Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The big debate with bowl making: What to do when a bowl cracks?

I have several solutions on what to do with a bowl if it cracks.  I feel it really depends one the bowl and on the crack.  Of course If it is a large enough crack  it gets thrown in with the firewood.  However, most cracks are often quite minor and can either be fixed or left alone.

Spoon/thumb rest
Scalloped
The most common thing to do with a crack, of most bowl makers I have met, is to either sand down the edge to a spoon/thumb rest or sand down the edges to scallop the bowl.  Which method to use depends mostly on the shape of the bowl.  It is much easier to scallop a rounded bowl then it is to scallop of squared bowl.
Another major method I have seen used, but have not done myself yet, on a little bit larger cracks is to cut out a piece of the bowl containing the crack and then insert a dog bone, butterfly, of bow tie shaped piece of wood to pull the crack, filled with glue, tight and sand smooth.  On smaller cracks often the crack is just filled with glue and sanded smooth.
I have also just left a crack in a bowl.  This often depends on the type of bowl I have made and who I am trying to sell this bowl to.  Sometimes a few small minor cracks can help a bowl look more rustic or antique depending on the buyers taste.  I often go for the rustic/worn look with bowls that I intend to sell to my fellow reenactors.
So the debate still remains: What do you do when a bowl cracks? There are many options to choose from and some of them may not work as well as others.

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