Making An Alternate Block Pattern

I start with making a glue block. I've always used glue blocks for my bowls mainly because I have never figured out how to make a mortise in a base to start with. I'm making this bowl with a Hard Maple body and Padauk trim and design ring.

Once the glue has dried I give the base a quick rounding up and truing up the face. Since the glue has to set overnight to dry I can start making the rings for this bowl. This one takes 9 rings of 16 segments each. The solid base is 11 and the rings will be glued up in descending order, 11, 10 9 8 7 6 (trim rings made by cutting ring 6 in half, the other half becomes ring 4) 3 2 1 Here are the rings and design ring sticks:

and here they are after running them through the drum sander to flatten them.

I also rounded them up as a experiment using my homemade Longworth chuck to locate the rings on the glue up stack. So now I can start stacking up rings.
Here are rings 10 9 and 8 glued on to base 11.

After these rings have sat overnight, turn the inside of them and smarten up the bottom. Do this while you can still reach them. After I did that, I added ring 7.

Next is the wide ring 6 made of Padauk. This ring gets parted in half to form the trim rings 6 and 4.

Here is shown ring 6 cut in half. Next is the design ring of alternate blocks.

I give rings about an hour before adding more, so after an hour I added the second trim ring #4 (which is the other half of ring 6)

I'll let this set overnight and tomorrow start adding the last 3 rings, 3 2 and 1.

OK, the first thing I did today was smarten up the inside rings and get them shaped up. Then I flattened and made ring 4 the same thickness of ring 6.

Next step is gluing on ring 3

I'll let this set for an hour and take a look at how the general shape is coming along. I may be able to glue ring 2 on or I may have to let it set overnight so I can turn the inside bottom edge of ring 3.

OK, I thought it best to turn the chamfer before I glued ring 2 on. So here is the before and after of that….

Ring 2 glued on. I'll wait an hour and glue the lip (ring 1 ) on.

+
Here is the lip glued on, now it sits overnight and I'll start turning it tomorrow.

Here it is after sanding and preliminary turning.

And after the first coat of ***************.

I'll put a picture in the project section after parting it off of the glue block and finalizing the finish

Dave, nice write up. You have an interesting process of doing the turning. But it makes sense, your able to turn the inside without and obstruction. And gluing the rings on the lathe is a great idea, using the pressure from the tail stock.

I need to get back to turning and experiment with the segments, now that I have a sled to cut them.

 

Making An Alternate Block Pattern

I start with making a glue block. I've always used glue blocks for my bowls mainly because I have never figured out how to make a mortise in a base to start with. I'm making this bowl with a Hard Maple body and Padauk trim and design ring.

Once the glue has dried I give the base a quick rounding up and truing up the face. Since the glue has to set overnight to dry I can start making the rings for this bowl. This one takes 9 rings of 16 segments each. The solid base is 11 and the rings will be glued up in descending order, 11, 10 9 8 7 6 (trim rings made by cutting ring 6 in half, the other half becomes ring 4) 3 2 1 Here are the rings and design ring sticks:

and here they are after running them through the drum sander to flatten them.

I also rounded them up as a experiment using my homemade Longworth chuck to locate the rings on the glue up stack. So now I can start stacking up rings.
Here are rings 10 9 and 8 glued on to base 11.

After these rings have sat overnight, turn the inside of them and smarten up the bottom. Do this while you can still reach them. After I did that, I added ring 7.

Next is the wide ring 6 made of Padauk. This ring gets parted in half to form the trim rings 6 and 4.

Here is shown ring 6 cut in half. Next is the design ring of alternate blocks.

I give rings about an hour before adding more, so after an hour I added the second trim ring #4 (which is the other half of ring 6)

I'll let this set overnight and tomorrow start adding the last 3 rings, 3 2 and 1.

OK, the first thing I did today was smarten up the inside rings and get them shaped up. Then I flattened and made ring 4 the same thickness of ring 6.

Next step is gluing on ring 3

I'll let this set for an hour and take a look at how the general shape is coming along. I may be able to glue ring 2 on or I may have to let it set overnight so I can turn the inside bottom edge of ring 3.

OK, I thought it best to turn the chamfer before I glued ring 2 on. So here is the before and after of that….

Ring 2 glued on. I'll wait an hour and glue the lip (ring 1 ) on.

+
Here is the lip glued on, now it sits overnight and I'll start turning it tomorrow.

Here it is after sanding and preliminary turning.

And after the first coat of ***************.

I'll put a picture in the project section after parting it off of the glue block and finalizing the finish

Thanks Eric….I should have said someplace in there that this isn't THE way to do these, this is just MY way of doing things.

 

Making An Alternate Block Pattern

I start with making a glue block. I've always used glue blocks for my bowls mainly because I have never figured out how to make a mortise in a base to start with. I'm making this bowl with a Hard Maple body and Padauk trim and design ring.

Once the glue has dried I give the base a quick rounding up and truing up the face. Since the glue has to set overnight to dry I can start making the rings for this bowl. This one takes 9 rings of 16 segments each. The solid base is 11 and the rings will be glued up in descending order, 11, 10 9 8 7 6 (trim rings made by cutting ring 6 in half, the other half becomes ring 4) 3 2 1 Here are the rings and design ring sticks:

and here they are after running them through the drum sander to flatten them.

I also rounded them up as a experiment using my homemade Longworth chuck to locate the rings on the glue up stack. So now I can start stacking up rings.
Here are rings 10 9 and 8 glued on to base 11.

After these rings have sat overnight, turn the inside of them and smarten up the bottom. Do this while you can still reach them. After I did that, I added ring 7.

Next is the wide ring 6 made of Padauk. This ring gets parted in half to form the trim rings 6 and 4.

!

Here is shown ring 6 cut in half. Next is the design ring of alternate blocks.

I give rings about an hour before adding more, so after an hour I added the second trim ring #4 (which is the other half of ring 6)

I'll let this set overnight and tomorrow start adding the last 3 rings, 3 2 and 1.

OK, the first thing I did today was smarten up the inside rings and get them shaped up. Then I flattened and made ring 4 the same thickness of ring 6.

Next step is gluing on ring 3

I'll let this set for an hour and take a look at how the general shape is coming along. I may be able to glue ring 2 on or I may have to let it set overnight so I can turn the inside bottom edge of ring 3.

OK, I thought it best to turn the chamfer before I glued ring 2 on. So here is the before and after of that….

Ring 2 glued on. I'll wait an hour and glue the lip (ring 1 ) on.

+
Here is the lip glued on, now it sits overnight and I'll start turning it tomorrow.

Here it is after sanding and preliminary turning.

And after the first coat of ***************.

I'll put a picture in the project section after parting it off of the glue block and finalizing the finish

Agreed, Dave! It's a nice writeup, and not too far from the process I evolved for making my cholla & resin bowls. Thanks for going through your process!

 

Making An Alternate Block Pattern

I start with making a glue block. I've always used glue blocks for my bowls mainly because I have never figured out how to make a mortise in a base to start with. I'm making this bowl with a Hard Maple body and Padauk trim and design ring.

Once the glue has dried I give the base a quick rounding up and truing up the face. Since the glue has to set overnight to dry I can start making the rings for this bowl. This one takes 9 rings of 16 segments each. The solid base is 11 and the rings will be glued up in descending order, 11, 10 9 8 7 6 (trim rings made by cutting ring 6 in half, the other half becomes ring 4) 3 2 1 Here are the rings and design ring sticks:

and here they are after running them through the drum sander to flatten them.

I also rounded them up as a experiment using my homemade Longworth chuck to locate the rings on the glue up stack. So now I can start stacking up rings.
Here are rings 10 9 and 8 glued on to base 11.

After these rings have sat overnight, turn the inside of them and smarten up the bottom. Do this while you can still reach them. After I did that, I added ring 7.

Next is the wide ring 6 made of Padauk. This ring gets parted in half to form the trim rings 6 and 4.

Here is shown ring 6 cut in half. Next is the design ring of alternate blocks.

I give rings about an hour before adding more, so after an hour I added the second trim ring #4 (which is the other half of ring 6)

I'll let this set overnight and tomorrow start adding the last 3 rings, 3 2 and 1.

OK, the first thing I did today was smarten up the inside rings and get them shaped up. Then I flattened and made ring 4 the same thickness of ring 6.

Next step is gluing on ring 3

I'll let this set for an hour and take a look at how the general shape is coming along. I may be able to glue ring 2 on or I may have to let it set overnight so I can turn the inside bottom edge of ring 3.

OK, I thought it best to turn the chamfer before I glued ring 2 on. So here is the before and after of that….

Ring 2 glued on. I'll wait an hour and glue the lip (ring 1 ) on.

+
Here is the lip glued on, now it sits overnight and I'll start turning it tomorrow.

Here it is after sanding and preliminary turning.

And after the first coat of ***************.

I'll put a picture in the project section after parting it off of the glue block and finalizing the finish

Thank you Dave