
Here is my bowl from a 2×4.
I made it for the “Nutmeg Woodturners 2×4 Challenge” on January 14th, 2019.
The bowl is 3-1/8″ diameter by 1-1/4″ tall. The base is 7/8″ diameter. Wall thickness is roughly 1/8″. It was made out of a Douglas Fir 2×4 blank. The blank was actually 3.5″ x 3.5″ x 1.5″.
I am making this blog entry because I want to show people how to use a glue block (see below) and I want to encourage all the Nutmeg Club members to get busy and make something before our January 14th, 2019 meeting.
Also, I want to remind people of 2 important points.
1. People are encourage to explore different rim options and bowl shapes. The magazine article is just one option of many.
2. People are encourage to bring in multiple bowls. Each bowl gets a ticket for the raffle. However, there is 6 ticket limit per person.
I am definitely going to bring more than 1 bowl!
The Nutmeg 2×4 Challenge

I proposed the Nutmeg 2×4 Challenge for our “Nutmeg Woodturners Club” in Brookfield CT, after reading an article in a recent AAW Woodturning Fundamentals on line magazine. I liked the article because it talked about turning bowls out of ordinary soft wood 2x4s (Pine, Spruce, Douglas Fir). I thought, well here is something that anyone can do because every has access to soft wood 2x4s. You can do it on any lathe. Mini Lathe, etc. It seems easy, so everyone will give it a go. However, it’s not that easy, so it will challenge our experienced people. People are going to learn that cutting soft wood CLEANLY is not easy!
The article was “2×4 Softwood Bowl Puts You on Top of Grain Direction” by Walt Wager in the August 2018 AAW Woodturning FUNdementals on line magazine. Click here for the article.
After discussion at a club meeting, I sent out an email to all Nutmeg Members to get the challenge started. The email is attached to the end of this blog entry.
Use A Glue Block & Part the Bowl Off
The above magazine article does not use a glue block. I want to show people how to use a glue block. Because, I think a glue block makes things a lot easier. With a glue block you can just part the bowl off and finish up the bottom with a carving chisel. You don’t need to jam chuck the bowl to finish the bowl. Jam chucking can be a problem for new people.
Here is how I turned my bowl for the 2×4 challenge.
I looked around out back and found a nice Douglas Fir (DF) 2×4 scrap that I
could use for bowls. The top piece in photo.
I also found some Spruce 2×4 scraps that I could use for glue
blocks. Bottom pieces in photo.
Tip: Douglas Fir is one of the harder soft woods that you can
purchase from local store. It is harder than Spruce or Pine. Thus it is
easier to cut cleanly with a bowl gouge. Thus less sanding. Thus a good
choice! It often has nice strong grain lines that make attractive pieces.
Note: Here I can use a softwood glue block, because my blank is
softwood. Normally, I recommend using hardwood (Poplar, Maple, Cherry, etc)
for glue blocks.
Here I have cut out my blanks. My DF 2×4 was 3.5" wide by 1.5"
tall. I cut my DF blanks 3.75" long to making centering easier (less
fussy).
I cut my Spruce 2x4s into 3" x 3" blocks that are
1-1/2" tall. You really want the blocks to be 1-1/2" tall, to
make your life easier. See latter photos. Only 3" to make gluing
easier.
Use any Yellow or White Wood Glue. In photo, I have spread a LIBERAL coat
of glue with a plastic scrap.
When I put the blocks together I use an old trick. I rub the blocks
around until the glue sets up a little. Then position them. I don't
need to fuss with clamps.
I wait overnight for the glue to fully cure.
NO SUPER GLUE Super glue does not work well for glue blocks. If you
just spread it on and then spray with accelerator around the outside it
does not work! The accelerator only goes in like a 1/2" inch. After
that the glue stays wet. Sooner or latter the block breaks off. Some times
you can get away with using super glue if you spread it on one half, then
spray accelerator on the other half. Then stick the half's together
while praying they line up correctly. Because, the glue is going to set up
instantly.
Here I have cut a tenon on the bottom of my glue block. The tenon is
roughly 1/4" deep with a 1/4" wide flange for the front of my
chuck jaws to land on.
I turned the glue block down to 3".
I just jammed the bowl blank up against the chuck. It is being held
there by pressure from the tailstock. The block is not attached to the
chuck.
Use a bowl gouge and/or parting tool to cut the tenon like they say
in the magazine article.
Cut the Inside (Yea, Inside First)
Here I have mounted the piece in the chuck via the tenon I cut in previous
step. Then I made the blank round with my 1/2" bowl gouge. Like they
show in magazine article.
Then I have started to cut the inside shape with my 1/2" bowl
goug
I turn the inside of my bowls first! Latter, I turn the outside to
match the inside. This is EASIER! Less mental stress!
Turning on the inside of a bowl is always a LOT HARDER than turning
on the outside. On the inside you have to swing the tool handle a lot more
thru a long arc while reaching out over the lathe bed. Doing this when the
bowl walls are getting thin, because you already turned the outside is a
receipt for disaster! The walls flex, etc. It's just all wrong. You
should turn the inside first. Get the hard part over, early, while the bowl
walls are still thick and therefore forgiving.
1/2″ Bowl Gouge with a Double Bevel
This is a small bowl. But, I still use my standard full size set of tools.
A 1/2" bowl gouge, a 1/2" detail gouge and a 1/8" parting
tool.
Going to a smaller bowl gouge because we are turning a small bowl
is a NOT a good idea! Smaller tools (like a 3/8" bowl gouge) flex to
much because the tool shank is less than 1/2".
The best solution for small bowls is a 1/2" bowl gouge with a
double bevel. The second bevel cuts the heel off of the gouge. So the
primary bevel is smaller and thus can turn faster inside of a small bowl.
Like my bowl gouge in photo. There are also, some good photos of double
bevel bowl gouge in magazine article.
I create the second bevel by extending the tip of the gouge an
extra 1" beyond the end of my sharpening jig after sharpening the
primary bevel. i.e. if primary bevel is created with tip sticking 2"
out of sharpening jig, then secondary bevel is 3" sticking out.
Note: In this photo you can also see a lot of cracks in my blank.
This blank is really small, so I decided to take a chance. Turn away the
cracks. I was stupid, really stupid. I brought a nice DF 2×4 in from my
shed out back. My damp shed! I then cut it into blanks. Glued on some glue
blocks. Then I put the blocks in my furnace room while the glue dried
overnight. The damp wood dried out and cracked! Err… what an idiot! Will
I never learn. Fortunately, the cracks did not go to deep.
Here is the inside of my bowl, nice and clean. Finally pass was with a nice
freshly sharpened bowl gouge. See previous photo. I took several final
passes. Each pass removed just a little wood at a time (like 1/8" or
even 1/16" of inch) so I did not create a lot of torn grain that needs
to be sanded out. I also just floated along on the bevel, rather than
pushing in hard.
I decided to go with a shallow roman ogee bowl shape. Rather than a
deep cereal bowl shape, like in magazine. The ogee shape is easier and more
elegant in my not so humble opinion. See photo of finished bowl above.
Here I am roughing out the outside shape of the bowl. I cut thru the glue
block AS NEEDED to make room to work.
I am still using my 1/2" bowl gouge.
I used a 1-1/2" tall glue block to give me room to work here
on the chuck side of the bowl. It will also give me room to part off
latter.
Here I have inserted a golf ball wrapper in a paper towel for padding on
the tailstock side. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the golf ball so it just
slips over the threads on the live center.
The golf ball supports the walls on the bowl. It allows me to make
the walls 1/8" thick with out a lot of vibration. This is another good
reason why you should cut the inside of the bowl first, rather than the
outside.
The bowl shape is coming along nicely. I have left room on the
bottom for a foot, that I am starting to form.
Here is a close up of the Gage't in action. To the right of the brass
ball on the left you can see to gold bands and 1 black band showing between
the brass ball and blue plastic. Each band is 1/16".
3 bands are showing. 3 times 1/16" is 3/16". Thus the
wall thickness is 3/16" at about 3/4 of the way down the bowl. At the
edge we can visually see the wall thickness is only 1/8". Thus the
wall thickness is perfect, on course!
A Gage't is not cheap and in this small bowl you can just use
your fingers. But, I really like the Gage't. In bigger bowls, I have
found it to be a huge help to students. I often still use it, my self. I
encourage all my students to get one. In the end you will spend a lot less
money on screwed up bowl blanks.
Full Disclosure: Keith Thompson lives near me and is a friend. I
don't get any kick backs from Keith. I had to pay full price for this
Gage't.
Here I am creating the foot using my 1/2" double bevel detail gouge.
To the right of the detail gouge in photo you can see I cut a nice clean
tight junction between the foot and sides of bowl. The sharp point on
detail gouge can easily do this. The round point on a bowl gouge can't
get in there nice and tight.
I am also getting ready to part off. I have created space on left
of detail gouge to part the bowl off. A nice 1-1/2" thick glue block
gives me lots of room here.
Here, I decided to do something really stupid. Part of with the detail gouge. I knew there was a chance the sharp point on the detail gouge would catch and skate like a skew. And well, it did! I screwed it up good!
Here I am doing it right. I got my 1/8" wide parting tool and I am
parting the bowl off.
A nice 1-1/2" thick glue block gives me lots of room here. I
could cut the glue back some more, if I needed more space.
It looks like, I wasted 1/4" of my bowl blank height. I could
have made my bowl 1/4" deeper. The next one will be better.
One of the great things about these small bowls is, you turn another one in no time. My second bowl is on the left. I refined the shape on this one a little more. More of an ogee shape. I used the extra 1/4" of depth to make a smaller foot. I really like this bowl. However, the ogee could be a little better.
Nutmeg Challenge History

From time, to time, our Nutmeg Woodturners Club in Brookfield CT, likes to have a “member challenge”. Where we challenge all the members to go home and make something. Then bring it to the next club meeting for show and tell. We give out a prize to encourage participation.
Participation is the name of the game! So there is no judging! We really want everyone to bring in something regardless of their skill level. Thus, the prize is awarded via random drawing. If you bring in something, anything, you get a ticket for the prize drawing.
Our club has done this once a year (or so) for a long time. It works good! We get lots of participation and it is fun to see what people create.
New people often don’t have access to hardwood. Thus, in the past our Nutmeg Woodturners Club has passed out wood to get the challenge started. “What can people make with a 10″ x 10″ x 2″ chunk of maple wood?”
The club purchases all the wood blanks in advance. Predicting how many blanks we need is a bit tricky, but in the end it all seem to work out. We hand out the blanks at a meeting. People pay $10 for a blank. At the next meeting you get $5 back if you bring back a finished piece. You are also get a ticket for a random prize drawing. The prize is something like a $100 Gift Certificate. Club dues fund the cost of the prize and part of the cost for the wood.
But, not this time. 2x4s are easy to obtain. Thus everyone has been asked to supply there own 2×4. See copy of email below.
Challenge Email
Here is the email I sent out to all Nutmeg Club members to get the challenge started.
From: Nutmeg Woodturners
Subject: Nutmeg 2×4 Challenge. Bring in pieces for January, 14th, 2019 Meeting.
To: Nutmeg Woodturners
The Nutmeg 2×4 Challenge is based on a recent AAW Turning Fundamentals Mag that had an article on turning bowls out of Pine (soft wood) 2x4s. I have attached PDF.
People should turn bowls for the challenge and bring them to the Monday January 14th, 2019 Nutmeg meeting.
Everyone who brings in a bowl gets a ticket for random drawing for prize.
The prize is a $50 Craft Supplies gift certificate provided by the club.
People supply there own wood. Any soft wood from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Pine, Douglas Fir, etc. NO Hardwoods! No Poplar, Cherry, Maple, etc. NO pressure treated wood!
NO glue! i.e. you can NOT glue up 2x4s into a bigger blank. Thus, people would be making small bowls. Like the magazine article.
Bowls must fit within a 4″ x 4″ x 2″ box.
Paint, stain, burning and other surface enhancements are allowed.
People are encourage to explore different rim options and bowl shapes. The magazine article is just one option of many.
People are encourage to bring in multiple bowls. Each bowl gets a ticket for the raffle. However, there is 6 ticket limit per person.
People can turn plates, hollow forms, boxes or bowls. They must fit within a 4″ x 4″ x 2″ box. NO glue!
You CAN glue on a glue block to mount your 2×4 on the lathe. NO glue is allowed in the finished piece!
P.S. I love snow! Please pray for more snow!
Carl Ford
carl@carlford.us
(PLEASE do NOT reply to news@nutmegwoodturners.org. This email address is not monitored by anyone on a regular basis. Send any replies to carl@carlford.us).