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Turning vase

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I have a piece of green maple about 8 inches cubed and would like to turn a vase out of it. should I hollow the side grain side or the end-grain. I have experienced a lot of tear out with this wood (it must be soft maple) so I was thinking to hollow the end grain but I'm not sure. This is a picture of what I'm shooting for.
Also what do you think the finish is on this vessel?
Thank you very much for your thoughts.

Wooden Vase 2.jpeg
 

hockenbery

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Your choice either way will work. On a tall piece the grain pattern will look better on an endgrain hollowed piece.
The photo appears to be endgrain hollowed.

with endgrain hollowing it gets tricky because you want to hollow first. Then turn the outside wall to match he inside wall. You can make a template to judge the inside curve. With the endgrain hollowing the worst tearout will be in the inside.
engrain hollowing is usually begun by drilling a pilot hole to depth.
A ring tool or hook tool will do the hollowing cleanly. Also a larger Hunter tool will clean up the inside well.

Face grain hollowing will give you a different grain pattern and let you shape the outside first.
That shape will be a challenge to hollow with a gouges. You will need a bottom of the bowl gouge, a 40 degree bevel gouge, and am60 degree bevel gouge.

you can always do hollowing of either the endgrain or face grain with hollowing tools.
Then smooth the surface with a scraper.
 
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I find soft maple about the easiest turning wood there is. Red maple is better than silver maple, but either are very forgiving. Very seldom is the tear out a result of a species, but more often turner techniques or tool sharpening. What tools do you use? I too turn the outside first and use calipers to keep an even wall thickness for the inside.
 

hockenbery

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That is new to me. What is the reasoning behind this? I always shape the outside first, even with endgrain. I do leave the bottom 25% of the form thicker than the final form, until most of the hollowing is completed.

With endgrain open forms the side walls will often crack during the hollowing when the walls are turned thin.
Thick walls no problem. Since i want to hollow from the bottom up it isn’t feasible to stair step turning the inside like I can with a face grain bowl.
When turning a hf endgrain you do essentially stair step the walls.
 
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I can't get my head wrapped around the logic of hollowing side grain. It has got to be a weaker/more delicate vessel when finished doesn't it?
Yup think about the tear out problems with a typical side grain bowl and that is open enough to allow use a shearing cut but there is not a tool configuration that would work inside a small hollow form.
 

hockenbery

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I can't get my head wrapped around the logic of hollowing side grain. It has got to be a weaker/more delicate vessel when finished doesn't it?

Have you had the pleasure of splitting firewood? Or chopped a log in half with an axe?
Face-grain bowls are generally much stronger than bowls hollowed through the endgrain.
Also face grain hollowed HFS are generally stronger than endgrain hollowed HFs but their job is to look nice so strength isn’t an issue.

if you are referring to hollow forms. Hollowing through the face grain yields a totally different grain pattern and many different options such as using natural edge opening or using the sapwood as a feature for the opening.

3 box elder Hf - the one front left is hollowed face grain, other hollowed endgrain 83C1F645-CC94-499B-A206-949729A3F4ED.jpeg


a few face grain hollow forms mulberry, red gum eucalyptus, poplar, walnut
8B36D0A6-A972-4876-9EF9-C48340AC00B7.jpeg B9C65ACA-3EB3-43F0-94C5-55607F7CCD76.jpeg 7F6CDF40-EA37-4CD5-B35C-F3482BAA2994.jpeg 46880CD6-DF94-4527-99DE-E0EAD58DF076.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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Have you had the pleasure of splitting firewood? Or chopped a log in half with an axe?
Face-grain bowls are generally much stronger than bowls hollowed through the endgrain.
Also face grain hollowed HFS are generally stronger than endgrain hollowed HFs but their job is to look nice so strength isn’t an issue.

if you are referring to hollow forms. Hollowing through the face grain yields a totally different grain pattern and many different options such as using natural edge opening or using the sapwood as a feature for the opening.

3 box elder Hf - the one front left is hollowed face grain, other hollowed endgrain View attachment 36131


a few face grain hollow forms mulberry, red gum eucalyptus, poplar, walnut
View attachment 36130 View attachment 36128 View attachment 36129 View attachment 36132


Those hollow forms of yours are very nice.
 
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