17 Sep The Fire Sine, a Customized King Isosceles Sculptural Firebowl

Mark in Watsonville, CA wanted a modified King Isosceles Sculptural Firebowl with a smooth undulating edge and reached out about ordering a custom 41 inch diameter firebowl. Although the design looks very simple, it may have been the most difficult I have ever created. Rounding off the sharp points of a King Isosceles is no big deal, but changing the points and troughs to broad curves is another thing entirely.

When drawing and cutting by hand, the most challenging designs are those which must be symmetrical and even. The first King Isosceles took me days to perfect because the lines between the points need to look straight while being cut from a compound curve. The Fire Sine was even more challenging because the tops and bottoms had to have curves as nearly identical as possible. The more geometric a design is, the more obvious any flaw is. Each of the lines for this bowl were probably drawn 30-50 times before I felt they were a close enough match to one another (there’s no template or measurement you can use in this situation, the whole thing has to be done by eye).

I’m quite happy with the way this bowl turned out, but I would never make another like it!