Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotary 'Bowled' Over

We've all seen bowls made out of wood.

We've noticed the grain and smoothness of the bowls and we've all wondered how it was done.

It would seem logical to assume a circular piece would be cut out of a log roughly the size of the bowl and shaped from there.

This assumption, though, would be decidedly wrong.

Ed Shepherd of De Queen told the Gurdon Rotary Club last week the proper way to make a wooden bowl.

First off is finding a downed tree big enough. Then, sections are cut out of the log and cut in half.

He said a maul can't be used, because it leaves a split in the wood and this split will ruin the bowl. This means the section must be sawed in half.

But two bowls can then be made from one section of wood.

The next step is cutting out a circular piece from the tree section. This piece is then shaped into a rough bowl with a chisel and put away to dry.

Shepherd said the wood can't be dried too quickly or it will split and can't be used. He told the club members these rough bowls normally sit up to dry for about a year.

When the wood has aged properly, he said, it is then reshaped into a bowl for finishing. When it's turned out it is waxed and oiled with a citrus-based oil.

At this point the bowl is ready for use.

All the bowls Shepherd makes are serviceable, as he used to sell them at craft shows. He said many wives have asked him to make special bowls their husbands could use for popcorn.

"There's a lot of chainsaw work involved," he said of the process, "and you need to take proper safety precautions."

One of the major precautions to be taken is having some type of breathing apparatus when sanding the bowls to keep the dust out of the lungs.

It's also important, he said, to keep the work area cleaned up so mold doesn't form from the shavings.

Shepherd begins the sanding process with an 80 grit paper, working down to an extremely fine 1200 grit for smoothing.

It's also important to watch out for objects in the wood. Shepherd has found bullets, nails, railroad spikes and, strangely, horseshoes in trees he's worked with.

Most of the bowls he makes are a good size for salad, but the size will depend on the tree. Some of the largest bowls Shepherd has made are 18.5 inches in diameter.

He was trained as a forester and worked for Weyerhaeuser in De Queen.

Always having an interest in wood, he subscribed to woodworking magazines. When Shepherd saw how to make a wooden bowl in one, he decided to try it for himself.

The first attempt didn't turn out as planned, so he tracked down a man in Vermont who teaches the craft.

There he learned the basics of turning the wood and what tools would be required to make bowls.

The rest is history.