Chuckless bowls

[Bodrighy]

Thanks Graham & Chas. I'll have a go at waxing it and see what that does. At the moment I'm just putting cellulose sanding sealer on them. I suppose wax would fill in the end grain in theory at least. Let you know how it goes. Off to bed now, can't keep up with you 'retired guys' with nothing else to do. some of us still work for a living....for a few years more at least :lol:

Pete




Hey!! I've just noticed that I have been promoted from 'Newbie' to 'Woodworker'....when did that happen?

 

[Anonymous]

Promotion happens when you make too many posts :lol:

off to bed, bless!

 

[CHJ]

I suppose wax would fill in the end grain in theory at least.

Yes it will but it won't be the effect you expect, the wax will fill the voids but when it dries, which may take several days, it will show as white specks.

I believe Graham is referring to wetting the wood or waxing it during final cutting.

If you intend to oil a piece you can apply oil during final cutting phase to similar effect.

Don't tell the purists but if you sand with wet cellulose sanding sealer the slurry will fill the endgrain voids, if the piece is heavily figured or spalted then it can be difficult to spot the fault.

It will show up as darker blemishes though on a plain wood.

 

[geoff_tulip]

going back a bit - i'm pretty sure the log you found is oak - there area few things which point ot this - the colour of the sapwood and heartwood, the bark, the green fungus is common to oak, the way the branch has broken, the hint of burr / pippy wood in bottom third.
sweet chesnut and lime are other poss. but the heartwood suggest not lime and the straight grain suggests not sweet chestnut
- one things for sure - if it is oak it is sure to have split by now !!!

when collecting wood it is always useful to have a look at the tree it came from - it is easier to ident trees than logs, bring a few leaves home if you dont recognise the tree.....

good luck with the log

 

[Bodrighy]

when collecting wood it is always useful to have a look at the tree it came from - it is easier to ident trees than logs, bring a few leaves home if you dont recognise the tree.....

good luck with the log

Thanks for this Geoff,

You could well be right, there is a lot of oak in the hedges around here. As far as identifying the tree, we are talking about 6.30 at night, in a queue waiting for the surgeons to clear the road after a tree had come down, not much chance but I agree.

It has some star cracks at one end already and if it is oak I had better practice sharpening my tools

Pete

 

[geoff_tulip]

if it is oak - your chances of getting anything out of it are very slim -

 

[Taffy Turner]

It has some star cracks at one end already and if it is oak I had better practice sharpening my tools

Pete,

I have turned a lot of Oak, and surprisingly (to me anyway), I found it one of the most friendly woods to turn, and it isn't particularly hard on your tools.

Just be careful to give your tools a thorough cleaning afterwards if you decide to turn it while it is still wet, or they will all turn black and manky - DAMHIKT

Regards

Gary

 

[treefella83]

oak has got to be one of my favorite timbers to turn right up there on my list just below cherry

 

[joekid]

ive used the same wood for a couple of bowls , i got told its ash or elm? the log looks identical, same orangy rings ,i like it any way Bodrighy looks good nice one, keep it up your on your way down :shock: dont know my timbers yet its a bit hard at the moment without the leaves

 

[Bodrighy]

Platter made from an old elm seat. 17" dia. but only 3mil thick so I'm thinking of using it to make a clock or something later on.

Pete

 

[PowerTool]

=D>

Nice work - 3 mm thick :shock: perhaps you should make a few more,then laminate them together :wink:

Andrew

 

[Bodrighy]

=D>

Nice work - 3 mm thick :shock: perhaps you should make a few more,then laminate them together :wink:

Andrew

Good idea...unfortunately that was the last one I had left from about 12 I rescued years ago. The seat is shaped hence the eventual thickness. I could laminate it with some other woods I suppose and do a segmented bowl or platter..... must look around

Thanks for the idea Andrew

Pete

 

[Bodrighy]

Aimed for a square bowl but after a bit jumped off....

& still not able to get rid of rings on the bottom....any tips?

 

[PowerTool]

Looks nice

How are you doing the bottom of the bowls at the moment ?
When you have got the shape you want,I find a very light pass with the side of a sharp gouge,starting from the centre,works well.Or sometimes a light pass with a scraper (round or flat,to match the bottom of the bowl) works better,depending on the timber.
And power sanding with something like this helps as well.(I generally power sand at 120grit and lathe at its slowest speed,then hand sand to 400grit afterwards)
Again,it depends on the timber - it's a bit of practice and a bit of guesswork; I would recommend Mark Bakers book "Wood for Woodturners" - it gives you a good idea of what to expect when working and finishing different species.

Andrew

 

[CHJ]

.....snip...& still not able to get rid of rings on the bottom....any tips?
...snip...

If I want a perfectly flat surface, Like this in the bottom of a bowl for the final cut I use a stiff 25mm wide Flat end Scraper, a wider one would be even better.

Starting in the centre, with scraper cutting to the left of centre for the first 12mm or so, check flatness by taking the scraper back passed centre so that the centre point is in the middle of the blade.
If you are square on to the surface the blade will be in contact over its whole width with the righthand half rubbing on the cut surface.

Now using the front face of the scraper, advanced into the surface, work your way out to the left hand edge 4-5 mm at a time, using the other 20mm of scraper front edge to gage your alignment with the previously cut surface and stop immediately the whole scraper edge rubs.

If you try this a few times you will find that placing the edge of a steel rule on the surface obtained results in a satisfying squeak if you rotate the piece.

This may not be the purists preferred method but it works for me.

 

[Bodrighy]

Thanks Chas, I know that a lot of my problem is the tools as well as the lack of expertise, (bad workman and all that!!) I have a decent scraper however and will use that more and practice just going for good surfaces. I can get them reasonably well in spindle work, at the moment it's the inside of bowls and flat surfaces that defeat me.

I'll keep on practicing and in the meantime tell everyone that the ridged effect is a design feature. If they don't turn themselves, perhaps they'll believe me. :wink:

Pete

 

[treefella83]

i use a chunky round nose scraper held at a slight angle to give the bottom of a bowl a good tidy up.
using a gentle pull cut at the slight angle i find that the wood peels away and needs very little sanding.
i found out by accident but i believe it is called shear scraping.