Woodturning is said to be the safest form of woodworking, that said it can still be dangerous and care should be taken at all times

The methods and procedures I show here are what I do at the moment and feel safe doing, I am not suggesting that you should do things the same way, that is up to you, if you don’t feel safe doing it one way find another way of doing it.

Above all take care and remember if this is your hobby it is supposed to be fun so enjoy it.

This is a fun project and will keep people guessing as to how you did it.

The first thing you need is a cube of wood to a size to fit in your jaws.

Other items I use are 4 strips of MDF the same size as the cube, a pair of dividers and a profile gauge or cardboard template.

Mount the wood in the jaws as below using the MDF to protect the wood from marks making sure you don’t extend the jaws too far, if you have Cole jaws you can use those instead.

Sand each face to a finish, it is easier to do it at this stage than later when you will have some thin pieces which will wear away easily.

When all 6 sides are sanded mark the diameter of the bowl on one side using the dividers and turn out the bowl to your desired shape or to your template if using one.   Remember that each side is going to have a bowl so be careful you don’t take too much out and go through the sides when you turn the other bowls.

If using a profile gauge now is the time to use it to get a profile for the other bowls.

Now sand the bowl and finish that face.

Now turn the block round and do the next face and repeat until all six sides are turned.   You now have six bowls in one with no visible means of holding it.

All material on this site is the copyright of John Taylor unless otherwise stated