The purpose of a rim decoration is to draw attention to the shape of the bowl and provide an elegant touch to the outer edge. 

I believe all bowls should have a rim decoration.  It can be very simple such as a slight concavity or an outside to inside taper.   However, this paper and demonstration will focus on more detailed rim decorations and discuss the method and tools used to achieve each style.  I will discuss and make three shapes. 

The shapes are:

1 - Single bead

2 - Concave edge with under turned bead

3 - Concave edge with raised inner bead 

General Guidelines 

1 – All rim decoration must be completed as the first step when working with a rough turned blank.  The blank should be turned true on the outside and inside surfaces removing the minimum material from the blank.  Once true the body should remain full thickness while the rim decoration is completed.  The larger the bowl the more important this becomes.  The species of wood also affects the amount of distortion encountered.  A great rim decoration depends on the outer edge of the bowl turning in a concentric circle with little or no out of round (no wobble). 

2 – Thought has to be taken when designing the decoration relative to the inner and outer surface of the bowl.  Sanding and finishing the bowl will be much easier and allow the use of power sanding techniques if the decoration does not protrude over the inner or outer surfaces.   

3 – The rim, including decorations, must be sanded before the blank wall thickness is reduced.  Sanding should follow the same procedure as normally used for your bowl.  For the best finish sanding sealer should be used between grits up to 320.   

Single Bead

This is the easiest decoration to make.  It is a single raise bead equally spaced between the walls of the bowl.  

The bead is rough shaped with a spindle gouge.  Final shaping is done with a round 3/8” skew.

The best appearance is when the bead is undercut and looks like it is sitting on the rim.

Concave edge with under turned bead