New wood turner issues

[Steliz]

Hi Guys,

I've recently taken an interest in wood turning and have been attending a local club who let me use their equipment.
The pictures are of my first attempt and I got to the stage of rounding the blank and roughing out the outside shape of the bowl. I brought my little project home and left it sitting on the living room table which is about 5ft from the radiator, and then this happened!

I would like to understand the possible causes so that I can try and avoid this problem again.
The blank has been in my shed for the past month but it wasn't sealed when I got it and there were a couple of tiny visible cracks.
I understand from a little research that this could be caused by the wood not being dry enough when I started.
The splits are in the lighter coloured area, is this sap wood and could that be the problem?
I don't know what the wood is but it has a pinky orange colour on the light side so it could be Beech.

Any advice appreciated.

Steve

 

[minilathe22]

Hello, welcome to the forum!

It looks like you have been particularly unlucky here, most likely the wood drying out quickly has caused the cracks. To prevent this in future it is worth making sure the blank is nice an dry before you start, and has been well sealed. Once you have cut out a rough shape on the lathe, it is worth sealing again and wrapping in newspaper for a few weeks before finishing off to the final shape.

You are aiming for the wood to dry slowly, as different bits of the wood can dry at different rates, and it is an inbalance in moisture content that causes the wood to split.

I final finish such as a varnish or wax will help limit the wood being exposed to varying moisture in the air, so that your finished piece is protected. I am sure other members can provide advice as well.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Hi Steve,
The wood doesn't look like beech to me - possibly elm? That lighter area in the first photo doesn't seem to be sapwood either, it's probably spalting (early stages of rot) which has made that area softer (hence the torn grain)and weaker, which may be why that's where the cracks are concentrated. Those cracks don't seem like conventional drying cracks so you may have been on to a loser from the start with that piece of wood!

The best thing to do with a part turned bowl is to keep it in the workshop until finished or wrap it in clingfilm to seal it to prevent moisture loss until you can finish it.

 

[Steliz]

Thanks for the information. The fact that it was probably unavoidable makes me feel a bit better about it.
I'll cut off the lighter section and seen if I can still make something of what's left cheers.

 

[Dalboy]

I would cut your losses and throw the whole piece away and start with a fresh good piece. When learning it is best to use good wood to start with but not softwoods you still can get some cheaper hardwoods to use keep things simple learn the tools and as I say many times practice practice and practice. By all means make something useful and keep the first one off of the lathe. If there is someone local to help which is better as there is no substitute for hands on, don't forget clubs as another source for learning

 

[Steliz]

Thanks Dalboy, I hate to just throw stuff away though, which is probably why I've just had to buy a second shed!
I've stocked up on blanks, spindles and off cuts from someone on the net who has better prices than anywhere else I can find in the North West (pick up only) and I've bought a lathe which is being delivered on Sunday *jumps up and down like a little kid who's been told he'd going to Disneyland*.

I've also been going to my local wood turning club and getting some excellent instruction from the members.
What do turners do with all the wood shavings?

Steve

 

[Cordy]

Hi Steve
Which town is your local woodturning club ?

I go to the one at Platt Bridge Wigan
LINK
Next meeting is Monday 5th March
Very much a novice myself
John

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Get yourself a newer edition of this - http://www.waterstonesmarketplace.com/b ... &hs=Submit
It's the best beginner's book. I put all my shavings in small cardboard boxes for the woodstove, or you can usually find someone who keeps animals that can use them. They make quite good weed suppressant mulch, although they leech nitrogen from the soil.

 

[Steliz]

Hi John,

I've been going to the club in Trafford/Sale. I looked for my local club on the AWGB website and followed the link for the Wigan club. The website hasn't been updated for a long time and I tried contacting someone there by email and got no response so I assumed the club wasn't meeting anymore. I now realise that the AWGB website is woefully out of date.
It is half the distance to the Wigan club for me to travel from Warrington so I will pop along on Monday. There appears to be a demo night on.

Phil, thanks for the link, I'll have a look at getting a copy. I know someone with a pet rabbit so I'll ask them if they want some.

Steve

 

[Cordy]

See you Monday Steve
If you join the Wigan group they have books to loan or give.
When I joined last year I was offered the book mentioned above but declined; I'm not into books

More than enough info for me on this forum

They have a good set-up for demos -- microphone, video camera, big screen etc
John

 

[Paul Hannaby]

The AWGB rely on the clubs keeping them informed of changes so if you spot something out of date, ask the club to update the AWGB webmaster with the correct details.

 

[Cordy]

Paul
Wigan Wood-turners are well aware of what you write about
Unfortunately there are 2 sites for the club; the old site is proving difficult to remove
The current site is fairly up to speed LINK

Wigan is a good club imho, usually about 30 members present - we have 4 lathes for the 'hands on' nights
Sometimes they run Workshops, Saturday afternoons, 4 members max; for about 5 hours, cost is £7.50

 

[alexf]

In your post, you said that you roughed the outside. The photos didn't show if you had done anything to the inside. If you have not part turned the inside you have too many stresses when brought into the house. You can still save your bowl however. Part turn the inside until you have about 1 inch wall thickness then you can fill the cracks with superglue and something like brass powder or turquoise dust and make a feature of the cracks.

 

[Steliz]

Hi Alex,
I didn't have time to do the inside as I was using the club equipment and time was limited.
That's an interesting suggestion to fill the cracks, I'll bear it mind for the future. I think in this case, as Paul said above, there is a soft area as indicated by the tear out around the cracks and it may be a lost cause.

 

[Robbo3]

You can use practically anything to add colour. Darker colours tend to look more natural & for that most turners use coffee powder or used coffee grounds. Metal powder, glitter etc can be used to highlight the crack.
I find that the superglue doesn't want to wet the filler material so I stuff the crack to just below the surface, add the glue then quickly apply some more material so that it is raised above the surface. Small plastic/nylon glue spatulas or lollipop sticks are good tools for this.

 

[Steliz]

I have a plentiful supply of coffee grounds to use.
Is there a particular brand of superglue that is recommended for this? I realise that it has to be runny and a fair quantity is needed and I had a look at what my local Axminster had to offer but not knowing what I needed I didn't get any.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Fairly thin ones work best as they saturate better. Don't try to fill too big a crack in one hit. Pieces like that are ideal for experiments (design opportunities) as if you screw up they're only firewood to start with.

 

[Dalboy]

I appriciate that trying to fill and repair pieces to add character but as a new turner and the various problems with this piece of wood throw it away and try another piece. When you have more experience then move on to see what you can do with various faults that you come across. It is so easy for the more experienced amoung us to say do this or that as many have been doing it for a while, so keep to good solid wood with no faults to start with and spend the time enjoying the hobby. And remember practice is the key get to understand the tools you use the rest will come with time.

 

[Robbo3]

I use the Tommy Walsh, 4 bottles on a card from the £1 shop (I noticed you only get three bottles on the latest ones).
Toolstation do thick or thin in two sizes for £1.03 & £2.32.
My comments were only meant to add a little knowledge if the OP (Original Poster) so desired. IMHO the only thing he has to lose is the originality of his first turning but may gain something if he could repair the inherent defects.