Very punky end grain

[procell]

Another piece I picked up from the council yard that I cannot identify.
This piece looks like its been there quite a while and the end grain is very punky when turned. I have soaked it with sanding sealer now and will give it a try to see if it has stabilized it tomorrow.

A litle spalting which is a nice bonus

A few cracks too which i will fill with CA glue

Not decided on final profile but its a start

 

[Bodrighy]

Soaked in sealer, left overnight then sanded with something like 180 should get a reasonably smooth surface you can then finish off with higher grade abrasive. Personally I think a little evident punkiness on wood like this is acceptable as it will be a fairly rustic looking piece with all the spalting. Probably offend the purists though. When you polish it, give it a good hard polish with a sift wax like beeswax before using carnuba and it will also help to fil the little holes in the punkiness.

Pete

 

[winemaker]

I like it, going tobe nice when it finished

 

[gary knights]

nice

 

[procell]

Well after a few days of sealing sanding then scraping, sealing and sanding again i finally got it to something like a smooth finish.
My next test was "how do i remove the recess from the bottom?" I did not have a set of cole jaws at the time so ended up with a piece of scrap wood held on a screw chuck then covered with a sponge and used as a jam chuck.

Mistake number 1. Never use a sponge to pad the scrap jam. It allows to much slip and I ended up with a blue stained ring inside the bowl.
Mistake number 2. Don't try to sand down the inside of the bowl to remove the stain using a circular sanding disc. I ended up with some deep sanding ridges around the area where the base meets the sides of the bowl which i now have to find a way to sand out.

I will post some pictures of the final bowl when it is smoothed out again as I think the grain pattern is amazing.

I actually received a set of cole jaws that i bought on fleabay this morning so hopefully the problem wont occur again.

 

[Bodrighy]

Make yourself a disc of wood with a tenon and get some router mat for it. The bowl can then be held against it with the tail post to clean up the bottom.

Pete

 

[KimG]

Looks very much like Spalted Sycamore, at least, the Sycamore I have here has a very similar appearance.

 

[procell]

As promised here are a few pics of the final bowl. I have also put some up of a small walnut bowl that I have still got to finish the last bit of the base on.

Hope you like them

 

[Richard Findley]

Something to bear in mind when struggling with the grain is the shape you are making. Straight sided bowls like this are not only less elegant but they also are much harder to achieve a good finish because you are working directly across the end grain, whereas if you work on a curve, not only is the bowl more attractive, but you are working with the grain of the wood more, rather than fighting it. It's a win win situation!

If you are struggling to achieve a good curve because the chuck and recess are in the way, consider holding on a spigot which will give you more scope in the design as you can choose to reshape it or remove it entirely at the end. Much harder to do with a recess, as you found.

Hope this helps

Richard

 

[user 17340]

It does look like some spalted sycamore I've used. It was spalting nicely then suddenly became very punky - too wet outside. Nice bowl with a good finish but I do agree about the straight sides. I took to woodturning to make flowing curves which are both appealing and forgiving (and because I could not saw a straight line!) Great undercutting on the small walnut bowl - not easy.

 

[procell]

Thanks for the comments. I have the other half of this log to use still so will try something with slightly more elegant lines. I do like the chunky simplicity of this one though. It was also an exercise to see if I could get a nice straight profile without tool marks. The main thing was the wood was FREE so I had nothing to lose apart from fingers.