Ash bowl end grain tearout options

[mickthetree]

Hi all

Still pretty new to turning, but have had some small successes.

I got a stash of Ash logs and rough turned some bowls a while back. I've come to finishing them and they are rock hard! :lol:

I turned one the other day, but just as I got to final thickness I got a lot of tear out on what I think is the end grain part.

There might just be enough meat left on the bowl if I remove it, but I'm not sure how to do it.

should I dampen the wood?

What would be the best tool to use? I made myself a carbide tool and I have some flat and round end scrapers as well as the usual bowl and spindle gouges.

Or are there options to fill the holes?

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[mickthetree]

apologies for the missing image.
Trying this:

 

[CHJ]

Soak in sanding sealer before final cuts if that's the final finish.
Water will do the same, as will oil if that's the final finish.

The object is to swell the endgrain to provide support for the fibres whilest cutting.
Forget your carbide tools, you need razor sharp HSS or older generation carbon steel Bowl Gouge.

The ultimate is to use a very sharp gouge used as a shear scraper but as someone new to turning without being shown how to do this safely it's probably not an option.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My post disappeared. Again. Much as ^^^, but I would add that it pays to use freshly sharpened tools a few millimetres away from the finished dimensions and not just on the final cuts to help avoid the rips.

 

[mickthetree]

Thats great. Thank you both. I'll try both freshly sharpened tools and some sanding sealer as I have some.

I think I got some old carbon tools with my lathe, but havent ever sharpened them, in favour of the hss tools I got. I'll have a go.
Many thanks

 

[Phil Pascoe]

There is a commonly held opinion that HSS tools are better. As far as cutting is concerned they are not better, they merely hold an edge better - the actual edge can be better on carbon steel tools, but they blunt more quickly. The other advantage of HSS is they are usually round bar so stronger than tanged tools.

 

[mickthetree]

Thanks Philip. I had never given it any thought, but all my planes and chisels are lovely carbon steel. Wouldnt dream of sticking a hss blade in my plane

 

[Dalboy]

As per Chas's answer something to bind the fibres together which will help support them tear out like you have is more common in very dry wood.
And if need be sharpen the tool every cut across the effected area. I turn some very punky wood which this happens to and I do as discussed even to the point of applying sander sealer after every two passes as it will only penetrate a very small amount

 

[CHJ]

... but I would add that it pays to use freshly sharpened tools a few millimetres away from the finished dimensions and not just on the final cuts to help avoid the rips.

This is a good point because the 'pulled' grain can be several millimtres deep if not careful and you can end up chasing it deeper than you might expect.

 

[Jonzjob]

Mike, the besic difference between your planes and chisels and turning tools is that in 5 minutes using your plane you may well cut a couple of dozen foot of wood. With turning you will do that in a few seconds mate :mrgreen:

 

[mickthetree]

well with a freshly sharpened bowl gouge honed with a diamond card and a judicious application of sanding sealer I now have an excellent finish! I'll take a photo shortly and post. Thanks for the suggestions! I watched a number of youtube vidoes first to understand how to shear scrape using the bowl gouge and understand the dangers.

 

[mickthetree]

Thanks to Nev for showing me how to post a photo from Google Photos. Here is the same Ash Bowl after taking down the side using a freshly sharpened bowl gouge and some sanding sealer.

Very please with how this turned out in the end. Birthday present for my sister.

This was from a haul of Ash logs I got. I took this photo to show a friend the progression from log to a turned article.

That little cup at the end turned out quite nicely too, although I do need to do the same to the inside of that as I did with the bowl to remove a couple of ridges.

 

[Dalboy]

Photos not showing

 

[CHJ]

Photos not showing

They are fine here

 

[Dalboy]

Photos not showing

They are fine here

All I can see is are 3 grey no entry signs.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Same here.

 

[CHJ]

Although they are displayed full size (3/4 of screen/window size not reduced as per .JPG upload)

 

[CHJ]

The Google links don't show here in FF or Chrome or older Explorer.

They display fine in Win 10 Edge browser.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

:lol: I refuse to use Edge as it is so painfully slow.

 

[Dalboy]

Nice looking bowl for the beginning of your turning journey. Keep at it and you will be producing some nice stuff

The Google links don't show here in FF or Chrome or older Explorer.

They display fine in Win 10 Edge browser.

Cheers Chas see them now