Textured Sweet Gum Bowl
For today's project, I wanted to continue experimenting with different ways of woodturning a bowl and finishing technique.
I took a 6" x 3" piece of sweet gum wood and cut it round on the bandsaw. The first task was shaping the outside of the bowl. I kind of just let wood and tools decide the shape of the bowl. With the shape of the bowl finished it was time to address the cracks. I sanded to 240 to get some sawdust to put in the cracks before applying a bit of thin CA glue. This worked like a charm and sealed the cracks right up. I used the Easy Wood Tools Detailer to cut in a line above and below to where I wanted to carve. This not only to frame in the carving, but also provide a way to keep the gouge from going outside where I wanted. That worked....mostly. Ha Ha Next came the fun part....the actual carving. I did my best to sharpen the gouge with a diamond stone and leather strop before I started and a few times during the carving. I carved random gouges and the side grain was so easy, but the end grain proved to be a little more challenging. I should have slowed down and took multiple shallow cuts. I've learned my lesson hopefully! Next it was time to apply a coat of General Finishes Milk Paint (Blue Moon). That went pretty quick and I let it dry for an hour. To remove the paint outside of the gouges, I started sanding with 320 grit and this mostly worked out. Unfortunately, the blue dust stained the sweet gum. Next time, I think I'll apply a coat of sanding sealer to see if that helps with the staining. After I sanded up to 600 grit, it was time to apply the finish which consisted of Mylands Sanding Sealer, Ack's Abrasive Paste, Ack's Polishing Paste, and several coats of Mylands Fiction Polish. With the outside finished, it was time to work on hollowing out the bowl.
With the bowl blank turned around in the chuck, I could get down to business of hollowing out the bowl. This was done pretty quickly with my trusty 3/8" bowl gouge. Once I had the depth and wall thickness that I wanted, I could use the side scraper and negative rake scraper to remove the tools marks and provide me with a finish that didn't require days of sanding. I sanded from 80 to 600 grit and applied the same finish as I did on the outside of the bowl.
I hope you enjoy this video. Please let me know if there is a project you'd like to see me make and I will do my best to do it. Thank you for all the support you have shown me and the channel!
Carbajal Customs: https://www.instagram.com/carbajalcustoms/
Turners Warehouse: https://www.turnerswarehouse.com/
Ack's Abrasive & Polishing Paste: https://ackswoodpaste.com/ - Use WOLF10 at checkout to get 10% off your order
Please leave a comment if there are any questions you have or if you feel like I missed explaining a step.
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