Green ash bowls????

[Steve Heveron]

I’m trying to turn some ash that’s green and it keeps tearing out. Is this common with ash until it dries? If not what am I doing wrong?

 

[Brian Gustin]

Tearout is usually a result of dull tools or coming off bevel but some woods (of any species) simply are going to have tearout no matter what you do. I have had little problem with ash once I learned what "Sharp" actually is (and feels like) but before that often had trouble with ash getting 'waves" (due to density changes between growth rings, and also pushing too hard which was a symptom of dull tool too.) I'd often see tear-out as well when trying to cut with dull tools (Because the tool isn't cutting, it is ripping fibers away) But other than that once I learned to sharpen (early and often) and better tool control (float the bevel, let the tool cut without having to push it to make it cut) I have had no trouble with ash either green or dried.

 

[hockenbery]

Hard to troubleshoot the technique without seeing it.
Also I’ll assume you are howling through the face grain.

There are many cutting techniques that promote tear out- a common one among newbies is pointing the flute more toward the ways than you should. The flute should be mostly pointed toward the headstock or tailstock.

Sharp tools, light cuts, float the bevel, let the tool feed itself. Light grip on the tools
Cross cut the wood as much as possible -for bowls it is foot to rim outside. Rim to bottom inside.

On the outside a pull cut is usually cleaner than a push it with something like an Ellsworth grind.

These show flute directions the work for me with the push cut


Pull cut

Push cut hollowing

 

[robo hippy]

If you are part of a club, you can probably find several mentors who can help. If not part of a club, join anyway since you can learn so much without having to figure it out by yourself.... Did that till we had a local club form. As for tear out, in side grain/bowl orientation, there is always tear out from going with and then against the grain when you cut, and there are 2 spots that tear and 2 spots that are clean, and they are opposite each other from inside and outside. The idea is to reduce it to the point where it can be fairly easily sanded out. On the outside of the bowl, finish cuts go from the bottom to the rim. On the inside of the bowl, you go from the rim to the bottom. Some woods to tend to tear more than others. With dry wood, you can wet the fiber and then very gently cut off the wet part. With green wood, first suspect is a dull tool. Second suspect is pushing too hard for your finish cuts. Roughing cuts don't make much difference since you are going for mass stock removal, but my roughing is much smoother shall we say, after many years. When you take a finish cut, you take very light cuts and don't cut faster than the wood wants you to cut. This means that your feed rate slows way down for finish cuts.

robo hippy

 

[Dave Landers]

I've done quite a bit of ash recently - mostly green turning hollow forms, often radial grain orientation (like a bowl). There is often one or two spots that tear out while the rest cuts cleanly. It usually takes me a few passes with a freshly sharpened gouge, paying special attention to edge presentation, etc. Sometimes that doesn't quite do it and I have to try other things - a bottom-bowl or 40/40 may sometimes works better on that spot.