If you want to find the easiest way to do a job,
give it to a lazy man. I might just be a contender! This is an
experiment to see if I can avoid the laborious task of drilling and
shaping all the holes with a Dremel.
I have had this warped piece of Tulip wood for
some time. I think it's settled down now and unlikely to move any more
so I'm going to use it as a test piece for a project I have in mind. As
it's warped and very slim I'm mounting it with a glue chuck so I can
utilise as much of it's 27mm thickness as I can.
I want the rim to sit a little low of the lip of
the bowl so I take it down a few millimetres. When I have the shape I'm
happy with I remove some of the bulk from the back. And take the rim
down to around 5mm thick with the parting tool all the while eyeballing
the bed rails to help me stay straight. I sand down to 320 grit and to a
fine finish with Yorkshire Grit.
On the scroll saw the spiral blade allows me to
keep the bowl level by tucking my fingers under the rim. Something I
could not do if I had to turn and twist the piece around if I'd used a
straight blade. I cut the holes from the outside edge and work my
way inwards. The spiral blade doubles as a file and I can shape the hole
to my liking and achieve a nice clean line. Once all 125 holes are cut I
sand away all the fuzzes on the underside.
As I don't want the paint to work it's way
through the fibres of the wood and appear where I don't want it, a
liberal coating of sanding sealer is applied on the insides of the
holes. That should do the job. I remove and globs of sealer from the
holes with the airline before moving on to the colour which is Cadmium
Red, an Artists colour which is stable and light fast.
A good couple of coats with spray lacquer makes
the wood and colour sing together. Some Yorkshire grit puts a super
shine on the finish and the job's a good'un.
