Review: Chris Parker – Sunday 19th October, 2025

Note: It is every woodturner’s responsibility to consider the appropriate personal protection equipment required for a given task in your own working environment. Chris used a full head mask when turning the burr winged bowl as such wood has a tendency for pieces to come loose. The audience was protected by a screen. It is always advisable to wear a minimum of protective glasses and better still a face mask. Respiratory protection is also essential.

Honey dipper

Chris used an ash spindle blank. Round using a spindle roughing gouge. Then smooth using the gouge like a skew.

Reduce the size of the piece at the tailstock end. Use a thin parting tool to make six equally spaced grooves. Next shape the handle. Chris used the roughing gouge but you could also use a spindle gouge. Be sure to cut downhill. Take the centre down to about 12mm.

Then shape the dipper part. The first three grooves are turned downhill towards the centre and the other three are turned downhill towards the tailstock.

Make some decorations on the handle. Chris used a bead former but you can make marks with a skew or parting tool. Chris would normally burn in the marks.

Finally shape both ends. Reduce the dipper end to a small nub. Part off. Sand away the nub. Finish with food safe finishing oil.

Decorative techniques

Chris used a Sycamore spindle blank. A tenon is created between centres and the piece is held in a chuck. Chris demonstrated some decorative techniques using an Arbortech mini carver and Manpa cutters. Cut at centre height with a lathe speed of 500rpm.

Chris also demonstrated the Sorby texturing tools which you can borrow from the Club Tool library.

Chris decorated the base using a burr cutter in a Dremel type tool.

Decorated Burr winged bowl

Chris used a prepared piece of burr oak. Pieces are cut out at each end to reduce the weight. The desired centre and chuck recess are marked with a pencil.

Hold between a steb centre and a cone centre. Cut a tenon. Hold in the chuck. Shape using a bowl gouge and a negative rake scraper. Reverse and hold in the chuck. Create a recess for the chuck.

Hold by a chuck using the recess. Decorate the face using a burr tool. Shape as much as you can with tailstock support. Remove the tailstock.

Mark using a pencil jig and the indexing system to get a number of equally spaced radial lines. Use the Arbortech with the Manpa cutter to roughly hollow out along the pencil lines. Go gently!

Hollow out a small bowl using a spindle gouge. Remember there is a recess behind. Touch up using a smaller burr. Chris undercut the rim of the bowl using a small skew. Then refined the shape of the bowl. Sand and seal the bowl. Reverse and hold in the chuck using the undercut. Shape the bottom using gentle cuts with a spindle gouge. We want a nice outer bowl shape to match the other side. Use the Burr tool to finish the bottom.

Crackle Effect Bowl

Chris used an 8” Sycamore bowl blank held between a steb and a cone centre. Smooth the face and mark for a recess. Reverse mount in a chuck using the recess. Use the tailstock for extra support. Round the edge using a bowl gouge. Mark approximately a third from the edge and create a decorative band using a small negative rake scraper. Texture the band using the large Sorby Texturing Tool (lathe at 900rpm). Chris created an orange peel texture in middle using the double bevel tool.

Reverse the piece again and hold in a chuck. Chris smoothed the face and then showed us a few texturing effects you can create using the Arbortech tool. Chris then smoothed the surface again. Shape the piece using a gouge and negative rake scraper. Apply spray lacquer as a sealer.