I was looking back and the first one of these concentric ring bowl patterns I published was in 2008. The first pattern of this type I saw for the scroll saw was in The New Scroll Saw Handbook written by Patrick Spielman. That book is the finest book ever written for the scroll saw. Patrick was an incredible influence on me and many other scrollers before he passed away.
If you have never attempted one of these concentric ring scroll saw bowls then you should give one a try. They are a bit of a challenge but with care, you can have a beautiful project that your family and friends will be amazed at your skill.
There are two techniques in this project that make it an intermediate level pattern. I like thin walls on bowls. This bowl pattern starts out with 1/4" thick walls. After sanding they will be near half that thickness. This means that you have to drill the starter holes at the proper angle and accurate. I show how to do this in the pattern.
The second challenge is the sanding. No matter how accurate you cut you will still a lot of sanding to get the walls flush after glue up. Sanding this project by hand may be possible but I would not want to do it. You need drum sanders of some type. The better the sanding tools you have the more successful you will be with this project. Cheap drum sander on a drill will get the job done but it will take some time. Even with my air filled and foam filled sanding drums I sanded for well over an hour to get the wall flush and smooth.
The pattern has 19 photos and complete instructions. Below are a few photos to give you an idea of how these bowls are made.
To get the contrasting pattern for this bowl I glued up a four square checkerboard pattern from walnut and soft maple. The joints need to be very good or the bowl will have open seams. If you don't have the machinery to mill these board you can just use a single board and skip the twisted pattern. They are still fun to make.
The rings are cut with the blade tilted to a calculated angle. I show how to get this angle very simply in the instructions.
After the rings are cut they are stacked in backward orientations to make the walls of the bowl.
Lots and lots of sanding. We sand the wall flush before we glue on the bottom. This makes it easier to sand the interior.
I use my Flex Drum sanding kit all the time. It is a great system. You can buy them at this link. This is not an affiliate link. https://intarsia.com/collections/hardware/Sander
I finish with several light coats of spray acrylic. I sand the finish with 000 steel wool between coats. Make sure you blow off any residual steel wool before you apply the next coat of finish.
King Arthur's Guinevere Basic Sanding System Review: Affiliate Link.
The King Arthur Sanding System has air-filled sanding drums for gentle contour sanding. Don't let the word gentle fool you though. This system can remove a lot of wood quickly. When I make scroll saw bowls like today's pattern I always head for the King Arthur Guinevere to get the sanding done quickly.
The basic system is what I have. It comes with two types of sanding sleeves. The cup sleeve and the drum sleeve. Both work well but I use the drum sleeve 90% of the time. There are accessories available for longer drums and larger cups. I have not needed to buy the accessories.
One tip that I find useful is to use canned air to inflate the drums. The included pump works but can be finicky. Two short blasts from the canned air and you are ready to sand.
I find the flexible shaft the more useful side of the motor. I keep the cup on the left and the drum on the flex shaft. The flex shaft comes in handy for many projects. Any time I have a blade burn mark on wood, I head to the flex shaft to quickly remove it. When I do segmentation or intarsia projects the flex shaft gets used a lot.
The King Arthur Guinevere basic sanding system is another tool that was hard to open my wallet for. It is not inexpensive. The link above takes you to Amazon where it is priced at $340.85. Ouch. If I remember correctly I paid closer to $390 when I bought it several years ago. After the shock wore off I have never regretted purchasing the system. It is extremely high quality. The air filled drums are a much better system than hard drums. I have gotten my money worth out of the system.
Is The King Arthur Guinevere basic sanding system worth the money? It was for me but I make my living doing this stuff. If I were a weekend scroller I might not spend this much money even though I like the system a lot. This would be a tool I might ask Santa to help out with. If you have the available cash and want the best small drum sanding system then this won't disappoint.
$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.
Email Newsletter Readers: Remember that the Newsletter is just a copy of the daily blog post. To see the post in it's proper formatting click this link. If you ever misplace a pattern or any item you see here you can always find it on the blog. Everything stays on the blog forever.
Products for your consideration:
Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2018 in DVD
This DVD has over 2,600 patterns published from 2007 thru 2018.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.
The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing.
All the same file but on an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
Now Available on USB Thumb Drive
Don't have a DVD drive on your new computer. No problem. Buy the catalog on a USB thumb drive.All the same file but on an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.
The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.
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