Making of a Wooden Bowl New England Snippets

New England Snippets
Making of a Bowl

*Dump - a favorite weekend meeting place for locals in many towns...kind of a free exchange: bring a
lamp or two; pick up a chair or sled; chat with friends and neighbors; let the dogs run together; on
very nice days, maybe a Bloody Mary and a picnic.

Sadly, no more. Dumps have been closed, replaced by mechanized "Transfer Stations." I recognize
the concern for health, but what can replace the camaraderie and serendipity of discovery among
friends? In 1955, I contracted polio. I was told it was a "rich man's disease" - that people in
poorer areas had built up an immunity to the virus. And that is why I don't spend money on hundreds
of dollars worth of anti-bacterial, anti-fungus, anti-this and that products. The only time I get a
cold is when someone sneezes or coughs at me. I've spent 70+ years building up a marvellous
immunity and am enjoying it with impunity. So be it!

The
Mansfield
Bowl
with
Walnut
Rim

The finish to Woodbury’s works is
also a many-step process. From
sanding and sealing, coloring and
lacquering. tjen finally polishing, a
coat is built up that is both durable
and easy to maintain. Woodbury’s
recommends hand washing and
immediately towel drying. Treat it like
you would any piece of art – No
dishwasher and no abrasives, and
your treasure will serve you for years.

Since its inception in 1941, Woodbury of Vermont has been a proponent of protecting the environment.
The original bowls were turned from solid blocks of wood – a very inefficient use of raw materials - both
the lumber and the energy used in kiln drying such large pieces. This called for a new process.

Now, the highly experienced wood turners take a board of kiln dried rough sawn lumber, hand-guide it through a 28-step
process and finish with the exquisite bowls, plates and other wooden artful pieces you see on these pages. These photos
will show you some of the steps in that process.

Your guide will be Glenn Bassett, a master of his craft, having been with Woodbury for 25 years.

Click on an image for enlargement.

Yellow birch is the wood of choice for its many
qualities that adapt it to Woodbury’s process –
“aesthetic appeal, stability, compatibility and
contrast, acceptance of finishes, and durability.”
Black walnut is used for contrast,. Both woods
are indigenous to Vermont, but a need for supply
has required bringing some in from other New
England states. The best source for black
walnut is now Pennsylvania -
But the craftsmanship remains purely Vermont.

Glenn shows us how the original square blocks are rounded. A hole has been drilled in the center of
the raw block, which is then positioned over a small nail protruding from the saw's bed. As the blade
cuts, the woodworker slowly turns the block on the nail, thereby cutting off the corners. The size of the
final round is determined by the distance between the blade and the turning nail. You can see a cut-off
corner standing on the table and a smaller round hanging on the side of the saw at top left. Glenn
does not have the saw on for this photo (he wore his face mask for all the action photos...a federal
safety requirement.)

Most rounds are made from this large, original round. To made graduated rounds, the big one is
taken to the next machine that cuts it much like a doughnut cutter - a hole within a hole.

As the blue hose picks up
the sawdust and whisks it
off to a collector, the blades
cut concentric rings in the
round blank. On the right,
you can see how they stack
up, glued, ready to be
formed into a bowl.

Glenn shows the raw rings,
stacked and glued, that with
lots of lathe work will become
the beautiful Mansfield Bowl
shown on the top of this page
and at this link:
Mansfield Bowls

A table of rings
showing the
various sizes
before assembly

The "raw" bowl on the table
becomes the finished
Mansfield Bowl in Glenn's
right hand (on the left -
confused planning on my
part.)

Note top ring of walnut.

The Glue Press - Several
small bowls are piled
together, top to top and
bottom to bottom, to get their
glued rings firmly bonded.

They are in a heavy metal
frame with a regular car jack
applying pressure at the top.

In the last step
before being "turned"
into the Mansfield
Bowl, Glenn centers
the blank on a drill
press and puts in a
small guide hole for
the chisel stage.

8

9

Photos 8 & 9 show
where the years of
perfecting the bowl
turner's art are put to
use.

As Glenn's right hand
holds the guide
(centered on that hole
he just drilled), his left
hand guides the chisel
with just the right
amount of pressure to
carve out the inside of
the bowl as it spins
around on the lathe -
and we watched the
chips fly from behind a
plexiglass window.

Fully formed, these bowls wait to be taken
away for their final sanding prior to being
sent to a dust-free room where Betty Clark
(a 23 year employee at Woodbury) will give
them her expert's touch at finishing and, in
some cases coloring, before they are
ready to be packed and shipped to you.

From beginning to end, Woodbury of Vermont's philosophy has
been guided by concerns for the sustainability of our environment.
This is evidenced in the whole system of manufacture of their
bowls - wasting not a bit of the wood by building up rather than
taking down - right to the very end and beyond. By an incredible
system of hoses - blue hoses everywhere - the sawdust is sucked
up and blown out into the giant hopper you see above. From there,
it is dumped into a trailer, covered with a tarp, and carted to its final
resting place.

That too is part of the recycling process. Above, you see Glenn
talking to Bernie Guillemette, a farmer from nearby Shelburne Pond
area, who will haul the load back to his dairy farm for use in the
barns.

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