Creating a pebble texture

[DennisTholen]

Trying to create a pebble texture on the outside edge of a turned bowl. I tried a few attempts(burning, carving and hammering) but unable to achieve the desired effect. Looking for ideas.

 

[john lucas]

Dennis I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for but I can get a texture that looks somewhat like that of a orange skin by using a Dremel Engraver. I remove the pointy tip which is 1/8" diameter. I installed the shank of a 1/8" drill bit and rounded it over and polished it. You make the texture by randomly creating patterns by drawing circles or 8's or whatever you like. The more you run over the patterns the closer they get. You can also create patterns that resemble writing or scribbling or lines. It's very versatile. It has a variable setting and you may have to play with this on different woods but the #3 setting works on most things.

 

[Gil Jones]

Dennis,
If you actually want a pebble like surface, and by that I mean protruding round hemispheres, you would need to turn the outside surface to the finished form while leaving an 1/8" or so of wood yet to remove. Then using a dimpling tool, like a needle scaler or a rounded pin punch, dimple the area on the surface where you want the "pebble" like texture. Then, as soon as possible, finish turning the surface until you have removed at least half of the dimple depth or nearly all of it (you may want to experiment, as some woods react more than others). Then steam the surface, and watch the compressed wood in the dimples rise up to form "Pebbles". The trick is not to shear the wood fibers when making the dimples.
Luck,

 

[Joe Greiner]

Boiling or steaming the wood before dimpling can enable deeper dimpling, with less risk of fiber distress. Select a point for the dimpling tool, and the dimple locations, consistent with the desired pebble size. Then proceed as Gil suggests. The secondary boiling or steaming pulls the pebbles "up."

[That's pretty much how I made this.]

Joe

 

[DennisTholen]

Yes, Iam trying to achieve a convex vs a concave pebble surface.
Thanks
Dennis

 

[john lucas]

Dennis to produce dimples of consistent height I used a rounded over nail with a washer soldered to it. The nail stuck out a little less than 1/8". I would tap on the nail with a hammer which sunk the nail into the work until the washer stopped it. Then as was suggested above I turned the vessel down until I could just barely see the dimples. Then I steamed it in the microwave with a wet rag around it. This raised the dimples back above the surface. I got that technique out of a book and added the washer idea because my dimples were all different heights.

 

[DennisTholen]

Many thanks for the responses. I am also giving some thought to trying a leather worker's seeder stamp tool. Looks much like a nail set or punch and leaves a dome shape in the leather. They are available in various sizes and shapes and cost less than $5 each. Not sure how they will work on wood. I have attached a couple of photos indicating the results when used on leather.

 

[john lucas]

Dennis as a former leather worker I still have several of the tools and tried them. As you suspect some work and some don't. Some woods also work better than others both in how they spring back and whether or not they will hold the detail of the leather stamps. I haven't done very much of that sort of thing but did do some sample boards to see how the leather tools work along with other tools like nail sets, center punches, etc. They all come out different so it's good to run a test.
You can sometimes run a test on the actual piece. Start when it's still thick. Stamp it, turn away the waste and then lay a wet rag over it and heat it with an Iron. This way you can check the swelling and how it holds details before you get to the final dimension.