Jewellery Bowl

Sue Harker shows you how to turn an earring and ring stand pedestal bowl

I particularly like this project, which, like several of my recent projects, has been inspired by a pottery version I saw online. As with all my projects, I like to make something similar but with my own interpretation and design ideas and alterations.

Wooden jewellery holder with rings and earrings

This earring/ring holder is a small version of a pedestal bowl with holes around the rim for dangling earrings to fit into. As an addition to the version I saw, I have added an upstand in the centre of the bowl to serve as a ring holder. You could, of course, leave this out should you wish. Being a small bowl, the method of chucking required some thought. If your usual method for mounting bowls is using a screw chuck, then the ring holder would not be able to be included. I have chosen to drill a shallow Forstner bit recess the correct size for my jaws, which has enabled the ring holder to be included. I have chosen to turn the spindle with a simple cove, but it would also look nice with more shape to it, should you wish.

The project has been made using jaws with an optimum chucking recess requirement of 46mm, which works well for the size of bowl I have made. Should you have jaws with a larger optimum size, then the measurements of the bowl and spindle may need to be altered to accommodate this.

Plans & equipment

Tools

  • PPE & RPE as appropriate
  • 38in standard grind bowl gouge
  • 38in long grind bowl gouge
  • Spindle roughing gouge
  • 38in fingernail profile spindle gouge
  • 12in fingernail profile spindle gouge
  • 18in parting tool
  • An indexer
  • Pillar drill with 2mm drill bit attached
  • Spring callipers

Materials

  • Bowl blank measuring approximately 120mm diameter x 36mm thick
  • Length of timber approximately 70 x 70 x 70mm long

The Making

Hand measuring wood on lathe with a pencil
1. Using a Forstner bit, drill a shallow recess, the correct size for your jaws, into the centre of a bowl blank measuring approximately 120mm diameter x 36mm thick. Mount on the lathe using this recess. Turn into the round using a 38 in standard grind bowl gouge. Next, take a truing-up cut to the face nearest to the chuck, a 18 in parting tool is used for this. Position the toolrest between the chuck and the timber and, using an indexer, draw 24 reference marks around the face of the timber, approximately 4mm in from the edge, and draw a reference line through all the marks. The holes will be drilled where the lines cross
Drilling hole into wooden block with precision.
2. Secure a 2mm drill bit into a pillar drill and, using the reference lines drawn earlier, drill the 24 holes to a depth of approximately 20mm
Woodturning on a lathe with hand tool.
3. Remount the bowl blank on to the lathe and true up the front face. Using a 18 in parting tool, cut a recess approximately 2.5mm deep the correct size for your jaws. Here I am cutting a recess 46mm in diameter. Remove all the timber from the centre of the recess as this will be used to glue the base
Woodturning on lathe with chisel tool.
4. Draw a reference mark at approximately 52mm diameter – this will produce a 3mm flat area around the recess which will help to give stability when reverse chucking the bowl. From this reference mark begin to shape the underneath of the bowl. A 38 in standard grind bowl gouge is used for this
Woodturning on a lathe with chisel tool.
5. Continue shaping the bowl to produce an ogee shape. The thickness of the rim will need to be approximately 3mm so the earrings will fit easily through the holes
Woodturning detail on a lathe with carving tool.
6. Try a pair of earrings into a hole on the bowl to make sure it can be inserted easily without snagging. If necessary, reduce the thickness of the rim from the holes
Woodturning process with spinning lathe and bowl
7. Next, sand the underneath of the bowl using a disc of abrasive attached to a rotary sander. Start with 120 grit and work through 180, 240, 320 and 400 grits
Hand sanding a wooden object on lathe
8. Apply a coat of sanding sealer and, when dry, coat with cut and polish. With the lathe running, buff using a piece of kitchen roll. Next, apply some microcrystalline wax. This will need to be left for approximately 20mins before buffing to a shine with some kitchen roll. Try to avoid coating the flat area around the recess with any of the finishes as this will interfere with the gluing
Close-up of woodturning on a lathe
9. Remount the bowl using the chucking recess cut earlier. Using a 38 in standard grind bowl gouge, begin to remove the inside of the bowl, leaving timber in the centre. This timber will be used for the ring holder part of the bowl
Woodturning on a lathe, carving a spinning object.
10. With the bulk of the timber removed from the top section of the bowl and the rim turned to approximately 2.5mm, change to a 38 in long grind bowl gouge to refine the centre of the bowl and ring holder. This tool allows better access to the bottom of the ring holder due to the swept-back wings of the tool
Hand sanding wood on a spinning lathe.
11. The centre of the bowl will need to be sanded by hand, working through the same grit abrasives as previously used. To sand the ring holder section, fold the abrasive in half and use the creased end to sand the upstand and the bottom of the bowl leading from it. Finish the inside of the bowl using the same method as for the underneath before removing from the lathe
Woodturning on lathe with a chisel tool.
12. Secure a steb centre in the headstock and a revolving centre in the tailstock and mount a piece of timber measuring approx. 70 x 70 x 70mm long between these centres. Turn into a cylinder using
a spindle rouging gouge. Next, set a pair of spring callipers to 52mm and using a 18 in parting tool cut a tenon 5mm wide using the callipers for sizing. Next, reduce the callipers to the size of your recess, in this instance 46mm, and cut a tenon this diameter into the end 2.5mm of timber. Remove the timber from the lathe, try for fit, and adjust as necessary
Woodturner shaping wood on a lathe machine.
13. Draw a reference mark approximately 10mm in from the chuck end of the timber. Next, using a spindle roughing gouge, taper from this mark to the 52mm diameter tenon
Woodturning on a lathe with chisel guidance.
14. Using a 1⁄2in fingernail profile spindle gouge, cut a cove between the base and the top, taking care not to reduce the diameter of the top section, the narrowest part of the cove being approximately 19mm diameter. To finish the foot slightly taper the rim towards the bottom
15. Sand the spindles using the same abrasives as previously used, and use the same finishing products to produce a glossy shine
Woodturning on a lathe machine close-up
16. Mount the spindle on the lathe using the chucking tenon cut earlier – the 3mm flat section around the tenon should lay flat against the chuck – bring the tail drive up for extra support until most of the underneath has been shaped and finished. Position the toolrest across the underneath of the foot and, using a 38 in fingernail profile spindle gouge, true up the surface and slightly undercut as far as the tail drive will allow. Sand this area fully before removing the tail drive to gently remove the final pip of timber. Finish with the same products as previously used. Finally, glue the two pieces together, making sure the grain patterns are aligned

Hand Hints

For a more accurate placement of the holes around the bowl, position the toolrest as close to the bowl face as possible and place the lead of your pencil between this gap to draw the reference mark. By positioning the pencil each time in this position the spacing will be more accurate.

When drilling the 24 holes. Set the drill depth on your pillar drill to approximately 20mm to ensure the holes are all drilled deep enough. By using cut and polish before applying a wax finish to your timber you will achieve a far smoother finish.

Metal plate with drilled circular holes and wooden tool.
Jig for drilling the holes around your bowl

Hole Drilling Jig

If you plan to make several of these items for sale at a craft fair for example, then a jig like the one in the picture could be made to speed up the process of drilling the holes. First, a centre hole is drilled into the top of the bowl the same size as the jig dowel. Place the jig over the timber and locate the dowel through the jig and into the hole in the timber. This should hold the jig securely enough to drill through the jig using a pillar drill and a 2mm drill bit.

Further reading

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