Carving The Bowl

Clamp your blank tight in the vice and draw a reference line across the middle of the bowl. Start removing the waste by chopping from either side of the centre line towards the middle using a sharp gouge and a chisel hammer. Begin about ½” (13mm) from the middle and use direct, decisive chops. Make sure you don’t go past the center line as this could split the whole bowl. Work from both sides, or turn the blank around if you feel more confident, and keep removing the waste in increments until you reach the rim of the bowl.

With the rough shape of the bowl carved, switch to a double handed grip on the gouge and come in from the sides to pare across the bottom of the bowl where the two cuts meet. Try to create an even, continuous surface with the gouge as this will make it easier to refine the bowl later.