The Amazing

Tablesaw
Bowl
Its just like sawing
a cove molding,
but now the
wood is round.
by Richard Tendick
YOURE KIDDING ME! Tats
everybodys frst reaction when
I tell them that Ive fgured out
a way to make a bowl on the
tablesaw.
Ten they ask, Isnt it dan-
gerous? Believe me, if it were,
I wouldnt be writing about it.
As long as you use my jigs and
follow the simple instructions
below to the letter, youll be
perfectly fne.
Now to the harder question:
Why do it? If you dont have a
lathe, the answer is obvious. You
really dont have to buy one if all
you want to do is make a bowl.
But if you do have a lathe, Ill
think youll be intrigued enough
by this process to give it a try. Its
really amazing!
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58 AmericanWoodworker.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 2
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A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 2 AmericanWoodworker.com 59
Make the blank
I designed these jigs for 8" x 8" turning blanks that are 3"
thick (see Source, page 60). Blanks of this size are widely
available and come in a variety of species. (Te bowl shown
here is made from padauk). I prefer to use wood that is thor-
oughly drywet wood can clog up the jigs and might rust
your saw. Many blanks arent dry enough; I recommend set-
ting them aside until they are as dry as kiln-dried wood.
Caution: Dont use cracked or knotty wood for making
this bowl. It could break apart during the sawing operations.
In any case, wear safety glasses, goggles or a face shield.
Flatten both sides of the blank with a belt sander,
electric plane or hand plane, or by using a thickness planer.
If you use a planer, temporarily fasten 3/4" x 3" x 16" boards
to both sides of the blank, to efectively lengthen the piece.
On most planers, its not safe to mill pieces that are less than
12" long.
Cut the blank into a 7-5/8" dia. circle (Photo 1). When
using the bowl-making jigs, youll get the best results if
the blank is perfectly round. Cutting the blank freehand
will work OK if youre careful and go slow, but making a
perfect circle is a cinch if you use a circle-cutting jig. You can
buy one or make one yourself (see Source and Adjustable
Circle-Cutting Jig, AW#158, February/March 2012).
Note that the blank is 1/8" smaller in diameter than the
holes in the jigs youll be using.
Using the hollowing jig
First, put an 8" dia. blade in your tablesaw. Any blade will
do, but Ive found that an outer blade from an 8" stacked
dado set leaves the smoothest surface.
Install the hollowing jig (Photo 2 and Fig. A, page 61).
Align the front of the jig with the front edge of your saw,
then tighten the knobs of the locking miter bars. Adjust the
height of the saws blade so the top of the blade is just a bit
below the surface of the table.
Place the blank in the jig. Press down lightly on the blank
with one hand, turn on the saw and raise the blade 1/16" (on
my saw, thats about 1/4 turn of the blade-elevation hand-
wheel). Rotate the blank, clockwise, one complete revolution
(Photo 3). (You might want to make a mark on the blank, so
you can tell when youve turned the blank full circle.)
Keeping one hand on the blank, crank up the blade
another 1/16" and repeat the procedure. Keep raising the
3 4
1 2
Saw the bowl blank as round as possible. I use a circle-cutting
jig, where the blank rotates on a pin like a record on a turntable.
The result is a near-perfect circle.
Install a jig on your tablesaw for hollowing the interior of the
bowl. Tighten two knobs to lock the jig in the miter slot, so it cant
move. Raise the blade so its even with the top of the saw table.
Place the blank in the jig and raise the blade 1/16". Rotate the
blank one revolution. The result will be a dish-shaped, concave
cut. Raise the blade another 1/16" and repeat the procedure.
Remove the blank after a few passes and check your progress.
Keep raising the blade 1/16" at a time until the cut measures
6-1/2" across.
7-5/8" dia.
blank
7-3/4" dia.
hole
Circle-cutting
jig
15942_TableSawBowl_Fv2.indd 59 2/14/12 9:14 PM
60 AmericanWoodworker.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 2
blade until the cut measures 6-1/2" across (Photo 4 and
Fig. B).
Repeat the same process on the opposite side of the
bowl. Stop when the cut measures 2-1/2" across. Tis puts a
fnished look on the bottom of the bowl.
Using the coping jig
For this jig, put a 10" blade in your saw. Again, any blade will
do. A rip blade will make the smoothest surface because its
teeth have fat tops. Adjust the blades height so the top of
the blade is just below the tables surface.
Install the coping jig (Fig. C, p. 62). Be sure to hook it
up to a vacwithout suction, sawdust will clog up the jig.
Align the jig with the front edge of your saw and tighten the
knobs of the locking miter bars. Turn on the saw and raise
the blade until it cuts all the way through the jig, then lower
the blade so the top of the blade sits just below the bases
platform (C).
Place the bowl in the jig. Press down on the bowl,
lightly, with one hand. Turn on the saw and raise the blade
1/16". Sound familiar? Rotate the bowl one complete revo-
lution (Photo 5). Keeping one hand on the bowl, raise the
blade another 1/16" and rotate the bowl again. Repeat the
procedure until the bowls rim is 1/2" thick (Photo 6). Afer
the last cut, leave the blade at that exact height.
To saw the decorative kerfs around the bowl, remove
the bowl and draw 36 equally-spaced lines around its rim.
(Te lines will be about 5/8" apart; step them of with a
compass.) Draw an index mark on the jig, then position the
bowl so one line is opposite the mark. Raise the blade 1/8",
lower it to the same position from where you started, rotate
the bowl to the next line and make another cut (Photo 7 ).
Refne the bowls rim with a rabbet (Photo 8). Put a
rabbeting bit in your router table and adjust its height to cut
even with the bottom of the saw kerfs. You wont be able to
use the bits bearing as a guide; instead, ride the bowl on the
two inside edges of the fence. Adjust the space between the
fences to make a cut thats 1/8" deep.
SOURCE
Rockler, rockler.com, 800-279-4441, 8" x 8" x 3" Turning Blanks, avail-
able in many species; Miter Slot Hardware Kit, #26993, $7.39 ea.;
AccuRight Circle Jig for Bandsaws, #33981, $69.95.
7 8
5 6
Switch to a second jig to shape the outside of the bowl. Like the
previous jig, this one is fixed in place with bars that lock in the
miter slots. Rotate the blank to cut the wood.
Heres what the outside of the bowl will look like as you cut it.
Raise the blade 1/16" at a time until the rim is 1/2" thick.
Saw decorative kerfs. Here, you hold the bowl stationary and
raise and lower the blade 1/8" to make each kerf. Equally-spaced
lines on the rim show you where to position the bowl for each cut.
Rout the bowls rim with a rabbeting bit. Rotate the bowl
counterclockwise, against the rotation of the bit.
Rim
Index mark
Saw kerf
Spacing
lines
Start of
new cut
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A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 2 AmericanWoodworker.com 61
Fig. B Cross Section of the Bowl in the Hollowing Jig
CENTER OF BLADE
FLUSH WITH THE
FRONT EDGE OF
THE SAW
CENTER OF BLADES KERF
CENTER OF MITER SLOT
MITER SLOT LOCKING BAR
A
7-
3
/4" DIA. HOLE
HOLLOWING
JIG
BOWL
BLANK
8" BLADE
2-
1
/2"
6-
1
/2"
7-
5
/8"
Fig. A Hollowing Jig
Making the Hollowing Jig
Cut the base (A) from a flat piece of
plywood or MDF. Draw a line down the
middle of the base (Fig. A). Measure the
distance from the center of your saw
blade to the center of the right-hand miter
slot. Draw a second line down the base.
Measure the distance from the front edge
of the saws table to the center of the saws
arbor. Draw this line across the base.
Draw a 7-3/4" dia. circle from the
intersection of the saw blade lines. Carefully
cut out this circle with a jigsaw, then drill
holes for the miter slot locking bars (see
Source, page 60) and install the hardware.
Youre good to go.
Part Name Qty. Th x W x L
A Base 1 1 3/4" x 16" x 27"
Cutting List for Hollowing Jig
A tablesaw bowl? Watch the video at
AmericanWoodworker.com/WebExtras
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62 AmericanWoodworker.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 2
10" BLADE
1
/2" THICK RIM
DUST
PORT
Part Name Qty. Th x W x L
B Base 2 1 3/4" x 18" x 27"
C Platform 1 3/4" x 12" x 11-1/2" (a)
D Guide 5 3/4" x 12" x 11-1/2" (b)
E Support 4 3/4" x 6" x 6"
F Dustport 1 1/4" x 4" x 6"
Cutting List for Coping Jig
Notes:
a) Miter one end.
b) Miter the ends of all pieces, then crosscut to length as shown in Fig. D.
B
C
D
E
F
CENTERLINE
OF HOLE
CENTER OF
SAW KERF
CENTER OF SAW BLADE
MITER SLOT LOCKING BAR
CENTER OF
MITER SLOT
2 x 3 DUST
COLLECTION
OPENING
DUSTPORT
POCKET
SCREW
5"
1-
1
/4" #8 F.H.
SCREW (TYP.)
BLUNT
CORNERS
8"
6"
12"
45

MITER
7-
3
/4" DIA.
11-
1
/2"
Fig. C Coping Jig
Fig. E Cross Section of the Bowl in the Coping Jig
Fig. D Top and Side Views of Coping Jig
Making the Coping Jig
Start with the base (B). Draw the same three
lines as you did for the coping jig. In addition,
draw one line 5" in front of the center of saw
blade line (Fig. C).
To make the platform (C) and guide pieces
(D), start by sawing six pieces 12" wide by 11-
1/2" long. Saw a 45 bevel on one end of each
piece (Fig. D). Set aside one of these pieces for
the platform. Stack the rest, so the bevels line
up, and crosscut each piece individually, so the
square ends also line up. Glue the stack together.
Mark the center of the hole that will hold the
bowl blank. Saw the hole on the bandsaw, either
freehand or using a circle-cutting jig. Saw off the
sharp corners of the hole. Finally, cut out a 2"
wide by 3" long slot in the end of the platform
for dust extraction, then glue the stack to the
platform. Glue and screw the platform and stack
to the base.
Make the supports (E) and fasten them to
the base. Make the dustport (F) and screw it to
the supports.
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