Gluing-up Tip

I was working on a new project today, with three sets of rings. After I cut the rings, I discovered that each blank had a slight warp in it. I tried out a new approach to saving the wood, and it seems to be working.

First, I selectively sanded parts of each ring to get it to lie as flat as possible, rubbing it against sandpaper attached to a flat surface. Then, instead of gluing up several rings at once, I glued up only two to start, to take advantage of the pressure from the bowl press. I then added one ring at a time, correcting any warping by sanding the ring and the glued-up unit.

I'm not finished yet, but it looks a lot better than I thought it would. My last project ended up as "designer firewood", and I really didn't want it to happen again. I'll post a picture when I'm through, regardless of how it comes out.

Those tricky lower edges, revisited with a square shape

One of the most difficult spots to sand is the inside bottom edge of the lowest ring, since once the base is glued on, there's no way to make corrections.

I've posted information on this topic before, but in case you missed it, here's a picture that shows sanding a square, which is even more demanding than a circle. It's sanded the same way as the circle, but you have to be careful not to sand in curves on the straight sides. If you're making your own patterns, be sure to keep the curves at the corners wide enough to accommodate the sander.

Four-part video series on sanding scroll saw bowls

Here is the complete four part video series. I've deleted the earlier video posts because of viewing problems. Hope these videos help answer any questions you've had about sanding. If you still have questions, please email me, and I'll be glad to help you out.

Sanding Tools, Part II

Once you're hooked on making bowls, you'll probably find it worthwhile to buy an inflatable ball sander. It makes quick work of sanding curved interiors and the lower parts of the bowl. Like the flexi-pad, it can be used chucked into a drill press.

You'll need the rubber ball, assorted sleeves, and a small pump to inflate the ball. This tool is available from King Arthur Tools, as part of the Guinivere sanding system. See the sidebar for a link to King Arthur Tools.