All of these bowls were made using a tool (a contraption, really) I made, called a fluting engine. The name comes from the tool’s inventor, David Pye, who is best known for two influential books he wrote on craftsmanship and design, as well as some amazing bowls made with his fluting engine. As far as I can tell, I’m the only other person to have built one in the 70 years since its invention.
There is no engine in a fluting engine. It’s a human-powered carving tool. Pull a lever, and the cutter slices a single “flute” in the workpiece. Rotate the work a bit, and pull again. And again and again. You can only take off 1/32” to 1/16” at a time, so it’s not the most efficient way to carve a bowl. I start the process on many of these by pre-shaping the bowl with an adze or on the lathe. It still takes time. But the uniquely cut surfaces (either on the inside or outside of the bowl) and beautiful patterns are definitely worth it.
