The bowl is conical and is cut at an angle to reveal an ellipse
This shows the theory – the cylindrical stalk is cut at an angle to give an ellipse
The blank which will form the "bowl" section is sliced at an angle of about 12 degrees
Begin by slicing a bowl blank across and paper-gluing a wedge of scrap pine
A faceplate is screwed to scrap plywood which is also paper-glued to the bowl blank
The assembly is turned to a shallow cone, the elliptical shape can be seen