Spalted Elm bowl.

[Paul.J]

This is another one of the blanks i cut up last week and managed to save.
Elm with some nice spalting going on and again i had a small red patch in this one :shock:
This one measures 9" dia and 5" tall with the foot,finished with SS.

 

[KimG]

That's a very nice bowl Paul. Lovely bit of timber too.

 

[Paul.J]

Cheers Kim

 

[lanemaux]

First off , love the bowl amigo. very pretty with the spalting. A question though , as I am not yet a turner. Does the spalting soften or complicate turning in any way? I ask as my possible bits for future turnings would be from the mother in laws woodpile and some interesting bits might present themselves but I worry about possibly catching an edge. Pardon me if this seems a stupid question.

 

[KimG]

Spalting does soften some of the wood, after all it is a process of fungus decaying the wood to a point it becomes fungus food! But not all at once, the white areas are the ones that are usually softer, especially in advanced stages where it can degrade the wood to the point of uselessness, no structural strength left at all. In the early stages though you can have nice patterns and colouration (the black lines are zonal borders between different fungi) and yet the timber is still relatively sound, this is the best wood for turning with. What you get out of the woodpile or anywhere else apart from perhaps purchased blanks, is very much potluck.

Catching an edge? Do you mean getting a dig in with the tool? For logs turned between centres set the rest as close as possible at a point where the rotating wood just misses it and use a roughing gouge to turn it cylindrical. For a log mounted for a bowl Bring the tailstock up to support the base and set the rest the same and use a bowl gouge, taking off a little at a time across the piece until it becomes balanced, a gouge with a swept back style of grind is easier to use for this than a square grind.

 

[CHJ]

Another attractive colour catch Paul, a surprise consolation for having to sort out the hard won wood pile.

Nice smooth continuous curve across the differing radii .

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Mike and Chas
I'm not sure about the foot on this one but was asked to do some bowls with the foot left on so will be trying various styles.

Mike-Some woods spalt better than others with Beech been just about the best for effect and eveness across the wood,but you have gotta catch it just right if you are spalting yourself.
As Kim says if it goes too far you end up with very soft punky wood which is no good at all unless you have a small patch that could be superglued, providing the rest of the piece is worth saving,which is what i have done with my last two bowls.

Every new turner has catches Mike its all part of the learning curve and you soon overcome them when you find your technique,just keep the tools sharp at all times,keep the spped to what you feel comfy with until you gain more confidence and keep asking questions no matter how daft you think they may be.

 

[lanemaux]

Thanks for setting the old brain box at ease folks. As stated , I'm not yet turning ,have had an idea for a treadle bowl turning addition to my bench though. Green woodworking and piddling about at that. More or less to stave off boredom induced insanity as health has me pretty shackled to hearth and home. Mother in law gets piles of maple , birch and various other woods brought off the back 40 green and lets it season by the barn fenceline so no shortage to go through. Just need to find some chisels and I can get a start on my next hairbrained scheme.

 

[Leebo914]

Thats a very nice bowl, well proportioned and i also really like the foot. Well turned