I'll just leave this here... Make a Bowl Without a Lathe
-
It's time to cast your vote in the January 2025 Turning Challenge. (click here for details) -
Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Alan Weinberg for "Elm Burl Bowl" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 27, 2025 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Who needs a lathe?
- Thread starter Kevin Jenness
- Start date
That guy's a bit of an amateur. He missed a subtle adjustment of the bowl blank over the blade. The blank should be positioned over the blade such that it only cuts on the far side of the blank from the operator's position so the cut is never against the grain.
Oval dishes can also be done on the table saw.
Back in the day I built 2 versions of "lathes" for a customer to cut concave tapered shafts for pool cues on table saws in one pass from square blanks.
Wood shapers with adjustable jigs can do "turnings" too.
Metalworking milling machines can easily do both inside and outside of bowls with curved contours.
When you get right down to it a traditional lathe is a poor excuse for production work. "Production" is an offensive concept for many. But if you want to make a living it may be a necessity. Bob Stocksdale said getting started he made enough production pieces to fill a couple football stadiums.
For the ultimate bowl "turner" a CNC router is the way to go these days. Any shape or contour is possible, do an oval bowl as easily as a round one. A traditional wood turning shop with quality equipment can be expensive to set up. For a fraction of that cost a decent CNC can be purchased these days.
Oval dishes can also be done on the table saw.
Back in the day I built 2 versions of "lathes" for a customer to cut concave tapered shafts for pool cues on table saws in one pass from square blanks.
Wood shapers with adjustable jigs can do "turnings" too.
Metalworking milling machines can easily do both inside and outside of bowls with curved contours.
When you get right down to it a traditional lathe is a poor excuse for production work. "Production" is an offensive concept for many. But if you want to make a living it may be a necessity. Bob Stocksdale said getting started he made enough production pieces to fill a couple football stadiums.
For the ultimate bowl "turner" a CNC router is the way to go these days. Any shape or contour is possible, do an oval bowl as easily as a round one. A traditional wood turning shop with quality equipment can be expensive to set up. For a fraction of that cost a decent CNC can be purchased these days.
I stopped as soon as I saw the blank was being shaped by a tablesaw blade, the one machine above all others most effective at destroying body parts. My take- idiot. He should ask himself if he deserves his fingers.
We've just recently had discussions about safety masks, and about wood blanks falling apart on the lathe. Can you imagine a 10" saw blade finding a crack or bark inclusion and the blank comes apart or is thrown by the blade? What part of dead isn't understood by some people?
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
"I don't own a lathe..." Idiot. Probably performs DIY dentistry with a Leatherman in his bathroom, too.
Last edited:
It looks like a bowl made on a table saw. 
I wonder what the time was from start to finish.
I wonder what the time was from start to finish.
Beautiful form. The foot is exquisite.
Nice dog food bowl. Won't tip over easily.
I don't know why he rounded the outside. Square bowls are cool.
I have seen several variations of making bowls without lathes, and for me, it is just a no go situation. "A lathe would have made the job so much easier!" "Well that was the point of making the video to show that you don't need a lathe." I just don't get it. Efficiency is intelligent laziness!
robo hippy
robo hippy
For anyone who wants to make bowls without a lathe, it would be tough to find a better source of info than right here.
davidffisher.com
David Fisher, Carving Explorations
With traditional edge tools, I carve green logs and branches into bowls, spoons, and containers. My explorations also include carved lettering. The journey continues to be a joy. I hope you enjoy exploring the site and find the information to be helpful.
davidffisher.com