# From board to bowl



## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

*12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*

This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.

Cut a 12"x12"x3/4" square and draw an X from corner to corner to find the middle.

Using a compass draw a circle in the middle of the board the size you want the bottom of the bowl to be. In this case around 4".

Draw concentric circles spaced the thickness of the board (in this case 3/4")










Drill 1/8" holes at 45 degrees on the 4 inner circles to insert a scroll saw blade into later.










Cut the outer circle at 90 degrees on the BS or scroll saw










Tilt the Scroll saw table to 45 degrees. Take the top of the scroll saw blade loose and slide the blade through the hole and reattach the top of the blade. Cut the first ring free. Repeat for the other rings.


















Glue and stack the rings together and weight it down until the glue dries. ( I have since built a simple bowl press but weight will work fine)










I only have a face plate that must be screwed on so I glued a piece of paper between the bowl and a sacrificial wood disc that will receive the screws. When the turning is done just tap a chisel into the joint and the paper will tear in two. Then just sand the paper/glue off.










And the last step is the most fun. All you have to do is turn the pilot holes out , sand, and finish.


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


YES! Thank you! Great show n tell.


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## superstretch (Jan 10, 2011)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Nice… really catches the streaks in the grain.

So.. is the syrup bottle for glue a wood workers trick?


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Hey stretch. I buy my glue by the gallon. I have found that the syrup bottle works great for cutting boards. Not too bad either for bowls.


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## cajunpen (Apr 9, 2007)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


That is an interesting technique. I think that the end product bowl is very similar to the Ringmaster bowl. Good blog and clever process.


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## michelletwo (Feb 22, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Bowls from a board is a great process. Very "wood economic" Thanks for the tutorial


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## TDW (Mar 25, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the detailed explanation - I can't wait to give it a try


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Hi SASmith,
This is really clever! I have to give it a try.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the kind mail you send me.
best thoughts,
Mads


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Ohhh yes, and a really good tutorial, so easy to understand.


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mads 
I cant wait to see what you come up with.
Dont forget that this can also me made with a laminated blank. 
I have been making "cutting boards" lately only to cut them up again and make a "cutting board bowl". 
Check out my projects for some examples.


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## jeffster (Aug 17, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Thank you thank you! I have some old, old boards that I've bee trying to figure out how to use and get the most out of them… and now I need to get a tool i never thought i'd use… a scroll saw


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## RavinHeart (Jul 30, 2009)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Very nice, I thnk I may try combining some of this with my way of doing scroll saw bowls 
Thank you


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## ShopTinker (Oct 27, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Great info, Thanks for sharing.


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## BrianA (Feb 8, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


did you free hand the circles on the scroll saw or use a circle cutting jig?

Brian


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## BrianA (Feb 8, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


did you free hand the circles on the scroll saw or use a circle cutting jig?

Brian


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


BrianA
I usually freehand them on the scrollsaw and did on this blog.
I sometimes make my bowls with a band saw and the half circle jig seen in pics 3 and 4 of this project.


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## oweno (Apr 3, 2012)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


This is fantastic. I have always been bothered by that amount of "waste" wood that is lost in turning bowls.


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Clever Smitty "Lord of The Rings", very nice blog on the process and a very nice product to boot…thanks for posting…BC


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## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Wow….you really weren't kidding about making a cutting board into a bowl…..very cool…..


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Jeff, all of the bowls posted in my projects were made using this technique.


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## XquietflyX (Oct 9, 2015)

SASmith said:


> *12" Scroll Saw Bowl Blank*
> 
> This blog will show how I make a 12" bowl blank from 1 BF of lumber.
> 
> ...


Very cool!!!!!!


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