First attempt at a fluted bowl

[Dave Peterson]

This is walnut stump wood. Sanded to 2000 grit (BY HAND !! - and boy, do my fingers hurt!), and one layer of BLO. I wanted to see if I could do it, but won't be rushing to do it again anytime soon. Dave Peterson

 

[nn4jw]

Beautiful. How did you make the flutes?

 

[Dave Peterson]

I started with a grid (white lines), then decide what angle I want to use (orange lines). Then, it is rasp work, then sanding by hand. As my flutes were pretty narrow, and I wanted them to be smooth, I used a narrow strip of sandpaper and the tip of my finger....for 12 hours. I went from 120 grit to 2000 grit, and occasionally had to back track when I found spots I missed (some did not show up until 400 or 600 grit, then backtrack to either 220 or 320, then work back up to the step I was on.). Total time in this bowl was about 16 hours.

finish is one coat of BLO. Inside and bottom were also sanded to 2000 grit.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

You are tough to do that by hand. I have made a few using a foredom fitted with a carbide burr to remove material quickly followed by a drum disc on the foredoomed to get to 220 grit then by hand from there. This process still takes about 2 hours

 

[jcz]

That is a beauty.

 

[smallboat]

beautiful

 

[Dave Peterson]

You are tough to do that by hand. I have made a few using a foredom fitted with a carbide burr to remove material quickly followed by a drum disc on the foredoomed to get to 220 grit then by hand from there. This process still takes about 2 hours

I did it by hand, because I don't have all of those tools you mentioned. I have 3 rasps that the demonstrator suggested to get, and those are also hand operated. They left a pretty smooth surface, considering they are rasps. I tried a 2" foam pad with hook/loop backing (the soft one), but it just was not doing what I wanted it to do, so I got out the 120 grit and started sanding.

 

[Mark Stewart]

Thankyou for sharing the process you used on this I for one think you did a fine job

 

[Endless Pursuit]

Can't wait for your second attempt.

Well done.

 

[nn4jw]

Thanks for sharing the technique. While it took a long time the results speak for themselves. Great job.

 

[Volksdad]

It is beautiful. The time you put into it is evident. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Bob Carreiro]

Great work!

 

[Berta]

Will you be showing that next Saturday? (Sept 6)

 

[cyclopentadiene]

I understand using what you have. My first maloof chair was carved with a single #8carving gouge,rasp and sandpaper. It took nearly 200 hours. I enjoy building sculptured furniture so I have been collecting tools the past few years to make the process faster. If you continue down this route the carbide burrs are $15 -$30 each and the smaller ones will fit in a Dremmel tool (the only use I ever found for it). There are also some solid carbide cutters available that work well. I do not recall the company but they demo at the wood turning shows and have good show specials
Another alternative that works well is a flap sander on an angle grinder. It is scary to begin with but eventually you bet comfortable with it. I now use a carbide burr on the angle grinder and can shape a maloof seat,remove tool marks with a rasp and sand to 120grit in about 3 hours. The first one took about 40 hours.
the disadvantage to carbide burrs or flap sanders on an angle grinder (besides safety) is you get covered head to toe even inside clothes with fine powder dust. I wear a respirator and have to clean the glass about every 5minutes. I wear Kevlar carving gloves and recently found out they make Kevlar chaps. I plan to buy a pair before my next project of 8 chairs