# Basket weave bowl



## Barb (Jun 23, 2020)

This is my first attempt at a basket weave illusion bowl. There are many things I learned from this project of what to do and what not to do but overall I'm pleased with it. Not sure what kind of wood it is. I just know I got it from Ebay. I didn't want to practice on a nice piece of Woodbarter wood. 

I used a honey colored stain on the inside and burnt orange on the outside. I didn't sand the outside properly after doing the beads. I also shouldn't have put sanding sealer on the outside. It prevented the stain from going on evenly. That's just for starters. Anyway, it was fun to do. :)

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 3 | Great Post 1 | Way Cool 12 | Creative 1


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## Maverick (Jun 23, 2020)

Nicely done Barb, especially for your first try. Do you mind sharing what you learned and what you would do different?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Steve in VA (Jun 23, 2020)

That's fantastic!

I've been wanting to try one myself, but don't have a burner. 

Did you use a dedicated beading tool, or a skew, or something else?

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Barb (Jun 23, 2020)

Steve in VA said:


> That's fantastic!
> 
> I've been wanting to try one myself, but don't have a burner.
> 
> Did you use a dedicated beading tool, or a skew, or something else?


Thank you! I used a beading tool and still didn't do all of them right. Gotta practice more. I also think harder wood would've been better.


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## rob3232 (Jun 23, 2020)

Oh my. If you are ever up for a trade I would love something like that. Great piece of art Barb!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## trc65 (Jun 23, 2020)

Very nice Barb! I think the little bit of variability in the stain adds to the look. Staining of materials used in baskets had a lot of color gradations, so yours only looks more authentic.

I'm also heading down the basket illusion rabbit hole, but need more time to really get going......

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Don Van Dyne (Jun 23, 2020)

That piece is really sweet! Just got my lathe hopefully I’ll make my 1st bowl soon and in 100 years I should be able to make some of the cool stuff I see on this forum!

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Barb (Jun 23, 2020)

trc65 said:


> Very nice Barb! I think the little bit of variability in the stain adds to the look. Staining of materials used in baskets had a lot of color gradations, so yours only looks more authentic.
> 
> I'm also heading down the basket illusion rabbit hole, but need more time to really get going......


Thank you and rabbit hole is right! Every time I come across something different on this forum, I want to try it. :)

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Barb (Jun 23, 2020)

rob3232 said:


> Oh my. If you are ever up for a trade I would love something like that. Great piece of art Barb!!


Thank you! I’ll definitely keep that in mind. I think I need to practice a bit more first before I’m truly happy with the outcome. You can’t really tell in the pics but the outside is very rough to the touch.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nature Man (Jun 23, 2020)

Ingenious! Totally cool turning! Really like it! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Brandon Sloan (Jun 23, 2020)

Can you give a quick rundown on the beading tool that you used? I’m interested in adding a beading tool to my arsenal but know that certain ones are more prone to tear out. Was this something you ran into?


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## trc65 (Jun 23, 2020)

On the little bit of "basket illusion" pieces I've done, I use the D-way Tools 1/8" beading tool. I also have the 3/16" beading tool.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1 | Useful 1


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## Barb (Jun 23, 2020)

Brandon Sloan said:


> Can you give a quick rundown on the beading tool that you used? I’m interested in adding a beading tool to my arsenal but know that certain ones are more prone to tear out. Was this something you ran into?


I got a set from PSI a few months back and I had major problems with tear out. Then after watching a few youtube videos I noticed that a good number of skilled turners that do the basket weave were using D-Way tools so that's what I got. https://d-waytools.com/beading-tools/ I still had some tear out but I think it was because of the angle I was holding it. Once I adjusted the angle, it got better. Oh, and I used the 3/16" on this.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 1 | Useful 1


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## T. Ben (Jun 24, 2020)

Freaking awesome barb!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 24, 2020)

I love it. It really does look like a basket. The wood looks like catalpa to me and that is a softer wood, probably better for carving than turning. Your next one turned with cherry or maple will be a home run, I'll bet.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | +Karma 1


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## tocws2002 (Jun 25, 2020)

Very nice, Barb! Looks like you've got the basket weave bowl down pat already. Looks great.

-jason

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Barb (Jun 25, 2020)

tocws2002 said:


> Very nice, Barb! Looks like you've got the basket weave bowl down pat already. Looks great.
> 
> -jason


I appreciate that but I definitely don't have it down pat yet. Hopefully one day I will. :)


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## William Tanner (Jun 25, 2020)

I would be happy with it as well.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Barb (Jun 26, 2020)

Maverick said:


> Nicely done Barb, especially for your first try. Do you mind sharing what you learned and what you would do different?


I first want to apologize for not seeing this right away. My eyes must have skimmed over your request. I would love to share what I learned. 

Woodburning: I should’ve burned horizontal lines in as well as vertical lines. It would’ve made applying the pattern easier and I think look more polished. I also wasn’t very careful about removing the stray burn lines from the top lip of the bowl as well as the bottom foot.

Beading: I need more practice. Holding the beading tool with the handle angled down produced better results. There were a lot of tear outs before I figured that out. I also didn’t sand the beads very well before I started putting a finish on the outside.

I put a thick coat of sanding sealer on the outside before I stained it and I think the stain would’ve gone on more evenly if I didn’t do that. 

The stain I used was water based since that’s all I have which raised the grain of the wood and I didn’t sand after that either which I know I should’ve done. I applied it with a disposable foam brush. By then I was almost done and I knew I wasn’t giving this one away. Next time I’m going to try an alcohol based stain to see if that’s better. I used a sharpie and a fine tip art pen to color in the black.

I used a 3/16” beading tool from d-waytools.com and a Tekchic woodburning kit I got from Amazon. I also purchased the basket weave illusion kit from chefwarekits.com. There’s no other way I would’ve had the patience to do this.

I found this website that allows you to download graph paper for free so you can try out different patterns. https://www.printablepaper.net/category/polar_graph 

I hope this helps someone else avoid the mistakes I made. :)

Reactions: Thank You! 2 | Great Post 1 | Informative 1


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## Maverick (Jun 26, 2020)

No apology necessary Barb. Thank you for sharing your experience. I may want to try one of these one of these days so I am bookmarking this for later use. Again, great job on the "basket" and look forward to more of you turnings.

Reactions: Like 2


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