Segmented Bowl Serving Set - Mahogany, Walnut, Maple

This segmented wood bowl serving set follows the same geometric design as another set I made but from three kinds of wood instead of four. I also went for shades of earth tones instead of the brightly contrasting reds and purples of the other set. This set is my favorite pieces of work to date. The dark wood is walnut, the light wood is maple, and the medium wood is African mahogany. They go together so nicely and complement the woods in almost any kitchen. The bowls were deliberately left a little thicker than my other sets - about 5/16" - so that they can take the stresses of daily use. The glue is waterproof, food-approved, and they're finished with mineral oil and beeswax for a totally food-safe, usable piece of art.

The larger bowl is about 6" high and 10" in diameter. Sold individually, it would be $121.00. The smaller bowls are 3" high and 8" in diameter. Sold individually, they would be $49.00. Ordered as a set, I'll part with it reluctantly for $200.00.

Set Size

Salad Bowl Only $121.00 Serving Bowl Only $49.00 Salad Bowl, 2 Serving Bowls $200.00 Salad Bowl, 4 Serving Bowls $290.00 Salad Bowl, 6 Serving Bowls $380.00

Wood Choices

Maple, Mahogany, Walnut (as shown) Maple, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Walnut Purpleheart, Maple Yellowheart, Purpleheart Maple, Walnut

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Purpleheart Bowl - Oh, and Don't Forget the Bloodwood, Maple, and Walnut

This set was made for a custom order. A customer, originally from Guyana where the people are known for their craftsmanship with purpleheart, was looking for a purpleheart bowl. her Father had promised her one but had passed away before he could get it for her. She had google-searched for a purpleheart bowl, and saw my segmented bowls. She wanted a fuller shape, but the same woods. To emphasize purpleheart, each has a purpleheart base whereas the other set alternates.
The large bowl is 6" high and 10" in diameter. The smaller bowl is 3" high and 8" in diameter.

Price for the set: $450.00

Walnut Fruit Platter or Bowl

This solid walnut platter was made to hold fruit as a table centerpiece. It's hand-turned from four pieces of walnut cut from the same board, to save cost when compared to a single piece of walnut (very expensive in this size) The finished platter is nine inches in diameter, four inches tall, and 3/4 inches deep. I love working with walnut because of the rich hues and the smooth shiny finish that is so rewarding for a job well done. Walnut wood is hard, dense, tight-grained. Cutting it on the lathe is like carving really hard chocolate. It smells kind of sour when cut - I guess that keeps me from wanting to put the shavings on my ice cream... This piece shows both the lighter sapwood and the normal dark heartwood. Walnut has long been a favorite for gun stocks, and also popular for guitar bodies. The finish is mineral oil and beeswax so it's food safe.

Below you can see the heartwood more dramatically, as well as the decorative finish on the base and how it was assembled.

This was made for a customer who had a specific order, but for something similar, including wood, I would charge $55.00.

Segmented Bowl Set - Salad Bowl and Serving Bowls

This hand-turned wood bowl set is a segmented bowl set made from bloodwood, maple, purpleheart, and walnut. The contrasting woods make dramatic and beautiful bowls. The large bowl is 9.5" in daimeter and 5" high. The small bowls are 5.5" in diameter and 3" high. All are finished with mineral oil and beeswax for a food-safe finish. They can be hand-washed and restored with oil and be used over and over for years. Bowls can be ordered individually or as part of a set. If you'd rather have other colors, you can choose from basically any of the woods at Macbeath Hardwood's domestic or exotic pages.

The large bowl pictured is $108.00, and the small bowls are $34.00 each, for a total of $244.00 for the set as pictured.

Wood Serving Bowl - Segmented with Purpleheart, Maple, Bloodwood, and Walnut

This hand-turned wood serving bowl is a segmented bowl made from bloodwood, maple, purpleheart, and walnut, made to be part of a set with a larger salad bowl. The contrasting woods make a dramatic and beautiful bowl. It's 5.5" in daimeter and 3" high, and finished with mineral oil and beeswax for a food-safe finish. It can be hand-washed and restored with oil and be used over and over for years. It can be ordered individually or as part of a set. If you'd rather have other colors, you can choose from basically any of the woods at Macbeath Hardwood's domestic or exotic pages. For segmented bowls, I charge $1.00 per square inch of profile ($16.50) plus $0.50 per piece of wood ($7.50) plus the wood ($10 in this case) so this bowl would be $34.00.

Wood Salad Bowl - Segmented with Purpleheart, Maple, Bloodwood, and Walnut

This hand-turned wood salad bowl is a segmented bowl made from bloodwood, maple, purpleheart, and walnut. The contrasting woods make a dramatic and beautiful bowl. It's 9.5" in daimeter and 5" high, and finished with mineral oil and beeswax for a food-safe finish. It can be hand-washed and restored with oil and be used over and over for years. It can be ordered individually or as part of a set. If you'd rather have other colors, you can choose from basically any of the woods at Macbeath Hardwood's domestic or exotic pages.

For segmented bowls, I charge $1.00 per square inch of profile ($47.50) plus $0.50 per piece of wood ($30.50) plus the wood ($30 in this case) so this bowl would be $108.00.The profile shows the flared design that my wife wanted (this one's hers, but I'd love to make more), while the top view shows the spiraling colors.

Segmented Wood Salad Bowl

This segmented wood salad bowl was a way fun project. Not that it went off without a hitch - for my first segmented bowl, however, not too shabby.

I designed it in AutoCAD at lunch, and went to work. I wanted to go as wide as my lathe would allow (10" diameter) and deep enough for salad. I had some leftover aromatic cedar, a gorgeous wood that smells so good, so I ripped it into strips, and started cutting the pieces. There are 6 layers of 16 pieces each, and a solid base. That's 97 pieces of wood. I don't have a thickness sander so I had to complete each layer, sand one side, glue it to the lathe, wait for it to dry, and then true up the top of the layer in preparation for the next. It took some time, that's for sure.

Then turning the finished bowl was a bit tricky. A learning experience that's for sure, but the finished results were great. I sanded it smooth, rubbed in mineral oil, melted in and polished beeswax to give it a food-safe satin finish, and it was done.

You can't help but run your hands up and down and around every part of the bowl. I read somewhere where wood bowls were called sensual and thought, OK somebody is just being gross - they're BOWLS for crying out loud. After finishing this though I see what they mean. It's not a sexy thing, it's just very cool to hold, and to look with your fingers every bit as much as with your eyes. And whenever somebody new takes a look, without fail they do the same thing - it feels as beautiful as it looks.

This one was for my wife. I told her I was glad it was done so she will give me peace and stop forcing me to go out in the garage every chance I get. I'm not sure that she thought that was very funny :)

I've since looked around and seen hand-turned segmented salad bowls of this size on the internet for about $150. I think I could beat that price by about 25%, depending on the complexity of the bowl and how many kinds of wood you want. And I could throw in matching, smaller segmented bowls for a complete set at about $30 each.