Double-Handled Lidded Goblet


Emiliano Achaval collaborates with Troy Grimwood to make a beautiful drinking vessel

Handmade wooden goblet with two handles and lid.

For this months’ article, I’m once again working with New Zealand artist Troy Grimwood. With our first article, he showed us how to do his famous Sea Form. I wanted to do a collaboration piece with him. Our Editor suggested a double- handled lidded goblet. As always with these challenges, there was a catch. The handles had to be part of the block of wood – they could not be glued on. Cutting handles on a scrollsaw after making a pattern and then gluing them is a relatively simple project. The hardest part is to get a nice, even match where the handles meet the goblet. I approached Troy with the idea. After some sketches and discussions, he told me that he’s never done anything like this project. But he’s not one to shy at a challenge. Even if it takes us a few tries, let’s do it, he told me with a big grin, it’s going to be a fun one. That’s the intended purpose of the Editor’s Challenges, to leave your comfort zone, to do something you have never done before. I do not like to call a project that is not successful at first a failure – I call it a lesson learned.

We chose a beautiful piece of curly acacia koa – a native endemic species to Hawaii – for the main part, stem, and base. We made the lid out of curly mango and topped it off with a small African blackwood finial. To be able to take pictures, Troy started the project. He got to do the hardest part, turning the main goblet and handles part. He also turned the stem and base. I did the carving and sanding of the handles, which took me some time. I turned the lid, and finally, finished this fun collaboration with the finial. It was fun solving some of the problems we encountered as we moved forward with the project. There is always a way, sometimes more than one. You have to think it through and find a way; everything is possible when you are having fun with a friend. I hope you enjoy doing this project as much as we did.

Wood carving with marked design in a vice.
1. Start by drawing the profile of the goblet and the handles on the block of wood you are going to use. If you have access to a bandsaw, you could carefully trim some of the excess wood. It’s okay if you don’t, but you will have a bit more turning to do. Mount it in between centres on the lathe
Woodturning with lathe and hand tool close-up
2. The reason Troy used a black permanent marker was because he thought he was going to be able to see the lines better when he was turning it. He was right. With a bowl gouge, turn away the waste wood, do not go past the lines. You need enough speed here to be able to cut smooth, to minimise the amount of time you are ‘cutting air’. Troy had the lathe speed set at around 1200rpm. Turn a small tenon. NB: Be careful; the wings are not easy to see. Keep your hands behind the toolrest
Woodturner shaping wood on a lathe with template.
3. Turn the goblet around and hold it in the chuck by the small tenon you turned. For now, you can still use the tailstock. Use it as much as possible; it gives you added security. To be able to turn the two halves of the goblet equal, you need to make a template. Use it often. Here Troy is checking to see how much he needs to take off
Craftsman woodturning with lathe and wood shavings
4. Checking often with the template and making sure you do not go past the black lines, turn the other half of the goblet. A small or medium bowl gouge would be the right choice here
Hands aligning wooden piece on lathe machine.
5. Before continuing, take a look at what you should have: the body of the goblet and the two handles are visible now. Measure with the template and do any fine tunings needed before proceeding
Close-up of woodturning process on a lathe.
6. You now have to turn away the small tenon. You need to turn a jam chuck just for this particular project. Make sure the handles sit flush. To hold it in place after you remove the tailstock, put one screw on each handle to the jam chuck. Visualise where the handle will be, add the screw right in the centre. We were very close to having the screw in the wrong place. It might be a good idea to have the handle template done already so you can draw the handles now
Hands crafting wooden object with cardboard template
7. Turn away the tenon. A small bowl gouge would do the job nicely. You could use a spindle gouge too, and if the wood is dense enough take out any tool marks with a negative rake scraper. Check with the template before proceeding. Sand this side of the goblet
Woodworker shaping block on band saw machine.
8. If you have a bandsaw, now would be the time to cut away some of the waste wood from the handles. The jam chuck gives you the necessary support to be able to make some safe cuts. If you don’t have a bandsaw, you can use a hand saw or carve it away
Carving wood with a chisel and lathe close-up.
9. You are going to need to glue two waste blocks to the piece at the base of the cup. This will provide material to turn a small tenon from to be able to hold the goblet in a chuck to hollow it out. Find the centre of the goblet, measure the little piece below the cup and cut two parts of the same size. Glue them on
Wooden spindle on a woodworking lathe machine.
10. Put the goblet back on the lathe using the centre mark. With a small bowl gouge turn a tenon for your chuck. If you do not have small jaws for your chuck, make the waste blocks to fit your jaws. Put the goblet back on the chuck; you are now ready to start the hollowing process
Handwood carving on a spinning lathe machine.
11. You could use a spindle gouge, a bowl gouge, or your favourite carbide tool. Troy used a #5 Badger Hunter, a cupped carbide tool that leaves a beautiful surface. Cut a small recess where the lid will sit in with a skew. Finish the inside with a scraper and or a negative rake scraper if you have one small enough. Sand the inside and apply a finish
Wood carving on a lathe with green tape.
12. You are going to take out the small tenon at the bottom of the cup and drill a hole that will accept the small tenon of the stem. Turn a jam chuck. Just to make sure, apply some painter’s masking tape and or you could use a few dabs of hot-melt glue. The glue cleans up easily with some denatured alcohol. A small bowl gouge would be an excellent tool for this small job. Drill the hole by using a Jacobs chuck in your tailstock – 1⁄4in is deep enough
Woodturning process on a lathe machine
13. It’s time to turn the stem. Put a piece about 5in long by 2in wide in between centres. Bring it to round with a roughing spindle gouge or bowl gouge. Start shaping it with the tool of your choice. Make a 1⁄4in tenon on each side. Measure with your callipers; it should be the same size as your drill bit. You can turn the little tenon with your parting tool. Take it off the lathe and use your handsaw to cut the ends
Close-up of woodturning on a lathe.
14. Now you will be working on the base. Put a piece of wood in between centers, at least 4.5 inches diameter. Bring it to round and make a tenon for your chuck. Put it on the chuck and turn what will be the bottom of the base. The base is 3 and 1⁄4in wide. You will jam chuck it to finish turning the top of the base
Hands holding a crafted wooden object.
15. You are now going to turn a jam chuck to fit the base so you can finish the top of it. Measure the base and transfer that to the jam chuck. We forgot to drill a small hole in the jam chuck, which enables the removal of a jammed workpiece, but we got it out without any damage. Drill a small hole in the base of the jam chuck so you can knock the piece off by gently tapping it from the inside
Close-up of woodturning process on a lathe.
16. The base of the goblet is now in the jam chuck. Make sure you have a tight fit. Start with the tailstock in place for added security. Make your cuts into the headstock. Drill a hole with the same drill bit you used on the cup. Make sure you do not go through – 1⁄8in should be enough. Sand and apply a finish. Remove from the jam chuck
Carved wooden piece with design templates and pencil.
17. Now you have to carve the handles. First, make a template and draw the handles on the wood. A pencil works fine, and you can use a regular eraser if you have to
Crafting wooden pieces with drill for precise assembly.
18. To be able to start carving, with your preferred tool or a combination of them, you need to drill a hole in the centre of each handle. Use the jam chuck used for the cup for support. I used a small Forstner bit
Person carving wood sculpture with rotary tool
19. I could write a book about all the tools available for wood carving. I used a combination of power carvers, micro-motors, hand saws, files, and rasps. Of course, you will have some hand sanding to do. The pencil lines of the template will become hard to see, covered in dust, sanded off. Redraw the lines as needed, check with the template often
Wood lathe in action, creating sawdust.
20. Now you have to turn the lid. Put a piece of timber about 4in wide in between centres. Bring it to round and turn a tenon. The process you are going to use for the lid is the same as the one used for the base. This way, you end up with an extremely clean piece without any marks made by the jaws of the chuck
Wooden sculpture on a lathe machine
21. Now you have the lid in the chuck. Measure the inside of the goblet and transfer that to the cover. Make a small spigot. You do not want a tight fit. You want people to be able to lift it easily, so they do not break the finial
Wooden object on lathe, 'Hawaiian Koa Turner'
22. To finish the top of the lid, you have to turn a jam chuck. Remember to drill a hole so you can remove the lid without a problem. It’s worth repeating – you need a tight fit here. You do not want to risk the cover coming off the jam chuck
Wood lathe turning a round wooden object.
23. With the lid held securely in the jam chuck, turn it down to about 1⁄8in thickness. A small bowl gouge or a detail spindle gouge are suitable. You can add a small, raised bead where the finial will go, but it is not absolutely necessary. I used a beading tool and took some light cuts to expose the bead. Drill a hole for the finial. Make sure you do not go through the lid. Sand and apply your finish. Tap it lightly with a small dowel to remove it from the jam chuck
Close-up of a metal gear mechanism
24. We wanted a contrasting colour timber for the finial. I found a piece of long-forgotten African blackwood and put it in the chuck. If you don’t have a dark timber, you can always paint it black after you turn it. A detail spindle gouge is the tool of choice here. A small skew could also be used. Turn the finial and measure with your callipers for the little spigot. Sand, apply finish and part it off or cut it with a small hand saw

You just completed the fifth and final piece of this project. You can use a dab of glue to hold the parts that need it. We chose not to. It adds an extra wow factor when you show it to a friend and they see how all the pieces come apart and how nicely they fit together. I hope you have as much fun as we did. Until the next time, Aloha from Hawaii.

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