• January 2026 Turning Challenge: Turned and Bent! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Phil Hamel, People's Choice in the December 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Larry Copas for "Magnetic Yarn Spinner" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 12, 2026 (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.

"Carving" Tripod Feet on Bowl Bottom

Joined
Jun 18, 2023
Messages
102
Likes
61
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Recent Richard Raffan Youtube video inspiring me to try "carving" three feet on bottom of green wood bowl I'll be turning in the next few days. I don't recognize the thick blue pad he is using, may be a product found in Australia. If anyone has done this here in the states, what did you find to abrade green wood, hopefully on right angle drill, without being too aggressive? Thank you.
 
Recent Richard Raffan Youtube video inspiring me to try "carving" three feet on bottom of green wood bowl

Can you post a link to the video you mentioned? I'd like to see what he does! Might be fun to try it.

About 10 years ago John Lucas came to the Knoxville club to show us how he makes bowls with carved handles and feet. Inspired me to make one. Unfortunately I chose dry Bradford Pear wood which is quite hard so it took a LONG time to carve and smooth. Did some stippled texturing too. I think I showed these photos before:

The turning:
1768268970395.jpeg

The end result. Mistakes were made. Expectations adjusted.
Not entirely thrilled with the result (or the perspective of the large photo) but it's done.
1768269034485.jpeg

JKJ
 
Going from memory, it may be something like this wheel, a sanding flap wheel. Versions are available for drills and angle grinders.

Another example-

And other sources... I've never used them, but watching Raffan, they work fast and show no mercy. Experiment, and master them on practice wood before going at them on a keeper project. Raffan uses those in several projects, search his name and that bowl style on youtube for more videos. In some, he shows detailed methods of their use.
 
DSC00736.JPGDSC00748.JPGDSC00750.JPG
This is an end grain bowl still mounted for doing the outside turning. The first picture is the tenon used to hold it for doing the inside and after the inside was complete I put it into a brown paper bag to slowly dry. The second photo after drying and removing the tenon marking the feet. The third photo shows the feet cut and beginning to remove the material between the feet.
 
Back
Top