Did the foot on a Brown Mallee burl and Big Leaf Maple burl bowls last evening......this photo is just after completing the foot, and just prior to adding some D.O.
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
It looks like this Cherry crotch NE bowl might survive. I left the faceplate on, bound the base with safety wire, and as Leo suggested, I put in a couple of staples across the bark inclusion. I used romex staples because that's what I had.
I used epoxy and sawdust to fill the bark inclusion and knot voids.
I used koa pewa to hide the staple holes. Now hopefully I can get the back and foot finished without knocking the bark off.
I used epoxy and sawdust to fill the bark inclusion and knot voids.
I used koa pewa to hide the staple holes. Now hopefully I can get the back and foot finished without knocking the bark off.
Grabbed a spalted birch vase that nobody wanted and turned it into a box.
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
I believe it was Clay Foster that referred to the dry wood as 'Pecan-crete'!
Never had the 'pleasure' of turning the stuff.
WOW Jim, that's even more than what I would dare to keep with the staples, but yes it always works for me, as for the staples, I do make them myself from stiff SS wire and large enough that there is enough wood for the staple to hold it without splitting that out.
Good job though,
I think anything in that related pecan/hickory/nutwood family is like "pecan-crete" when fully dry. I've got a few now-dry hickory rough-turns in my in-progress stack that I've been ignoring for a long time for that reason. Lord give me strength, literally.I believe it was Clay Foster that referred to the dry wood as 'Pecan-crete'!
@James Seyfried
Second turned this spalted Hackberry bowl last evening. After bringing to round subsequent to the seasoning period, I applied a heavy coat of DO eleven days ago, so it had plenty of time to cure and harden. I was surprised how much DO it soaked up.....probably about 1/4th of a pint can of DO! Anyway, it did have to soak deep enough to remain on the surface after the second turn......and, apparently it did. It turned surprising well, with a minimum of tearout on this very soft spalting. It also sanded extremely well, although the DO caused it to clog up sandpaper badly. I suppose that's a good use of sandpaper, in order to get a very spalted and soft surface to respond well, and ultimately, successfully.
It remains to be seen yet, just how well this surface will respond to the Beall buffing process...... ?????
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Second turned this spalted Hackberry bowl last evening. After bringing to round subsequent to the seasoning period, I applied a heavy coat of DO eleven days ago, so it had plenty of time to cure and harden. I was surprised how much DO it soaked up.....probably about 1/4th of a pint can of DO! Anyway, it did have to soak deep enough to remain on the surface after the second turn......and, apparently it did. It turned surprising well, with a minimum of tearout on this very soft spalting. It also sanded extremely well, although the DO caused it to clog up sandpaper badly. I suppose that's a good use of sandpaper, in order to get a very spalted and soft surface to respond well, and ultimately, successfully.
It remains to be seen yet, just how well this surface will respond to the Beall buffing process...... ?????
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really pretty. Looking forward to seeing final piece.
I just turned a little pecan HF and was shocked how hard the wood was! Pecan-crete it is!I believe it was Clay Foster that referred to the dry wood as 'Pecan-crete'!
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I think it will buff out well too, that has been my experience anyway.
I also soak DO into natural edge bowls, I think it does a good job of firming up the bark.
Added a Padauk insert. Varnish and camera almost make it look like Purpleheart.
at what point do you do this? Before second turning? Do you also stabilize w thin CA?
It's going to be awhile, Alan.....since I have about a dozen other bowls that I'll have to work on before I get back to it. I'll try to remember to put this one back in the "what's on your lathe" thread when I do.....
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On the ones that I second turn, I'll put it on the outside edge after turning and sanding, with a glue brush. Then the inside after turning and sanding. I have previously used CA but don't use both. With CA I'm concerned that I'll stain the wood with it. But most of the natural edge bowl that I make I turn once. On those I put the DO on after finish sanding.
James, that is one beautiful piece of cherry. Great job!
The final update: I finished the Box/Container today 4/13/2024. The drying schedule was updated to 282.4G on 4/9/2024 and today before finishing it read 283.5G so it looks like spring has reached the north woods.
Removed the tenon almost, made the recess and did a little sanding... Prepared the lid for the handle (tapered hole in the center.
Starting to finish the top of the lid. The completed Whatchamacallit.
That a good tip Leo. I need to get some stiff SS wire so I can make specific size staples, the don't stain the wood.
I think for this one the faceplate did a lot of the heavy lifting keeping the bowl together. It did rust up the faceplate but it will still work fine.
Thanks Mark! One of my sayings is, pretty wood makes a turner look good!
Getting close now, just need to find the scratches I missed and buff it.
African Padauk last evening.....
Beautiful as always, Odie! Don't you just love the fine neon flour dust padauk makes?
Spalted... surprise! It's not sugarberry. I was rooting around in my log pile and found that some of my maple has spalted. Small tree but good for small pieces. I knew the pith would crack but I wanted to turn a side-grain form. Not a huge fan of the shape. Still learning hollow forms.
And a cedar bowl I sanded through. No wonder that spot was hard to sand. It started as an ogee bowl but the rim flew apart. This piece of cedar has been dead for years and has a lot of holes. What looks like tool marks above that knot is just odd grain.
Bummer!
Ha,ha......My son was here today, and said my car (which is on the other side of my garage/shop) looked like a coating of "Mars dust" had landed on it!
The trade-off for the “fun” of Pecan is the ability to achieve a porcelain-like finish when sanded to 400+. Really wonderful.I believe it was Clay Foster that referred to the dry wood as 'Pecan-crete'!
First time working with Sassafras. Unfortunately, my blocks were bone dry so I didn’t get to experience the apparently wonderful smell when green-turned. Still, it turns nicely and sands well. Here is a piece after some preliminary sanding at 150.
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Nice, never seen Hackberry take on that much color.
Working on a couple pieces with the JaHo ornamental jig. Still trying to get the kinks out. Learned everything has to be rock solid to work well and maybe sharpen bit more often. The Bradford Pear cut well but in Box Elder got tear out. 
That red is amazing! It will fade though, right?
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Padauk IMHO does not fade so much as it transitions. reddish orange -> dark red-> almost black
To me all the colors phases are great.
Coincidentally, I turned a small bowl out of sassafras this weekend. It's only about 4". I turned both ERC and sassafras over the weekend. The garage smelled great.
Yes, unfortunately it will. It's sunlight that causes the change, so the location will be important to preserving the color for as long as possible.
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! Of the 160+ bowls I have drying the cedar is the driest and I only had time this evening to turn a small 12” cedar. Tried going for a Ogee, and put the first coat of oil on it.
160? You’re a machine. Wow.
Bowl from a board made from a hardwood butcher block countertop cut off produced with reclaimed hardwood pieces from pallets and skids.
This bowl is 10 1/2” wide and 2 3/4” tall, and has an initial coat of 50:50 tung oil to citrus oil solvent.
This bowl is 10 1/2” wide and 2 3/4” tall, and has an initial coat of 50:50 tung oil to citrus oil solvent.
Family friend had a maple tree come down in a storm. Picked up these pieces and (3) 4 foot long 12 inch diameter ones.
Tried turning a crotch piece but the bark went to far into the bottom.
Tried turning a crotch piece but the bark went to far into the bottom.
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Glad you walked away from that one. Bark inclusions and ring shakes are dangerous. Cut the wood holding the piece together and you set pieces flying.
When I demo NE Bowls from a crotch I tell folks to flat out avoid the bark inclusion pieces. They are unsafe and they won’t have the feather grain that make crotch bowls pop.
You might be interested in the slides I use.
This is an absolute perfect burl.....no flaws.....none!.....a rarity among burls!
I didn't get any further than bringing it to round and suggesting a final shape last night......but, am anxious to see how this one will turn out.....fingers crossed!!!!
Australian Yellow Box burl.
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I didn't get any further than bringing it to round and suggesting a final shape last night......but, am anxious to see how this one will turn out.....fingers crossed!!!!
Australian Yellow Box burl.
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