Last March, I was teaching a bowl-from-a-plank class at Pete Galbert’s. After the students finished their longer bowls, we made what I call an “ice cream bowl.” It was a good opportunity to reinforce the skills and techniques we had worked on with the big bowl, and quick progress was made on these little gems. There are some photos from that class at this post.

I call it an ice cream bowl because it’s a nice size to hold and eat from, and a wood bowl (especially with a wood spoon) is well-suited for ice cream. It insulates from your hand and avoids the “clink, clink, clink” of a metal spoon against ceramic. But feel free to call yours a candy bowl, nut bowl, dip bowl, cereal bowl, loose change bowl…

There are many positives to the process of making these. All it takes is a 7″ long section of a 2″ x 6″ plank, and that’s if you want handles like the one in the photos here. You can make things even more simple by starting with a 6″ length, as we did in class, and make a bowl without handles where each of the four sides is the same. I carved the bowl in these photos from basswood, but at this size any species would be manageable, so there’s no need to shy away from a dry cherry plank. Of course, you can always split a blank from a green log and dig in, too.

Since these can be carved relatively quickly, they provide ideal opportunity for experimenting with various textures, decorative motifs, paint, species of wood, and so on. Make a whole set, one for each guest or family member… or with each guest or family member.

I’ve put together a series of over 25 photographs and illustrations detailing layout, tips, and suggestions, along with a page outlining the general carving procedure. The hollow itself is a rounded/inflated square. I’ll show you a versatile, practical, and quick method for laying it out directly onto the wood. It can easily be scaled up if you wish.

I’ve added the Ice Cream Bowl materials to my Make a Bowl from a Plank package. So, if you’ve already purchased, just log back in, scroll down, and you will see the new addition of the Ice Cream Bowl file. Thanks.

The Make a Bowl from a Plank package now features three designs that can all be made with the same readily accessible materials and tools. All three designs share some common language in terms of general layout and execution, while allowing for a wide range of creative choices and variation. Happy carving!