Before snow comes I drive to my wood lot with my KUBOTA tractor and trailer. My tractor is equipped with a farm winch at the back, and the trailer has a self-releasing snatch block at the top rear .This allows me to winch a load of birds-eye without trouble. After putting on 4 or 5 logs, I top load my trailer using the bucket of the tractor, which is equipped with forks. I can bring home two cords of birds-eye maple this way, which is about what I turn each year. Once back home the logs are sealed at the ends to prevent cracking.

The first step in turning a bowl is to rough turn the shape of the bowl. After that is done, the blank can dry to an equilibrium, and then be put back on the lathe and turned to its final shape.

Making the blanks:

1. Cut a block off of the log about the size of the bowl that you want to make. A 16" block will give a 15" blank. A chain saw is a good tool for this job. I use a 44cc Stihl chainsaw.

2. Check where the pith is on both sides of the block. You cannot use the pith of birds-eye. It will crack in your blank. So cut on both sides of the pith. This will give you two blanks. You could also trim the bark where the bottom of the blank will be. This makes it easier to mount the blank on the faceplate, and also cuts down on gouge work.

3. Using a compass find the center of your blank and screw the face plate in the center.

4. Trim the corners of your blank so as to make it easier for turning, and to reduce vibration. You can do this on the band saw. You should also remove any loose bark. The claws of your hammer works good for this.

5. Install the blank on the lathe. If it is well balanced, you can start turning at 1500 rpm otherwise reduce the speed. MAKE SURE TO OBSERVE ALL SAFETY RULES.

6. Using a roughing gauge remove the bark. Decide what SHAPE you will give this blank. Shape counts for 50% of your turning. The other 50% is the finish and the wood you choose.

7. After doing the outside of the blank, you trim off the rim then start to turn the inside of the bowl. I use a 3/8" gouge for this and a needle nose gouge to cut near the faceplate and at the wall. A 1 inch wall thickness is good for a 14 inch blank, as you increase in size, the wall thickness must also increase so as to have enough wood when you turn this blank true after it has dried. It warps in the drying. Try to keep an even wall thickness.

8.Once you finished turning the inside of the bowl, and you have the thickness of the bottom that you want, now you have to remove the bowl from the faceplate. The bottom of the bowl should be at least as thick as the sides of the bowl.

9. Log end seal the outside of the blank and the rim to prevent cracking in the drying process. Set the blank aside to reach an equilibrium with the surrounding air.

Keep an eye on the moisture content, and once the bowl stops loosing moisture, it has reached equilibrium. You can now mount the blank back on the lathe and finish turning the bowl. You can mount the blank either by using a faceplate, or if you had cut a foot on the bottom of the bowl, you could use a 3 or 4 jaw chuck. Good luck.

Leonard Landry