Crafting a Dizzy Bowl

Visit Youtube.com

Visit Youtube.com

In the search section type “dizzy

bowl” and you will find dozens

of videos about turning dizzy

bowls.

Visit Youtube.com

In the search section type “dizzy

bowl” and you will find dozens

of videos about turning dizzy

bowls. Watch some and

familiarize yourself with the

building process.

Before You Get Started

� Power tools that I used:

� Lathe

� Band saw

� Table saw

� Planer

� Jointer

� Drum sander

� Belt sander

� Disc sander

� Dust collector

� Hand tools that I used:

� Caliper

� 18” ruler

� Wood clamps

� Compass

� Self made jigs

� Wedge sled

� Sacrificial sanding plates

� Push block

� Ring press

� Centering jig

Things to consider

� Use only scrapers and scews because the majority of your bowl will consist of

end-grains.

� Because the bowl will be end-grain if you do not have a multidirectional lathe you will not be able to sand the bowl completely smooth. The nap of the grain

will cause the bowl to feel smooth from one direction and rough from the other.

� Do not attempt to turn down any part of the bowl until all the segments are added. If you turn each ring to thickness as you assemble the bowl, the thin

base of the bowl may not sustain the weight of the unfinished section of the

bowl. I speak from experience!

� By taking the time to glue the rings one at a time, and by using a centering jig,

you will ensure all the rings are centered (the more rings you have the more

important this is).

� I use Titebond I, or II aliphatic glue. I can glue a ring and in one hour return to

the lathe, round, and flatten the ring and glue another ring onto the bowl.

Designing your dizzy bowl

� Dizzy bowls are time consuming and tedious projects. Do

not get in a hurry.

� Determine the diameter and depth of your bowl.

� Anticipate how many rings you will need to construct.

� Draw your bowl to scale including all the rings at correct

dimensions.

� Select the different types of wood you will be using.

� The thinner your strips are the more spectacular your

bowl will be.

Why draw your dizzy bowl to scale?

� You can visualize how large the bowl will be.

� You can determine the thickness of all your rings.

� You can determine how many rings you will need.

� You can label your rings on paper before you label your boards.

� You will have the measurements to all your rings.

� By drawing a line down the middle of your bowl you can use your drawing to set your compass. This saves a lot of time.

� You can determine the diameter of you rings in order to prevent wasted wood.

Drawing out your dizzy bowl

Selecting and rough cutting

your wood� For rough cut selections

� Cut all pieces to same length

� Cut all pieces to same thickness

� Preferably 2” thick or more.

� Width is not important at this point

Cutting your wood to desired thickness

Cutting your wood to desired thickness

Bi-symmetrical construction

Gluing your pieces

Gluing your piecesUse Caliper clamps to prevent wood strips from

slipping out of place

Glued and finished slabs

Glued and finished slabs

Re-sawing

the slabs

Re-sawing the slabs

I re-sawed the

Slabs to 3/16”

and drum

sanded them

down to 1/8”

Re-sawing the slabs

Slabs are smoothed and thickness

set with my drum sander

Drawing your rings

Twelve boards,

Twenty-four halves.

All are taped in the

back. After the rings

are drawn the halves

are separated and

cut on the band saw.

Marking your rings

Only outer diameter of rings are drawn and cut.

This allows for maximum width

Cut rings

Because the rings Were 1” in width, I was able to cut two sets of rings and construct two Bowls instead of one.

Dry stacking the rings

Making your

pattern

The dizzy pattern is created

by turning each successive

ring clockwise. Also every

ring must be turned the

same distance and in the

same direction.

Ring Overlap

After splitting the rings, each set

of rings were now 7/16” in width.

When the rings were stacked

this allowed for a 5/16” overlap.

Since I was stacking 36 rings, I

had to make sure each ring was

centered. From top to bottom,

my combined margin for error

was only 1/8”.

Assembly of bowl

Gluing the rings

Each ring is only 1/8” thick and is

comprised of dozens of narrow strips of

wood. This makes them very fragile

and flexible. So, if you drop one it will

break. Also, they tend to warp when

pressed together.

For this reason. I first glue them in

pairs. The staggered rings create a

stronger and more rigid ring. This

makes them less likely to break, or

warp.

This also allows you perform half your

gluing at one time making for quicker

assembly.

Using a Ring Press

� A ring press applies consistent pressure over entire ring.

� Use extreme caution when gluing more than two rings. They tend to slip!

� My Method:

� Glue two rings and press for five minutes. Start with widest rings.

� During this time glue two more ring, lift the press, lay paper between the two sets of pressed rings and press.

� Glue two more rings and continue process.

� Note: I glued the rings in pairs on the press. I took the pared rings and glued them in place on the lathe using my centering jig.

Centering the rings

My high tech

centering jig

Centering the rings

� Remove bowl from chuck and place upright.

� Dry fit the next ring and turn it to its proper location.

� Glue ring and press into place.

� Gently clamp bowl back into chuck.

� Center ring with centering jig.

� Make sure ring is still turned in proper place.

� Press the ring onto the bowl with centering jig.

� Wait at least one hour.

� Round out new ring with scraper.

� Make sure the flat surface of the ring is square and flat.

� Get next ring and repeat previous steps.

� Continue until all the rings are glued onto the bowl.

Flattening the face of the ring

Adding the rim, or last ring

Both the base and the rim

were made with Wenge

Final touches

� 1. Use scraper to smooth bowl.

� 2. Use caliper to gauge thickness.

� 3. Scrape bowl down to desired

thickness.

� 4. Sand with 150, 240, 320, 400, and

600 grit.

� 5. Sand with 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200

grit micromesh.

� 6. Finish with a clear gloss.

� 7. Cut off of sacrificial block.

� 8. Enjoy your bowl.

Finished Bowl