asking for advice please

[devonwoody]

Trimmed this baytree log on the bandsaw and it finishes up around 6" square.

I have stuck a drive prong in temporary, this is where I want to drive .

Can a make a bowl or have I got to cut the log down the grain?

Any advice or plan of action gratefully received.

BTW I have now got my lathe bolted down.

 

[Bodrighy]

Usually the log is split down the middle first and two smaller 6" bowls made from the sections. This would turn out most of the soft wood in the centre and minimise the chances of splitting. I have done bowls from the complete log end grain but unless it is really dry you are taking a chance and the only advantage would be that the bowl would be deeper as the diameter is a max of 6" anyway.

If you turn a bowl from the wood as in the picture (without splitting) you will either have a natural edged bowl (depending on how far you turn it down) or a small bowl and a lot of shavings.

Unless you want natural edge I would split it first. You get 2 bowls and less chance of splitting

HTH

Pete

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks HTH,
So I put it through the bandsaw again on the white line?

But should I then use a face plate on the flat face or still use the prong drive through the bark face?

I'm a real beginner

 

[Bodrighy]

I would. If you can be patient though hang on a bit as there may be others with better advice. Is the wood fresh cut? I don't know what Bay is like for splitting so there may be someone who has used it.

P.S. HTH means "Hope this helps" :lol:

Pete

 

[PowerTool]

I agree with Pete - would be better split right through the centre and make two bowls out of it,using the side grain.
And if you want to use a four-prong drive (or similar) at any time,I would suggest you cut a flat surface and remove the bark,as generally it is too soft to drive against - the slightest catch results in it slipping/falling off

Andrew

 

[devonwoody]

HTH

Thanks again. I will put the log through the bandsaw again along the line,
The log is around 3 weeks old, I did give it a coat of pva when I made the first cuts.

 

[cornucopia]

hello, this is a case of what do you wish to acheive? if you want a dry concentric bowl at the end of it then avoid the pith and cut it in half to get two bowls roughed out to dry then finish in a few months time. or do you want movement? and a very thin arty bowl? if so you could have cut a small flat and mounted your faceplate onto that and turned the log as a whole and had the pith going left to right through your finished warped bowl.

on a side note your pith is not central so i assume this was a lent over trunk or branch, if you cut your two blanks where you have marked your line you will have less chance of success- as you are mixing the tight ring reaction wood on one side of the bowl with the open ring wood on the other. you would have less chance of a split if you cut it the other way horizontally in your pic, one bowl all tight rings one bowl all wider, equaliseing the stress's.

hth :lol:

all the best george

 

[devonwoody]

So I cut along the line and got two pieces.

chopped the bit of bark off to stick the drive in.

Pleased with the way the turning went after over 2 hours at 450rpm.

And then had a minor hiccup, a chunk of wood fell out of the turned face so I made it into a flower pot shape.

Made a flat face and going to fit the base plate with a waste piece glued to the main timber using glued brown paper.

I have sealed up the turning for today with pva again.
can I restart tomorrow or after when I have got the baseplate fitted?

 

[CHJ]

John, next one I would suggest you mount it on a faceplate or screwchuck to start.

Try something like this method. You can ignore the "saving of the centre wood" until you have a lot more experience with the tools.

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks Chad, added to my favourites.

 

[devonwoody]

Finished turning that log as per pictures below.

I have resealed the turning with pva glue and will put away for how many months?

I most probably will not turn another bowl until I have a turning shed, the shaving mess turning the above bowl was beyond my acceptance for a happy enviroment. It looked like the workshop had been filled with egg noodles.

So the next time I see one of those £99 sheds at Focus 6x4 I will most probably purchase and put my turning gear in there.

 

[wabbitpoo]

Nice effort. May I respectfully suggest that if the sight of piles of shavings offends one's sensibilities, one might have taken up the wrong hobby!

Unusual colour to that wood - looks kind of grey-green, or is that the lighting?

 

[CHJ]

John, there is no need to seal with PVA at rough turned stage, just cover the outside with thick paper leaving centre open (to encourage drying at a faster rate from the centre)

 

[cornucopia]

i would store it for 6-12 months, i normally leave mine on the floor in the workshop for a few weeks then move them to an undercover area outside for a few months before finally bringing them into the house before turning.
i do it diffrently to chas (chj) as i always seal the end grain of the bowl with pva or old undercoat.

 

[wabbitpoo]

John,
Try something like this method. You can ignore the "saving of the centre wood" until you have a lot more experience with the tools.

What's that tool called in picture 6, hollowing out the bowl? Can I use a narrow spindle gouge to do that (mine has a fingernail grind on it)?

 

[cornucopia]

John,
Try something like this method. You can ignore the "saving of the centre wood" until you have a lot more experience with the tools.

What's that tool called in picture 6, hollowing out the bowl? Can I use a narrow spindle gouge to do that (mine has a fingernail grind on it)?

hello wabbit i think you mean chas's curved tool rest-i think?

and genrally no dont use spindle gouges on bowl work as ther not strong enough to cope with large overhangs, but there are some that do do it but i wouldint advise a learner to

 

[CHJ]

wabbit, George nailed it, just a curved tool rest, the green beech was encouraging my bowl gouges to take substantial slices as I went across the side/bottom transition so I put the rest in to make sure I had some support against a bad catch.

 

[wabbitpoo]

a rest, not a tool!

I get a lot of catches when using a bowl gouge. I'll have to start a new thread to find out why....

 

[devonwoody]

So what is a bowl gouge, I used a small gouge around 3/8ths (pen turning kit) and what are the repercussions using this tool?

 

[PowerTool]

Pretty much as it says - a gouge designed for use on bowls,something like this
They tend to be made from solid bar,and are therefore better at coping with the forces of hitting end-grain twice every revolution,with a slightly greater overhang from the toolrest.
If you are doing spindle turning (between centres) then you should have no problems with your current chisels.

Andrew