end grain bowl help

[Struan]

I've got a nice piece of beech, which i've noticed tonight is quite nicely spalted (at least i think it is!) It's about six inches thick and i've decided the best use for it would be an end grain bowl, stripping the bark off but leaving the natural growth shape for the top of the bowl. Here's a picture of it with a 6 inch rest to show scale.

Has anybody got any tips on doing this bowl, any links or pictures with ideas for design (i'm unsure about shaping the outside but leaving the natural rim) any help would be great, i want to try and get it right as i plan on it being my moms birthday present!

Thanks

Struan

 

[Bodrighy]

Depending on how long it ias I would be more inclined to cut in half and make two natural edge bowls with it. Apart from anything else it looks as though it may be pretty far gone in which case you could find a lot of really soft, unusable wood in it.

Pete

 

[Struan]

I think the picture makes it look worse than it is, it seems pretty solid.
Unfortunately it's only 6" thick compared to about 18" wide, so splitting it in two wouldn't really work unless i was going to do about 6 vase type forms. I can get hold of more of this though, which hopefully will be in taller pieces and more suited to your suggestion.

Thanks

Struan

 

[cornucopia]

i wouldint do a bowl from it as hollowing into end grain is never easy- but hollowing into spalted endgrain is very hard to do and then to try to keep the natraul edge so you wont be able to get full speed without vibration- you would need a very heavy lathe to pull it off- an dend grain bowls can be weak especially in spalted woods
I would make side grain hollow forms with it maybe 5-6 from this piece- trying to orientate the blank so that the neck of the form was about an inch away from the pith

 

[Struan]

i'm not really sure how to cut the wood to do what you mean.
Do you mean cut it into 5/6 'pizza slices' then turn them as tall vase like forms with the bark end being the base and the centre being the top.
Sorry, still trying to work all this out, i've got a few books but they seem to leave this 'minor' detail out!

Thanks

Struan

 

[cornucopia]

yep you've got it- but you may have to leave a flat end on the pointy bit of the pizza slice- this will be to your benefit though as you do not want the pith in the final piece. experiment try one with the top at the pith end and one with the top at the bark end- see which one will give you the best grain patterns.

 

[Struan]

That's great, thanks guys, off to the garage now then!........hmmm..... think i might have to invest in a heater......

 

[wizer]

i wouldint do a bowl from it as hollowing into end grain is never easy- but hollowing into spalted endgrain is very hard to do and then to try to keep the natraul edge so you wont be able to get full speed without vibration- you would need a very heavy lathe to pull it off- an dend grain bowls can be weak especially in spalted woods
I would make side grain hollow forms with it maybe 5-6 from this piece- trying to orientate the blank so that the neck of the form was about an inch away from the pith

There is an article in the Woodturner magazine this month. I can't say that I fully understood it. Georges explanation helped a bit. It's a case of learning from doing I think.

 

[Struan]

I'm not sure why i said it was beech, it's actually birch.
I messed up cutting my first piece without thinking it through, but stumbled through, trying to make lemonade out of a lemon!
After many 're-designs' this is what i came up with

I'm really pleased with it, i think the spalting is gorgeous. However, it is 'spongy' in places, is this because it went a bit too far? I think it will be fine with a nice finish on it, any recommendations?

Struan

 

[Alie Barnes]

was justa bout to say its birch not beech!

Nice item, not keen on the base so much but other than that i like it.

 

[Struan]

it's only the second hollow form i've done, i'm not keen on the base either, i should look at other works to get some inspiration.

 

[Jenx]

Well done Struan .. you finished it, and that in itself is an accomplishment in the first few days. :wink:

Turning is a bit of a 'black art' in certain ways, IMHO, not an exact science.. and getting something from 'rough blank / log' or whatever it starts life on your machine as, to something recognisable is a good achievment. And one thing is certainly isn't, is 'easy'.

Good progress

 

[PowerTool]

Looks good,figuring is fantastic,well done

I've always found birch to be somewhat soft to start with,and spalting only makes it softer - it can be a fine line between great figuring and being too soft to be useable

Andrew

 

[cornucopia]

well done- how many more blanks will you get from the log?
lemon oil would be a good finish for it
hollow forms have very small openings from which they are hollowed out- this is more of a vessel or bowl form. imo

 

[Struan]

i should get another 4 blanck i think, providing i do a bit of clever planning before going at it with the saw!
You're right about it not being hollow form, just couldn't think what it actually was!

Stru

 

[Bodrighy]

As George said, a hollow form usually has a small hole, smaller the better. This would be an open form or perhaops a vase. Whatever it is it's a lovely piece made of some nice wood. Look forward to seeing some more from the log.

Pete

 

[Struan]

here's my next attampt using that same log. You can see some areas appear rough. this is where i think the spalting has gone a bit to far, so it won't sand smooth. On the whole i'm happy with it and think with the right finish the rough patches won't hurt. I might hold it back before finishing, i don't have the right tools or knowhow for hollowing it out fully!

The angle on this second photo doesn't show the rim to it's best. but you get the idea!

Struan