked through the cream-coloured heartwood, in addition to a brown pitch stain.  

This is a section of beetle-killed pine 2X4 from the local Home Depot.  Note the 3 distinct colours.

So I wanted to make a segmented pen, highlighting these colours.  Here it is with a matching case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One person who looked at this photo, noticed there is an alien hiding in the grain.  Can you see him? 😉

 

Workshop Pics -- Before and After

 Back around 2005, I renovated an old garage in our basement.  Before we bought the house, the old entry door for cars was sealed up and a new room created.  It was pretty nasty in there.  The following are before and after pics, looking at all 4 corners.

The headroom in this area is only about 6' 6" so I'm envious of folks with large shops with plenty of height.

Now 15 years later, it is a bit rougher around the edges... 😂  I'll show some more recent pics in upcoming posts.

I wish it was still this neat and tidy... 😬😫