More help / advice needed

[gus3049]

I'm having an 'experimental' week!

The Robinia tree we have cut down is taking a lot of space in the workshop so I'm cutting it all up and roughing it for a busy summer.

The 'crotch' looked fun so I thought I'd have a go at a bowl. I was worried about the shape on my Clarke but it turned out to be in perfect balance!

There is a hole!!!! I recently saw a lamp that had the voids filled with what looked like soft solder. Has anyone tried that. If so, how do you get the solder on without burning and what do you use as a mould on the inside. I assume the outside can be faked up to look like bark. It seems daft to have something like this that is only to look at and should actually be a bowl. If not solder, other suggestions?

I'm aware that this one is a bit heavy heightwise but it is, after all, my first experiment.

 

[duncanh]

If the tree was cut down recently then the wood is very likely to be still wet. Unfortunately this means that you're likely to have some splitting (possibly severe!) as it dries. I've never turned that wood so don't know how it dries but with the thickness you have I suspect it's highly likely. Usually when turning freshly cut wood you'd aim to go for 5mm thickness to allow the wood to move as it dries. Even then you can get cracks

As for filling voids - I've never used solder but have used metal powders with thin super glue. I think the only way I could have filled the void you have would be to treat if before the shape is turned. You end up turning away some of the filling material but I think it's the only way to have the filling material conform to the shape of your bowl. I've never faked the outside to look like bark - just leave the silver (or whatever colour) as a feature. You can get the metal powder at good turner supply shops.

Hope that helps

Duncan

 

[gus3049]

Thanks Duncan,

It seems likely then, that what I have seen is the metal powder - I wondered how it could be solder!!

The Robinia seems very resistant to cracking. I have roughed down about twenty bowls so far. They are all filled with the shavings and wrapped in paper. Not a single crack so far after a couple of weeks but time will tell!! It probably helps that the workshop is a bit chilly! The couple of 'hollow forms' that I've tried have been left out but even they haven't cracked yet in spite of being so wet when I turned them. In fact, they don't seem to have moved at all, the walls are only about 3mm, they are still round as well. The sap wood is very yellow and not that attractive but the heartwood is great. Be interesting to see if I've been wasting my time.

All good learning process though.