Turned wooden bowls

Turning wooden bowls has been practiced for thousands of years. It originated with simple tools being used to make utility bowls for food storage and preparation. Since then the equipment available for woodturning may have improved but the basic principles are still the same.

Simple wooden bowls

A simple turned wooden bowl shows off the beauty of the wood and always seems a natural use for a natural material. The flowing curves give a simple elegance that echoes the characteristics of the wood and makes good use of what nature gave us.
Each wooden bowl shown here has been turned and finished by hand and each one is unique. Some bowls are turned to be thin and delicate and others are thicker and more robust. The characteristics of the wood are used to define the form of the turned bowl.

Spalted wood

Some of the turned wooden bowls are made from spalted timber. The term “spalted” is a term which describes wood affected by the natural process of fungal attack. If caught at the right stage, the fungal attack leaves striking colours and lines without significantly degrading the structure of the wood. Once the moisture content in the wood has been reduced to levels found in a normal indoor household environment, the fungus is no longer able to survive and the process is halted. Spalted timber is often used for woodturning because of the enhanced appearance of the wood.
Brown oak is also caused by fungus. In this case, the beefsteak fungus (fistulina hepatica) is the culprit. The fungus lives on the outside of the oak tree and feeds from the sapwood. The fungus passes its waste products back into the tree and this reacts with the tannin in the wood to produce the rich brown colour sought after by many woodturners.

Decorative bowls

Some of the turned wooden bowls here are intended to be purely decorative but some may be used as fruit bowls or salad bowls. Please check before you buy if you are intending to use the bowl for food.
Woodturning finishes used are either wax or oil based. A wax finish is suitable for either decorative use or as a fruit bowl but will not withstand washing. A food safe oil based finish (made from natural plant extracts) is suitable for use as a salad bowl, fruit bowl or purely decorative and will withstand washing but it is not advisable to leave a wooden bowl immersed in water for any length of time.

The natural edge turned wooden bowls are made by leaving the edge of the trunk, either with or without bark, as the edge of the bowl. Turning wooden bowls like these is a little more difficult but the finished result makes the extra effort worthwhile.

Turned wooden bowls can be made to order in a wood of your choice. Please enquire for prices and availability.
Alternatively, check the woodturning gallery page or woodturning shop for turned wood bowls in stock.