Resawing A Large Bowl Blank--Help!

I will be receiving a large redwood burl bowl blank in the near future. Approximate size is 16x16x8. I can handle cutting the circle, but would like to to make a 16x6 bowl and use the remaining thickness for a platter. I'm in the process of trying to find someone with a large enough band saw to make the resaw cut for me, but am guessing that chances of that happening locally are pretty slim.

A chainsaw would do the job as would the straight tool for my Kelton hollower, but both would be fairly lossy in terms of material waste (at least with my skill level.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks Bill Machin

Reply to
Bill Machin
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Bill wrote: ..."I'm in the process of trying to find someone with a large enough band saw to make the resaw cut for me, but am guessing that chances of that happening locally are pretty slim."

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Bill, Check with the high school shop teacher.

Ruth

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at

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Reply to
Ruth

Bill Machin wrote: (cli[p) but both would be fairly lossy in terms of material waste (clip)Any thoughts or ideas? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I would mount the blank on the lathe, with the platter part toward the tailstock. Turn it round, and make a pencil line to show where you plan to part off the flat platter blank.

Now, start turning the outside of the bowl, leaving the platter part untouched. When you get fairly close to the foot, use a handsaw to drop off the platter, and then complete the bowl. You will waste only the kerf of a handsaw.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Bill,

With a japanese or bow saw and a bit of elbow greese you can get what you want. I'd chuck up and true whole blank. Use a thin parting tool to go as deep as you dare. Then stop the lathe, lock the spindle, and finish off with the saw.

Brad in Benicia

Reply to
Brad the Lurker

Brad, who lurks in Benecia wrote (clip) Use a thin parting tool to go as deep as you dare. Then stop the lathe, lock the spindle, and finish off with the saw. ^^^^^^^^^^^ Brad, your method and my method arrive at the same end-point. Using your method, if you make the cut with the parting tool on the bowl-side of the line, it will not matter whether it is a thin parting tool, since the wood it is removing is the same wood I was removing in shaping the exterior of the bowl prior to parting off. I think your procedure is better because it gets the platter out of the way before you start shaping the bowl.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Brad, who lurks in Benecia wrote (clip) Use a thin parting tool to go as deep as you dare. Then stop the lathe, lock the spindle, and finish off with the saw. ^^^^^^^^^^^ Brad, I thought of a better answer. In order to get as much use of the wood as possible, use a Stewart tool, which is like a long parting tool, that is usually used for bowl coring. Make a conical cut, starting farther up the wood than both of us originally described, angled toward the bottom of the platter. In that way you are making the sides of the platter blank higher, without making the bowl smaller.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Wire saw.

Reply to
George

A visit to your local AAW chapter would probably find a turner with a McNaughton bowl saver (or Oneway) that would be happy to core a few bowls out of the burl for you. One bowl from a redwood burl should even pay for the bowl saver, if your lathe has enough power to run the bowl saver.

Reply to
ed french

Thanks to all for the help. I plan to get this sucker mounted up today. Sould be a lot of fun--love that redwood!

Bill

Reply to
Bill Machin

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