Sanding

[Pip]

Finished turning my first segmented bowl ( Mahogany and some pallet wood), sanded to a decent finish, (so I thought), but when I stopped the lathe the pallet wood was almost the same colour as the Mahogany, the dust had entered the grain, :shock: tried to turn some more off to get the colours separate, but went too far and the bowl shattered.
Can someone please tell me how to avoid this happening again,
T.I.A.
pip

 

[Orcamesh]

Hi pip

If I recall correctly you have to lacquer the light coloured wood after going through the grades on the light wood, then glue it together with the darker wood. The grain in the lacquered light wood will then not fill up with the dust from the darker wood when you do the final sanding.

Someone please correct me if this wrong as I've not done this before but just recall it from somewhere!

 

[Pip]

Hya, H.M. I think laquer will come into it somewhere, but if I laquer before glue-up won't the turning to shape remove the laquer? or is there a sealer or something that will soak well into the grain of the lighter wood?
I have read about this somewhere but just can't recall where.
pip

 

[Pip]

Just done a search on the oz site, they suggest using compressed air when sanding, will give it a try next time,(whenever that may be)
pip

 

[Orcamesh]

I'm surprised none of the expert turners have commented yet, I just recall something about lacquer, it may have been to do with making a chess board (so not turned) and I cant recall the technique properly. But yeah if compressed air works then give it a go (if you've got some). Maybe you can turn it to final shape then lacquer the whole area and then do the sanding process. The lighter wood should then not contain any dark wood dust, nor any light dust in the dark wood? Might be worth a go on a scrap to see if it works?

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Pip,

This is a tricky one. I have played around with glue-ups in the past but I am in no way a seg-mentalist!!! (no patence for all that p*ssing about!!)

Some woods are more prone to taking on the colour of other woods than others. I once made a bowl with Sapele and Beech and no problems. Your best bet, if you get no conclusive answers from here, would be to glue up as normal, get the best finish from the tool that you can and then apply a light coat of Sanding Sealer. Sand. Re-apply the SS, sand again.... etc, etc. It's a bit of a balls ache and a lengthy old process but should help if not totally get rid of the problem.

HTH

Richard

 

[Pip]

Hi Richard, before I start any more "p*ssing about", I'll have to get some more sanding sealer in, (about a gallon should do for the next bowl), with plenty of that and using the compressed air it should turn out o'k (what a lousy pun).

H.M. strangely enough, I've got a chess board in clamps as well!!!

Will let you both know how/if it works, hell, I'll let everybody know!!!
but don't hold your breath, have too much "balls ache" happening in the house at the moment
Thanks for your replies
pip

 

[Harlequin]

use a powerful vacuum to suck the dust off often and carry on sanding.
Take care to sand lightly and avoid burnishing with the sandpaper.
By the time you reach your finer grits all will be well
Getting the best finish possible with really sharp tools will help no end.

rgds