Camphor laurel is one of the most satisfying timbers to turn in Australia. It smells fantastic on the lathe, it’s forgiving for beginners, and the grain patterns can be absolutely stunning - swirling golds, creams, and occasional streaks of darker heartwood. Best of all, it’s an invasive species in parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, so using it up is actually doing the environment a favour.

Here’s how to take a camphor laurel blank and turn it into a simple, beautiful bowl.

Preparing Your Blank

If you’re starting from a freshly cut log section, you’ll want a piece roughly 150-200mm in diameter and about 75-100mm thick for a first bowl. Cut it round on a bandsaw if you have one, or just knock the corners off. Some turners leave it square and rough it down on the lathe, which works fine but creates more vibration initially.

If the timber is freshly cut (green), that’s actually ideal. Green camphor laurel cuts like butter and is far easier on your tools than dried stock. The trade-off is that a green-turned bowl will move as it dries - the rim might go slightly oval, which many turners consider a feature rather than a flaw.

For a dried blank, look for one that’s been sealed on the end grain with PVA or a wax emulsion to prevent cracking. Most turning supply shops sell pre-cut blanks that are ready to go.

Mounting the Blank

Start by screwing a face plate to what will become the bottom of your bowl. Use short, sturdy screws that won’t poke through into the bowl interior. Mount the face plate on the lathe and make sure everything is tight.

Before switching on, rotate the blank by hand to check it clears the tool rest and bed. Adjust the tool rest so it’s close to the blank but with a few millimetres of clearance.

Shaping the Outside

Set your lathe to a low speed - around 800-1,000 RPM for a 200mm blank. Use your bowl gouge to true up the outside first. Start with light cuts, working from the centre outward.

Shape the outside profile of the bowl. Think about the curve you want - a gentle, flowing shape is easier to achieve and looks elegant. Avoid making the walls too thin at this stage. Leave plenty of material to work with.

Once the outside shape is close to what you want, form a tenon (a small raised foot) on the bottom. This tenon will sit in your scroll chuck jaws when you reverse the bowl to hollow the inside. Aim for a tenon about 50mm in diameter with clean, square shoulders that match your chuck jaw profile.

Hollowing the Inside

Remove the face plate and mount the bowl by its tenon in your scroll chuck. Now comes the satisfying part - hollowing.

Start at the centre and work outward toward the rim. Use your bowl gouge with a sweeping cut, pulling the tool from the centre toward the edge. Take light cuts and check the wall thickness regularly by feel or with callipers.

For a first bowl, aim for walls about 8-10mm thick. Thinner walls look more refined, but they’re harder to achieve without catching. As your confidence builds, you can go thinner on future projects.

Work in stages, deepening the bowl gradually rather than trying to reach full depth in one pass. Keep the interior curve smooth and consistent with the outside profile.

Sanding and Finishing

Once you’re happy with the shape, sand through the grits while the bowl is still on the lathe. Start at 120 grit and work through to 400 or even 600. Apply each grit with the lathe running at a moderate speed, then stop the lathe and sand along the grain to remove circular scratch marks.

For a finish, camphor laurel looks gorgeous with a simple oil finish. Danish oil or a food-safe walnut oil both work well. Apply a thin coat with a cloth while the lathe turns slowly, let it soak in, then buff with a clean cloth.

Some turners use a friction polish (shellac-based) for a higher gloss, but I find oil suits the natural character of camphor laurel better.

Parting Off and Finishing the Base

If you want a clean base, you can reverse-mount the bowl using a jam chuck or vacuum chuck to turn away the tenon marks. Alternatively, many turners simply sand the base by hand and sign it with a pyrography pen.

Camphor laurel bowls make brilliant gifts. The timber is beautiful, the smell lingers for months, and there’s something genuinely special about handing someone a bowl you turned yourself. Give it a go - it’s one of the most rewarding projects you can take on at the lathe.