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Bleeding knots

Joined
Jan 14, 2020
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Austin, TX
Hi just got in from a frustrating session in the shop. I was working on a nice piece of cherry, I think.
I use a bowl gouge for most of a piece but towards the end I'll find ridges or whatever. I can't just keep taking passes with the bg because there will be nothing left. So I switch to my nrs which smoothes everything out very nicely and is very satisfying. I have a subsequent question about that later. Well on this piece which actually had a section of pith I guess I found that I'd have these lines going round. They seemed very smooth almost like they were some form of figure. But they were too coincidentally circular and when I went back at it with the nrs the would either go away or move too a new location :). But it looked like the knots grain was bleeding. It would have been cool if it didn't suck. It was definitely not any kind of sap or liquid but looked like distortion of the grain.
I know, I should show a picture but I ended up working then sanding it to death.
So I guess I'm wondering a) is this because the wood may have been very old thus very dry, b) is it because of nrs c) is it because I'm no good or d) all of the above plus other stuff.

Bonus question. Is using the nrs at the end kind of cheating? Should I strive to get a final cut off the bg? I know some or all will say, you gotta do what you gotta do, and the nrs is legit etc. But I fear that if I rely on it for my finish cut I'll never develop the skill with the bg which might be a better cut/skill.
Thanks all
 

john lucas

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Apr 26, 2004
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The customerndoesntnknow what tool.you used to get the bowl so dont fret over that. We all.struggle.tomget the best finish off a bowl.gouge and its a great feeling when you do but I have no problem using a negative rake or shear scraper or even 120 paper if that's what it takes. On bleeding knots, sometimes.they do but most of the time they dont. Thinned shellac will.usuallynl seal them.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
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Canton, Connecticut
Use the tool that you're comfortable with (i.e., safety), and gives you the desired result. When I do bowls, most of it is done with a BG. However, the transition area and bottom are still a challenge with the BG, so I break out the NRS when I need to. The NRS and sanding will give me the desired result.
 

hockenbery

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I use a bowl gouge for most of a piece but towards the end I'll find ridges or whatever. I can't just keep taking passes with the bg because there will be nothing left.

I see these ridges a lot with students who come off the bevel and just cut with the nose of the gouge across the bottom. The gouge wantS to follow the bevel and cut deeper the turner keeps correcting the depth the result is a washboard effect. - might be your problem.

grinding the heel off the gouge will make it easier to keep the bevel on the wood.

It’s never cheating to use a tool that works.

When I turn NE bowls from a crotch, the grain in the bottom is going in different directions tp where the two branches are. Usually I can get a clean cut with a gouge through repeated light cuts to eliminate the minor torn grain. But about 20% of the bowls I reach a point like you describe where I run out of wood to keep cutting with the gouge so I pull out a round nose scraper. Sometime the wood just doesn’t want to be cut.
 
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