Fruit Bowl 2009b

RoySablosky — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:39:56 GMT

The first thing I drew was the profile. A bowl has to have an elegant shape, a graceful curve, otherwise I don't want it in my kitchen. The first design for this bowl was beautiful (I still have the prototype), but too expensive to make and too fragile for daily use. This revised version is almost the same shape, but has fewer, thicker layers. Instead of twisted wire it's held together with press-fit steel pins. It's been in our kitchen for a year and I've grown to love it. The cutting laser creates a two-tone effect, which I did not expect at first: all the vertical surfaces of the bowl are coal-dark, while the horizontal surfaces remain bamboo-pale. There is also a faint burnt aroma, which I really like. The finished bowl is about 34 cm (13.5 inches) across and 9.4 cm (3.7 inches) high. It is made of 13 layers of plywood, each 7 mm (0.28 inches) thick. Each ring has four laser-drilled 1.6 mm (1/16 inch) holes to accommodate the pins. Here is the "trick" I'm using to turn a flat wooden disk into a three-dimensional bowl. The wood is laser-cut into 13 concentric rings. But the rings are ovoid, not circular. This becomes more obvious as the pieces get smaller; they are staggered in shape as well as size. The long and short axes are graduated so that the 6-to-12-o'clock diameter of each piece matches the 3-to-9-o'clock diameter of the next bigger piece. Therefore, when you take them apart and rotate every other piece by a quarter-turn, they stack instead of nesting: the left-to-right span of each one overlaps with the top-to-bottom span of the one underneath. When you order this bowl, Ponoko will laser-cut the material and send it to me. I will assemble it into a bowl and send it to you. No assembly is required on your end.

Fruit Bowl 2009a

RoySablosky — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:54:21 GMT

This bowl was inspired by two other "minimal waste" bowls available on Ponoko. Just search for the word "bowl" and you'll see them. The finished bowl is about 33 cm (13 inches) across and 10 cm (4 inches) high. It is made of 20 layers of bamboo, each 5.5 mm (0.22 inches) thick. Each ring has four 1 mm holes through it. I use the holes to tie the rings together with 20-gauge copper wire. Here is the "trick" I'm using to turn a flat bamboo disk into a three-dimensional bowl. The wood is cut into 20 concentric rings. But the rings are not perfectly round (this becomes more obvious as the pieces get smaller). The dimensions are cleverly staggered so that the 6-to-12-o'clock diameter of each piece matches the 3-to-9-o'clock diameter of the next bigger piece. Therefore, when you take them apart and rotate every other piece by a quarter-turn, the left-to-right span of each one overlaps with the top-to-bottom span of the one underneath, so they stack instead of nesting. The first thing I drew was the profile. I wanted it to have a nice shape. Isn't it funny that we have this idea of a "bowl" that doesn't have to hold liquid? The cutting laser creates a two-tone color effect: all the vertical surfaces of the bowl are coal-dark, while the horizontal surfaces remain bamboo-pale. I have not posted this bowl for sale because it's too expensive. It costs about $100 to make just one, mostly because of how long it takes the laser to cut 20 rings and 80 holes. It's also very fragile. If a lot of people like the concept I'll design a cheaper and sturdier version.

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Fruit Bowl 2009b

Fruit Bowl 2009a