Newbie - Finishing query

[chrisfarrow]

Hi all, newbie here

Just started turning and as usual, addicted etc.

I was lucky enough to be given (on long term loan) a basic Clarke lathe which is good enough to get me started. Treated myself to some Sorby tolls and a Record bench grinder....only thing I've obviously got wrong so far is my waste bin is far too small

Here's a taste of what I've done so far....

So, to my query......

Ignoring all other faults for the moment......when sanding I'm finding that in places I'm getting a good finish sanding through the grades on the lathe:

But, I'm also finding that in other spots it's staying quite rough:

Interestingly, or perhaps obviously to the tutored eye, the 'rough' spots are in the same place inside and out. So, presumably something to do with the grain? If not, what? If so, how do I deal with it?

Any and all advice / crots / etc very welcome......skin is very thick, offence is never taken

Oh yes,,,,lovely to meet you all!

 

[Walnut Les]

Hi Chris and well done on your turning mate, you have some nice shapes going on there.
what you are looking at is torn end grain, it's a common thing and we all get it. You can cut down on it by using a sear scraper or resharpening you tool for the last fine cut, but most people drop back to 80 grit when it's bad and power sand it away.
I hope that this helps Les

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Hi Chris,
As Les has said, it is torn end grain at the points where you are cutting into the end grain, which happens twice on each rotation so you will find two patches opposite each other. Make sure your tool is kept sharp and if you notice torn grain, resharpen and try again. Work on your technique and tool presentation and it should improve but if you don't manage to get a clean cut, use a coarse enough abrasive to remove it before proceeding to a finer grit otherwise you will never get rid of it.
Shear scrapers are one option but not a necessity. Good tool presentation and technique is the key.

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

Sharp tools and have the piece spinning as fast as you dare will help. Make sure you are slicing with the edge.
A Cap'n Eddie trick is to use teak oil to raise the wood fibres and slice the raised fibre away. Light cuts produce a slurry which will fill small voids too.
The wood will absorb the small amount of oil used so it will dry out quite quickly. Then working through the grits should help clean up the rest of it.
You will take a long time to get the tool presentation right and be able to eliminate the torn grain.

Keep at it, you're definitely going in the right direction.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

+1 to what the others have said...all spot on. Try Youtubing the term Sheer scraping and observe both with dedicated scrapers and also with the lower wings of bowl or spindle gouges ie the backs essentially. Both methods can be used but by holding the tool at roughly 45 deg to the work it sheers through the end grain reducing tearout and improving the finish off the tools which makes sanding easier. As Paul has mentioned though, if the tool control isn't quite there yet (to be expected given your experience), then wade in with the 80 grit but make sure the torn grain is completely gone before you move up the grits.

Rule of thumb....it can take as much time to finish as to do the turning in the first place so that should set an appropriate expectation as to how carefully you need observe the finishing and finally, never jump more than 100 grits between grades of sandpaper. Also don't finish on anything less then 240...I often go higher than that for dense grained woods like Yew and Apple.

Welcome

 

[KimG]

I see that it is an Oak bowl you have pictured there Chris, Oak is particularly difficult in this respect as the timber is very hard, that can be an advantage though, what I do in such cases is to stop the lathe and lock it (use some means of stopping it rotating) then I use a drill and sand only the rough spot starting with 120 grit and working down to about 240, you will find that these spots can be dealt with very successfully in this manner.
The advantage of the Oak's hardness in this respect is that you are much less likely to wear a noticeable hollow at the rough spot, whereas with a softer wood like Sycamore, although you can follow the same procedure, you have to be much more careful not to wear a groove at the spot you are dealing with.

Once you have removed the torn grain then sand the rest of the bowl as per normal, this will even it all out and blend in the area you worked on.
The advantage of this method is that it quickly finishes the bad patch, whereas if you try and remove it with the lathe spinning you will be removing a vast amount of wood in comparison and it will take a lot longer.

 

[Robbo3]

Only one clarification to all the good advice in the previous posts.
If you use oil to raise the grain then you are limited to oil or wax for the finish & you won't be able to use any type of stain. I know you are not likely to on this piece but you might on another.
Other options are plain water, superglue or sanding sealer, shellac/spirit, acrylic or cellulose depending on your chosen finish.

 

[CHJ]

As mentioned above steer clear of oil if you wish to use a different finish. If you want a gloss finish then use your sanding sealer to swell and support the end grain fibres prior to sanding.
Some of your other marks are due to too much pressure on the tool and it's bruising the wood,sharp tools and treat the surface like shaving a baby.
As Kim mentioned stop the lathe and sand individual spots by hand, with the grain direction where possible, even rogue end grain will respond better in one direction rather than another.
You can even use water to good effect to swell and lubricate the fibres on some pieces prior to finishing cuts, water has the advantage that it does not control your final finishing choice once dried.

Edit. Sorry for just repeating Robbo advice, me and tablets to access net away from base are not exactly quick off the mark.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

One quick point - do NOT be tempted to use wire wool on your oak . It'll stain blue/black.

 

[Robbo3]

Edit. Sorry for just repeating Robbo advice, me and tablets to access net away from base are not exactly quick off the mark.

No problem. Nice for both the OP & myself to have it confirmed by a respected source.

Also good point by Phil.p about not using wire wool on oak - unless you need a black speckled look.

 

[chrisfarrow]

Thanks for all the advice folks, really appreciate it. Tried the sharp tools/gentle scrape method on another oak bowl and it (of course) worked a charm. Great resource this, look forward to more chats.