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This project has been extracted from my book, Woodturning: Form and Formula, which explores the Golden Ratio and Rule of Thirds in much greater depth with sketching techniques, professional examples, and seven projects (including this one) designed to help you develop your eye for proportion. After purchase, you will be presented with a download link for the file.
This is a small bowl errors have nowhere to hide!
One continuous curve, rim to foot. No beads, no decoration, no transitions to distract the eye. Just a single line that either flows or doesn’t.
Japanese-inspired in spirit, which is to say, a study in restraint. The proportions here follow the golden ratio: the widest point sits at a natural division, the foot supports without dominating, and the rim finishes the form without drawing attention to itself.
As you turn, notice how small shifts change everything. A rim that’s a fraction too thick makes the whole bowl feel clumsy. A foot that’s slightly too wide anchors the piece when it should float.
Small bowls teach proportion quickly because there’s so little material to forgive mistakes. A flat spot on a larger piece might disappear into the overall curve. Here, it announces itself.
Technically, think light cuts and sharp tools. Turned end-grain from a short spindle blank, the piece responds best to delicate handling. A small scraper helps refine the inside where a gouge can feel twitchy. Pause often, stop the lathe, and check your progress. The Japanese aesthetic rewards patience, not speed.
By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have something genuinely useful: a bowl that sits nicely in the hand, looks right from every angle, and demonstrates that simplicity is its own kind of mastery.