• July 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn a Multi-axis Weed Pot! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Kent Reisdorph for "Sugarberry Bowl" being selected as Turning of the Week for July 14, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Bowl Blank Sources?

Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
1,231
Likes
667
Location
Evanston, IL USA
I have a customer that wants two walnut salad bowls. I sold my last one yesterday. Since I sold my place in the woods of Wisconsin, my access to fresh logs is whatever the local city forester is cutting. I don't need anything highly figured or burled. I'd just like to get a few 12" blanks that will finish out with balanced grain.
Any recommendations for sources of good blanks?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Some Ebay sellers have pretty good prices on 12x12 salad bowl blanks. Some with free shipping. Just make sure they are kiln dried and not green.
 
I have a customer that wants two walnut salad bowls. I sold my last one yesterday. I don't need anything highly figured or burled. I'd just like to get a few 12" blanks that will finish out with balanced grain.
Any recommendations for sources of good blanks?

Thanks.
I have ordered walnut from https://www.turningblanks.net/ as well as other species several times. Never disappointed. But limited selection in larger diameters as I recall.
 
I have ordered walnut from https://www.turningblanks.net/ as well as other species several times. Never disappointed. But limited selection in larger diameters as I recall.
Good to hear a positive review. These guys are a reasonable drive from me in SC. If I didn't already have stacks of blanks, I would have already driven down there to stock up. On my agenda at some point.

Cook Woods in Oregon always has great wood and customer service for me, but I don't see any blanks that big on their website either. What about Etsy?
 
I have ordered walnut from https://www.turningblanks.net/ as well as other species several times. Never disappointed. But limited selection in larger diameters as I recall.
I've bought from them too and gotten very nice wood. Shipping these days is outrageous though. (not their fault). You might want to call them rather than rely on their website. Right now it's only showing 2" thick blanks in the diameter you're looking for. I'll bet they have 4-5" though. Good people.
 
Tom - have you tried Randy Johnson, at Johnson Wood Products in Iowa? He has some of the best Walnut stock around. I've bought some spindle stock from him, but not any large bowl blanks, but I believe he has a nice variety of all shapes and sizes. http://johnsonwoodproducts.com/home
 
Check out www.woodbarter.com forums site. A great place for wood workers to sell/buy/trade wood among each other to avoid the retail markup. Also, there are discussion forums to talk about anything wood related. Several turners here are on also this forum.
 
I'm just now finishing converting a walnut tree to roughed out bowls. It's all green, though.
 
Are there any tree services in your area? My neighbor does tree work part-time. He has a stack of hackberry, part is spalted, and red oak in his driveway. I gaze at it but my wife gives me The Look which silently states, "No!"
 
Back
Top