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Finished my first bowl

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http://lumberjocks.com/projects/71199

I was not sure how to add pics so here is a link.

I would love to know if anyone knew that type of wood this looked like to them.
It was finished with clear semi gloss poly and sanded to 400 then added 2 coats of bees wax. It was more a practice bowl but it just came together so I finished it as a display piece.
 
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Beech?

For number one, that's number one!
 
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Red oak questions

Thanks ...I been hooked by the turning bug for sure...;)

Now I started a bowl out of red oak ... what a mess hands are purple and tools turned to yellowish / brown from the wet wood. I have seen oak stain metal from glue ups but this is crazy. Is there anything I can do so this would not happen again... looking at my hands you'd think I got inked from funny money ...lol
 
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Lemon juice will do for the hands. Tools will wear away. What you have to do is check EVERY surface in the shop for a stray shaving or two when you're turning red oak. They can corrode waxed iron in an afternoon.
 
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That ain't no lie... 2 hours of fun turning and 3 hours of cleaning tool tops and tools with top coat and pitch remover .... was almost not worth it.:eek:
 
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Ditto from here on the corrosion...I made the mistake of leaving some green oak in my chuck for a couple of days. Hideous corrosion on the jaws from it. Dry oak hasn't done that to me though.
 
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Two things you can do to make things easier on yourselves.

First - cover up. You know where the water flings. While avoiding it yourself, cover things in the line of fire. I have my set of cardboards which are form fit to the top of my tablesaw, whose top is 4 feet away from the lathe 9:00. After a bad experience caused, I believe, by not brushing my clothing off prior to going to the necessary, they also cover the jointer to the left of the saw table. I leave them where they are as I carry out the mess.

Which is the second point. No better place to direct the shavings than where you aren't, so adapt your turning style a bit to minimize travel distance, and put your collector there. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Forged-Peel-Long-View.jpg I rough a couple three pieces and then do the Santa up the steps with the bag. Since my lathe is up against the wall, I can just allow the inside shavings to fall where they may. Simple thing to scoop them up and drop them into the bag. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Forged-Peel-Inside.jpg Wet wood, even red oak, cuts in long shavings, so there's very little sweep-up. Don't make 'em "fly," let 'em fall.

If your lathe isn't up against the wall, make one. The benefits are visible here. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/ContactSheet-1-1.jpg Cardboard works, and if you fold it so it forms a cover for the stand behind as well as a wall, so much the better.

Remember to brush your clothing off before you walk through the rest of the shop, and/or leave the covers on until you're through with a rough session. Goes for any wood, especially the acid ones like oak and cherry.
 
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Nice bowl, Christopher. My #1 guess for stinky wood is box elder, which to me smells like something died in a swamp. And might fit the look of this bowl.
 
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It has been a while since I turned a piece from green wood. AKA (stinky wood) It also doesn't really want to cut like my tools are dull. So I sharpened them and about 2 minutes later same thing dull again. Is this any indication of woods any of you worked with? But in the end the bowl seemed to be stunning for a beginer.
 
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Christopher, based on smell, I would vote probably for some sort of elm, which is usually "barnyard"-esque. Elm is even vulgarly known as P$$$ wood. It also has interlocked grain, sometimes difficult to cut. Having seen that this bowl doesn't really look like elm, or hackberry, (elm family), I'd also vote box elder as well. I notice that the wood is fairly spalted--this can cause tools to go dull quickly, no matter the species. I've turned heavily spalted sycamore bowls that took the edge off tools in no time, but sycamore is otherwise a very soft wood. Ellsworth discusses lining up several sharp bowl gouges for the last finish cuts on a bowl or hollow form, as spalted wood takes the edge off so quickly.
 
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Thanks guys for some of your thoughts on this issue. What ever it is doesn't really matter to me cause I am a new turner and just need wood to play with but would be nice to know for sure what it was. I plan to bring a freshly cut chunk of wood to my turning club and donate to who ever knows what it is.:cool:
 
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I missed the stink part entirely, or I would not have guessed beech. Elm was option two, but the notorious smell was not mentioned in the post. Lightly spalted, it looks real good for your mystery wood.

http://www.aawforum.org/photopost/data/500/medium/1022Elm-Passer.jpg
http://www.aawforum.org/photopost/data/500/medium/1022Elm-Passer-2.jpg
The end grain shot clearly shows the distinct annual rings of elm. Beech is rather bland without spalting. Only distinguishing factor are the thousands of flecks of ray figure.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Beech-Views.jpg

Spalting really sparks it, though.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Beech.jpg
 
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