repair green bowl split

[Gary Chapman]

I just turned a beautiful cherry bowl , at least turned the outside shape,about 16 in. to find a crack right smack dab in the middle. One repair might be to cut it in half and put in a contrasting piece of wood . should I something like green walnut or could I use a dried slab of wood? What glue should I use on green wood? I hate to just throw the bowl away, cherry is really nice. Thanks to all. Gary

 

[Steve Worcester]

If the wood that is cracked is green, I wouldn't do anything until it is finished drying (moving and cracking).

 

[Bill Travelstead]

One repair might be to cut it in half and put in a contrasting piece of wood.

Here's a fella who's doing what you are thinking of doing. Might give you some ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wngBr-seHaI

If you get a chance it would be interesting to see some photos of whatever process you decide upon.

 

[Odie]

As Steve has indicated, there's not much you can do about the crack until the wood has a stabilized moisture content.

Take that wood off your lathe, seal the end grain at a minimum......(I'd seal the entire thing, though)........and let it dry out. At this point, the more wood you remove right now, the more difficult your options will be, once it's dry.

edit: If you haven't removed any of the interrior wood, it will be necessary to take some out in order to enhance the drying process to a reasonable rate of moisture release. You will have to use your judgement about this, because the more wood you remove, the fewer options you'll have, once the wood has stabilized. I suppose you could cut that crack off and dry what's left, but without seeing your wood, you'll have to make a few decisions for yourself.......

Also......If you can't end up with a bowl that doesn't look right, or obviously repaired, it's sometimes best to just eat whatever cost you have in that piece of wood, and move on. If that's the case, you might just as well consider it a practice piece, or cut it up to use in other ways.

ooc

 

[MichaelMouse]

I just turned a beautiful cherry bowl , at least turned the outside shape,about 16 in. to find a crack right smack dab in the middle.

I'm not sure what you have going. Is it just a superficial radial check, or is it a potentially disastrous end check? If the former, it might, depending on position, close on its own. If the latter, it might ruin the whole bowl as it dries regardless what you do.

Here are some radial checks. Easy choice here, since I placed it near the rim. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Cherry-Sapwood-Radial.jpg
Lower down, less deep, and closed itself because of the natural direction of movement when drying. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Cherry-Low-Radial-Check.jpg

End checks, depending on how far off vertical they are - you want them way off - and how slowly you dry, can disappear. Of course if you have a Polish moment and put a rough under the heater duct, there's no hope. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/f2267132.jpg

What'cha got? Hollow in any case, perhaps with a modification to outside shape, and dry carefully. Coat outside only.

 

[waltben]

Had that happen to a cherry piece I was working on that was wet. I didn't seal it, just put it in a paper bag to control the drying rate and set it on a shelf for almost a year. When it was dry, I had to re-turn the chuck jaw recess in the foot and work the bowl back to round, but I left the crack in and found some lacing. Sold within six months of being put in a gallery.

 

[Joe Greiner]

Even if the crack closes on its own, the closing won't restore the lost strength.

I'd chalk it up to experience, and move on. Although I've filled some small cracks in other pieces with epoxy and coffee "mortar," I once had a smaller piece than yours, in the same condition, mounted and ready to work the inside. I hadn't noticed the crack. I stood aft of the headstock when I hit the switch. The part away from the crack went that-a-way. I found it, and taped it to its buddy. I try to keep them in viewing distance of the lathe, as an example of what not to do again. Except standing aft of the headstock for startup, of course.

Joe

 

[robo hippy]

For me, the decision is based on is it for daily use, or for "art". I try to check out the wood very carefully before I turn it. If there is a crack already in it, I know from experience that it will get bigger as the wood dries. The extra work in repairing a crack isn't worth it for daily use pieces. The buyers will always see the 'repair' work and if there is another similar piece with out a crack, it will sell first every time. If it is a very special piece of wood, then I will repair it.

I do keep a box of 'factory' seconds that I take to one show every year with all the pieces that I don't want to fix up. They sell for up to $5. Usually gone in about 2 hours. Other wise, "if at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried."

robo hippy

 

[john lucas]

Been there done that, actually have 3 cherry bowls right now that checked because I moved them from the slow drying to fast drying too soon.
I've tried many ways to patch. Unfortunately they all look like patches. Probably the best as far as easy sales is filling the crack with colored Inlace. I get my Inlace from www.turtlefeathers.net You do have to wait until the bowl is completely dry.
If you want to patch it while wet I have done that with a butterfly patch but if the bowl really wants to move it can cause a check in another area. I leave the crack open and just cut the butterfly patch so it purposely looks like I'm trying to repair a crack.
The bowl in the video you posted has a bottom that is way to thick. That's probably at least part of what caused his bowl to split. When rough turning a bowl I leave the bottom as thick as the sides or even thinner. You can get away with thinner because the wood in this area won't move as much so you have to take out less when truing up the bowl later. Making the bottoms thinner has reduced the number of bowls I lose to checking considerably.

 

[MichaelMouse]

The bowl in the video you posted has a bottom that is way to thick. That's probably at least part of what caused his bowl to split. When rough turning a bowl I leave the bottom as thick as the sides or even thinner. You can get away with thinner because the wood in this area won't move as much so you have to take out less when truing up the bowl later. Making the bottoms thinner has reduced the number of bowls I lose to checking considerably.

Makes no difference how thin, rather how broad. Can't have bottoms much thicker than full depth, which is what I'm doing by leaving a pillar. If you get too broad, the 7% contraction can amount to quite a bit of absolute distance, stressing along the grain to the point of bursting the ends.

As far as flashy repairs go, they always look unnatural. If you like, however, you can insert slivers in checks, matching the grain to the existing orientation, and end up with an almost invisible repair. It's like the old flatwork trick of adding a veneer to tighten a dovetail.

 

[hockenbery]

Make it into mini sculptures.

Margaret Lospinuso makes terrific desk clock sets from extra dried bowls.

She cuts them up on the bandsaw into triangular shapes. so you have the curve of the bowl. Drill it for a clock insert. Made a real attractive desk clock.

You could also arrange the parts into a mosaic wall sculpture.

Another option when it is dry re turn it with a flat rim, cut out the section out that includes the crack, glue the rim faces together.

-Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

Gary can you describe where the crack is located. Does the bowl contain the pith and does the crack radiate out from it? On some wood, I have managed to stop a crack from growing by using CA, but it depends on a lot of things and it will not work if there is a lot of movement.