Bowl blank question...

Have you tried eBay? I’ve found bowl blanks there very reasonably priced in a variety of sizes and wood types.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Do you have any contacts with the local arborists, contract gardeners, building contractors (site clearing, demolition etc) How about your local city council they normally carry out tree maintenence / removal.
Maybe try a small add in your local newspaper offering to help remove a tree in return for some of the spoils,
etc, etc,,,,, I have never bought a single piec of timber in 20 odd years & have two sheds full
once you establish some of these contacts you will have more timber than you can handle, get yourself a chain saw & go for it man
Good luck :))

-- Pete G: If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got

Have you considered a bowl from a board?
http://lumberjocks.com/SASmith/blog/20704

-- Scott Smith, Southern Illinois

all above are right. Ebay, if you want the wood to come to you.

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net

Check with your local public works or parks department. In most cases, they’ll be happy to let you pick through stuff before it goes into the chipper … you just have to be there when they are doing the cutting and trimming work.

—Gerry

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"