I used a glue block on these natural edge bowls to give me the freedom to do whatever I want with the wood. I split the log down the center of the pith with a chainsaw and turned it flat to get rid of the pith and have a place for the glue block. I agree a chuck is quicker, some say a glue block has less vibration. I try different things. This piece and the other half of the log have some flame in them and I was trying to capture it. The other one I did today turned out better, I used a glue block on it also. The coring pieces I'm just putting on a chuck. Mark, I know you do a lot of natural edge and you get good results. I'm relatively new at this with 3 years experience so I'm still learning. I let the glue dry for a day and didn't use accerlerator in it because I had a bad experience with doing it that way.
-
November Turning Challenge: Puahala Calabash! (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Paul May for "Staircase Study #1" being selected as Turning of the Week for November 11, 2024 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
Thanks, Vincent. I'm still learning too, which is why I ask.
Accelerator makes the ca brittle. You were right to wait.
Roughed out a Red Mallee burl last night. This one seemed to be a bit more dense, and difficult to get a clean cut over the other RMB burls I've done in the past. Yes, I know it's just the roughing stage, and getting the cleanest cut possible isn't as important in the roughing stage, as it is in the second turn. That's just the way it is for me.....always a stickler for finding that perfect cut! I'm a bit excited over this one, and can't wait to see how it will turn out on the second turn. I had to leave it extra thick, 1 1/4", because of the difficulties and problems that arose while roughing it. Sheesh.....it took me 4 hours just to rough it out! 
Since it has 20% MC, I expect it to take up to a year to finish the seasoning phase of this bowl. (I tell myself....You must have patience, odie....ha,ha!)
-o-
Since it has 20% MC, I expect it to take up to a year to finish the seasoning phase of this bowl. (I tell myself....You must have patience, odie....ha,ha!)
-o-
Ha! I have a couple of boxes of bowls that are seasoning. They’re in the house, and every time I pass the boxes I’m tempted to pull on out. So far so good, but it’s tough
So this how thick you leave your bowls for seasoning Odie?Roughed out a Red Mallee burl last night. This one seemed to be a bit more dense, and difficult to get a clean cut over the other RMB burls I've done in the past. Yes, I know it's just the roughing stage, and getting the cleanest cut possible isn't as important in the roughing stage, as it is in the second turn. That's just the way it is for me.....always a stickler for finding that perfect cut! I'm a bit excited over this one, and can't wait to see how it will turn out on the second turn. I had to leave it extra thick, 1 1/4", because of the difficulties and problems that arose while roughing it. Sheesh.....it took me 4 hours just to rough it out!
Since it has 20% MC, I expect it to take up to a year to finish the seasoning phase of this bowl. (I tell myself....You must have patience, odie....ha,ha!)
-o-
View attachment 52414
Michael....there is a definite procedure to determine if the roughed bowl is ready to finish turn, and I may be on the extreme limits of that procedure. All roughed bowls are weighed monthly, and at the minimum, three months of unchanged weight is the standard in making that determination. Some bowls, I let it go to 4 months....and on rare occasions, it's five months. During the winter months, I tend to let that period extend, because the loss of moisture is slower then. Obviously, the summer months have the greatest speed of moisture loss.....and spring and fall are in-between. If a roughed bowl is harder and denser, like the Red Mallee you see here, I tend to let it slide a little more than something like domestic maple. If a roughed bowl has less then about 16% MC, I often do not use anchorseal during the seasoning process, so that plays into the decision to call the seasoning process good to go, as well. If there is any guess work involved, it revolves around the species of wood, the time of year, and whether it has an anchorseal coating. If there is one thing that really does improve the process, it's the knowledge that to season bowls to the best final result, then "time is your friend"....the longer you can wait, the more secure you are in guaranteeing a great final outcome.Ha! I have a couple of boxes of bowls that are seasoning. They’re in the house, and every time I pass the boxes I’m tempted to pull on out. So far so good, but it’s tough
-o-
Not usually, Russ. This example is a bit thicker than I usually go. This one will take longer to season, because of that. As you know, the standard for thickness of a roughed bowl is 10% of the diameter, and I routinely fudge that a little bit. I'd say I normally go about 12% of the diameter, or so.....but, I really don't bother with accuracy in measuring it.....I just make sure it's a little thicker than the normal 10% standard. Naturally, I have to wait longer for the seasoning process to finalize because of my beliefs on this.....but, as I said above, the longer I wait because the seasoning process is slowed down, the better the final result will be.
All of these things, means I have to have about 30-50 bowls in the seasoning process at any one given time.....and because of having this method for many years, I have a backlog of pre-seasoned bowls to choose from when I decide to throw one the lathe for the second turn. I never succumb to an overpowering desire to put a bowl on the lathe prematurely.
-o-
Additional notes:
Most turners want to shorten the time element in the seasoning process, because they are impatient to throw it on the lathe for the second turn.....and, they have increased irregular results because of this. A bowl will not lose MC in an orderly and/or theoretical manner....it will lose MC unevenly. The quicker you release moisture from a roughed bowl, then the difference between the interior high MC and low MC will be greater. When that difference is greater than the wood structure can naturally accept, then the inevitable result will be more cracking and warping than would have been possible by taking more time in the seasoning process. No matter what, there will always be some cracking and warping, but the whole philosophy of "time is your friend", is to keep these things to their absolute minimum......and, time is the only true way to accomplish this.
-o-
Most turners want to shorten the time element in the seasoning process, because they are impatient to throw it on the lathe for the second turn.....and, they have increased irregular results because of this. A bowl will not lose MC in an orderly and/or theoretical manner....it will lose MC unevenly. The quicker you release moisture from a roughed bowl, then the difference between the interior high MC and low MC will be greater. When that difference is greater than the wood structure can naturally accept, then the inevitable result will be more cracking and warping than would have been possible by taking more time in the seasoning process. No matter what, there will always be some cracking and warping, but the whole philosophy of "time is your friend", is to keep these things to their absolute minimum......and, time is the only true way to accomplish this.
-o-
A couple of sibling Black Walnut NE bowls.
Bradford Pear branch. Part of a project. Trust the plan haha
Updates (bad then good ):
Unfortunately, I ran into a bit too much flex while thinning the spindle (and I don’t have a steady rest). However, I didn’t need the entire length, so the plan is still working. Albeit, a bit modified. Also, gosh darn it, hot melt glue is about the handiest thing ever.
An explanation—I hollowed through the top of the piece above, drilling first, and then hollowing with a Hunter Badger. I had to reverse and drill through the bottom, because my tool wasn’t long enough (short by about 2 inches). So, now that I have a hole, I can finish the hollowing with a hook knife. Manual labor, haha. Some progress:
Updates (bad then good
):Unfortunately, I ran into a bit too much flex while thinning the spindle (and I don’t have a steady rest). However, I didn’t need the entire length, so the plan is still working. Albeit, a bit modified. Also, gosh darn it, hot melt glue is about the handiest thing ever.
An explanation—I hollowed through the top of the piece above, drilling first, and then hollowing with a Hunter Badger. I had to reverse and drill through the bottom, because my tool wasn’t long enough (short by about 2 inches). So, now that I have a hole, I can finish the hollowing with a hook knife. Manual labor, haha. Some progress:
Last edited:
Looks like a plan to me!
I’ve been driving by this ash tree on a neighbor’s lawn for the past couple of weeks. Yesterday I put the saw in the car and asked if I could take a couple of pieces. “Of course, take all you want!” I just took two 16” x16” pieces. Slabbed them yesterday and started rough turning and coring them this morning.
The tree, like most ash around here, was riddled with borer tunnels through the cambium, but the wood looks flawless. The larger bowl here is about 13” in diameter.
The tree, like most ash around here, was riddled with borer tunnels through the cambium, but the wood looks flawless. The larger bowl here is about 13” in diameter.
You have no idea how much better this makes me feel. Beautiful wood by looks of the picture.Roughed out a Red Mallee burl last night. This one seemed to be a bit more dense, and difficult to get a clean cut over the other RMB burls I've done in the past. Yes, I know it's just the roughing stage, and getting the cleanest cut possible isn't as important in the roughing stage, as it is in the second turn. That's just the way it is for me.....always a stickler for finding that perfect cut! I'm a bit excited over this one, and can't wait to see how it will turn out on the second turn. I had to leave it extra thick, 1 1/4", because of the difficulties and problems that arose while roughing it. Sheesh.....it took me 4 hours just to rough it out!
Since it has 20% MC, I expect it to take up to a year to finish the seasoning phase of this bowl. (I tell myself....You must have patience, odie....ha,ha!)
-o-
View attachment 52414
Howdy Kirk.....
I believe Al once said he could rough out a bowl in 30 minutes! I've never been able to do it that fast, but with this very expensive Red Mallee Burl bowl, I figure it's best to take my time, inspect the progress.....and if necessary, change game-plans to suit the attributes and characteristics of the wood.....as, they are revealed.
I've roughed out a couple of Brown Mallee Burl bowls since this one, and found major drying separations (stable cracks) as they were revealed. One had to have the diameter reduced significantly, and the other had to have some major changes in what was possible for it's final shape when it is 2nd turned in the future.
Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do, and forget about how much time it takes to do it!
-o-
Last edited:
All these beautiful projects going on and I can't turn this week due to our heat, it was 96 today. Ugh! So jealous.
Wee hours of last night: Still wet from application of D.O.......Oregon Claro Walnut burl.
-o-
-o-
A couple of Redbud burl mini bowls. The larger one is a bit less than 2.5” diameter.
Let there be light. Added some lighting to the lathe area. I've been on the lookout for a used dentist light but they are few and far between. Settled on a 50W flood and a 50W articulated spot "dock" light.
This little Zelkova bowl is 6 1/2” x 1/12”. The color just blows me away. A got a few pieces of this Japanese ornamental a year ago. This is my last one. It is in the elm family and has similar grain. I’m keeping my eyes open for more of these trees being cut in my neighborhood, but so far no luck.
Last edited:
Just a FYI for everyone posting in these AAW threads. You can reduce the size of the initial photo in your post by clicking on the image, and then grabbing a corner with your curser. You can then move the curser to reduce the size of the photo, and everyone still has the option to see that image in full size by clicking on it.
-o-
-o-
Thanks for that head’s up Odie. I’ll make a point of it from here on out. Sorry if I’m using too much bandwidth!
You bet, Lou.....
I was mentioning adjusting the photo size for everybody's info.....I wasn't specifically targeting you, my friend!
You can still adjust the size in a previous post by using the "edit" function......(another FYI!...
)-o-
I'm new here and to turning, thanks for sharing your knowledge so freely Odie.
Done (I think!). Learn something new every day!!You bet, Lou.....
I was mentioning adjusting the photo size for everybody's info.....I wasn't specifically targeting you, my friend!
You can still adjust the size in a previous post by using the "edit" function......(another FYI!...
-o-
One funny looking white oak dog dish/spitoon??? I'm gonna go with flower pot. Anyway it kicked my butt. Was on the floor twice because it was just a little deep for my tools /skill level and tool rest.
I made it fast and dirty because it's for the lady where I got my other 18 blanks. She's 92 so I figure better not to wait for one of the roughed out bowls to dry.
I made it fast and dirty because it's for the lady where I got my other 18 blanks. She's 92 so I figure better not to wait for one of the roughed out bowls to dry.
Attachments
Odie, I expect you will know this, but for the benefit of others...
As opposed to Red Mallee, the appellation Brown Mallee doesn’t refer to a specific tree of the same name, but rather describes burl pieces from various Eucalyptus species where the wood itself is brown in colour.
Brown Mallee | The Wood Database (Hardwood)
www.wood-database.com
A bit of an anomaly. If it's not Red Mallee and its looks a bit brown it gets labelled Brown Mallee, but it could be from any one of the 700 species from the Eucalypts genus. Not a big deal unless you are a botanical name purist, but just don't expect every piece labelled Brown Mallee to look and behave the same.
Playing with a piece of Sycamore.
Buggy pine hollow form practice. Some of the worst wood ever to cross the shop threshold. Several of the bug holes perforate the form. Wall thickness down to 3/8". About 8" in diameter.
Very nice! Will you be incorporating the natural edge into the design?Roughed out a Red Mallee burl last night. This one seemed to be a bit more dense, and difficult to get a clean cut over the other RMB burls I've done in the past. Yes, I know it's just the roughing stage, and getting the cleanest cut possible isn't as important in the roughing stage, as it is in the second turn. That's just the way it is for me.....always a stickler for finding that perfect cut! I'm a bit excited over this one, and can't wait to see how it will turn out on the second turn. I had to leave it extra thick, 1 1/4", because of the difficulties and problems that arose while roughing it. Sheesh.....it took me 4 hours just to rough it out!
Since it has 20% MC, I expect it to take up to a year to finish the seasoning phase of this bowl. (I tell myself....You must have patience, odie....ha,ha!)
-o-
View attachment 52414
Not on the lathe yet, but I can’t wait to start rough-turning this 15 inch diameter black cherry burl.
Looks like good practice wood indeed, Monty.
Claro Walnut shaving brush almost done after 3 coats of TruOil. Another one in a series for my "Pint Night" men's group of current and retired teachers. Legends all (including two published authors), and I count myself very fortunate to be a part of the group.
I'm a fool for the bin of $4.99 claro blanks my Woodcraft often has at the register. I can never resist picking through it to get the best ones.
I'm a fool for the bin of $4.99 claro blanks my Woodcraft often has at the register. I can never resist picking through it to get the best ones.
Attachments
Nice, Aaron. Where do you get your bristles from?
A badger. (one in every crowd isn't there!)
Michael-I get all my knots from Brad at Maggard Razors
They're a great family business that I've ordered many things from for my straight razor addiction over the years. In fact, the desire to have matching straight razor and shaving brush sets is what got me into turning in the 1st place. Brushes are a nice luxury item and a great gift idea for men. Heck, my wife uses a fancy brush and soap for shaving her legs in the shower too.
Anyway, if anybody goes off on a shaving brush tangent, order with confidence from Brad.
They're a great family business that I've ordered many things from for my straight razor addiction over the years. In fact, the desire to have matching straight razor and shaving brush sets is what got me into turning in the 1st place. Brushes are a nice luxury item and a great gift idea for men. Heck, my wife uses a fancy brush and soap for shaving her legs in the shower too.
Anyway, if anybody goes off on a shaving brush tangent, order with confidence from Brad.
Thank you for the link. Putting a shaving brush on the list of things to make.
Thank you Aaron!
Michael, you're welcome. And Monty, they're dirt simple to turn, really. Brad has suggested drilling width and depth for the inset for different sized brush knots right there on the ordering page. I like 24mm the best, and get the SHD (super-high density) knots for my fancier brushes. I set the knots with 5-minute epoxy, though silicone glue works too. You don't want to set the knot too deep, or the brush will be too stiff. If you do drill too deep with your forstner bit, you can raise the knot back up with a coin or two under it. I just set the knot on this last one with a couple of nickels epoxied under it to get the right loft. Please show us your work if you go down this rabbit hole!