Moving forward, slowly

[Roy_H]

After some extensive tool sharpening, today's efforts are at two extremes in an attempt to get back into bowl turning. Both fairly plain, but some good practice for me, both getting to grips with the new lathe and the old Record Collet Chuck set that came with it.
The first is a 7cm 'bowl' in padouk, from a piece of this favourite wood lovingly preserved since my 1970's turning period.

With my confidence level upped, next was a 23cm elm bowl which, despite the block I cut looking okay, had some interior ring shakes (at least I think that's what they're called?), which rather spoilt the end result. (first picture, right-hand interior).

Can I ask the forum what the best type of filler would be for this kind of defect, and how best to use it?

 

[PowerTool]

Both nice pieces - "fairly plain" they may be,but the colour and figuring of the timber isn't overpowered,and the shape and proportions work well.
As for the shakes/checks,I tend to use thin superglue,and sand the area before it is dry ; the sanding dust mixes with the glue to make a filler that is as good a match as you can get,and prevents the staining you can sometimes get from CA glue.

Andrew

 

[Jenx]

Bizarre as it may sound ... white silicon , and sanding with a coarse grade (80 grit etc ) will do the same job too. ( lathe stopped )
The white disappears and you 'can't see the join' !... I am told it must be white, and TBH I've not tried with clear etc.

Nice bowls... the Padauk has a lovely colour ! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[cornucopia]

hello roy

both bowls look nice but my preferd piece is the padauk one.
as andrew suggests a mix of dust and diffrent viscosity ca works well or if the cracks are wider than 1mm you can use epoxy mixed with dust or metal powders.

jenx are you sure it was silicon? acrylic sealent will work but nothing sticks to silicon so any finish you applied would fail over the silicon. in my day job silicon is a pain around windows etc for this reason that nothing i do will obliterate it and get the new paint to stick.

 

[Roy_H]

Thanks all.

Jenx: I was going to ask about the silicon that George has now queried. Do you mean something like the Dow Corning stuff that seals baths, etc? I'm having trouble getting my head around the idea that I would use that on wood!

George & Andrew: Any particular 'thin' CA glue? I'm assuming the little tubes you get to fix broken things around the house are not ideal?

 

[Jenx]

Yep.. white silicon !...
Tell you how it came about... I just got new windows in the house, with Mahogany hardwood facings.

When the guys were finished installing, I was talking to the joiner and discussing putting brown putty into the nail holes after they'd been punched....

NO NO !! says the joiner.. watch this .....
80 grit paper.. and a wee blob of white silicon over the punched nail ... gone !! no punched hole, no white residue... perfect !

I've tried it on other hardwoods... works a treat ! ( in a turning sense )
& yes its silicon.. same as I used for years on baths, basins, cast-iron guttering etc etc ... same stuff !

Give it a go !


(Edit - : In light of the mention about paint etc's reluctance to adhere to silicon... which is of course, very true.. I'm guessing that the finishes applied to my facings and turnings, have adhered to the wood dust which must be concentrated enough on the 'fill' to all but completely obscure the silicon from visibility . Just thought that should maybe be noted.. cause for certain, paints etc don't like silicon ! )

 

[Bodrighy]

RE: CA Glue....I use the cheapo stuff from the pound shop for this sort of thing as it's really runny and mixes well with sawdust etc. Need to do a little at a time and be quick as it hardens quickly. For other jobs the thicker stuff that you can get on ebay or tool post etc is fine but runny seeps into cracks better. I have jars of different coloured sawdust that I save from sanding for this purpose as well as some brass dust and the shavings of brass I scrounged from a friendly key cutter. That gives a textured finish. For larger splits epoxy is best as advised

Pete

 

[cornucopia]

Thanks all.



George & Andrew: Any particular 'thin' CA glue? I'm assuming the little tubes you get to fix broken things around the house are not ideal?

i like the zap a gap range- you can get three viscositys- although axminster seem to only have one at the minute :-s

 

[CHJ]

I use the Star lock range for the bulk of my turning, I find it ages well in the bottle and the small fine nozzle add-ons available are a real boon in avoiding blocked tubes and control in dispensing small droplets.

A forum member did post a reference to similar product from alternate supplier that was somewhat cheaper but unfortunately I lost the reference.