Unique Woodturning: Crafting Bowls from Laminated Beams
George VondriskaDescription
Woodturners always exhibit creativity and resourcefulness, especially when finding materials for their woodturning projects. From synthetic countertops to deer antlers, their choices are always unique. This time, watch as George takes on an unexpected challenge: turning a laminated beam into a stunning bowl.
The Right Tools for Turning Laminated Beams
Laminated beams contain a significant amount of glue, which can be challenging for standard tools. To avoid frequent sharpening interruptions, consider using a carbide turning tool. As showcased by George, these tools are resilient against the adhesive nature of lam beams. With a sharp carbide lathe chisel in hand, you’ll master the art of creating bowls from laminated beams with ease.
Safety First: Protect Against Dust and Glue
Laminated beam turning will produce dust, and it’s no ordinary dust – it’s laden with glue. It’s crucial to prioritize your health; don’t compromise by inhaling these particles. Always wear a high-quality dust mask. For a better and safer experience, consider integrating an air filtration system into your workspace.
Inspired by George’s craft? Dive deep into the world of woodturning and discover why it’s among George’s top woodworking techniques. For more insights and tutorials, explore the extensive collection of woodturning videos that WWGOA proudly offers.
Craving for more unique woodturning projects? WWGOA has a plethora of amazing woodturning projects waiting for you to explore!
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You recognize what this thing is? Maybe if I do this, you'll recognize it more. This is where it came from. This is a piece of structural laminated beam or lam beam. You can buy this stuff at home centers. It's just simply a really, really big chunk of plywood. And I says to the guy, I says, with all those layers in there, wouldn't that be a cool looking bowl? And it is. You're about to see that happen. What I've done here is I've got it mounted on my four-jaw chuck. This is gonna be the bottom of the bowl, so I'm gonna shape this, do a little bit of sanding, create a recess, turn the whole thing around. And what we're really not about here is turning techniques, I really wanna show you the end product. That's gonna be really cool. Now, there is a lot of glue in here, because it is basically just a big chunk of plywood. So, if you're using steel chisels, you might find you have to sharpen 'em frequently. I'm gonna go with a carbide chisel to help stay away from that. And we are ready to run. Something else we may run into here, there's some voids in here. And as needed, we'll just fill those with CA glue as we go. All right, a little sanding, and then we'll flip. What do ya think? Now, I've got some hollowing left to do, but at this stage of the game, you get a great idea of what's gonna happen inside here. As we're cutting across those layers, we get all these different looks inside here because of the plywood nature of this thing. We're getting these stripes indicated by each layer. Once this is sanded and it's under a coat of finish, those stripes are just gonna keep looking better and better and better. So who knew that laying there at the lumberyard was a big long beam that we could turn into some pretty darn cool looking bowls. I'm gonna go back after this, do the rest of my cutting, sanding, finishing, hope that you go out and ya try turning a bowl from a laminated beam.
When should you use a tendon to mount your bowl to a 4 jaw chuck and when should you use a recess? Pros and cons of each? Thank you
Interesting project, and a nice looking result. Question regarding the use of something like this to hold food items (apples, pears, etc.) I would assume that if this were intended to hold food, one would use something like linseed oil or tung oil finish, right? But how about the glue holding the laminate together - will that leach out and cause an issue? Thanks, Jim