Some advice on sanding chestnut bowl?

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Shan

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Hello Folks! Just after some advice on sanding a chestnut bowl that I recently finished and thought that it was looking good until I took a photo. Then I noticed some nasty looking scratches on the finished bowl. Went through all the grades starting with 120, 150, 180, 240, 320 and 400. What do people suggest? I haven't put a finish on it yet. I did burnish it with shavings once sanded.
20230120_210531.jpg
 
Are they tooling marks?

If so, if it were me, I'd put it back on the lathe and go back to your coarse grit paper until the scratches are removed, then work back through the grits as you have done.
I'm pretty sure that they aren't tooling marks. But yes I'm thinking about putting it back on the lathe and giving it another shot. As they are in the direction of the rotation of the lathe I'm thinking that I might need to hand sand in another direcdirection to remove them? Maybe this might help? But thanks for the feedback. Shan
 
Looks like there is some tearout on the end grain bits, and some radial marking just below the rim. Yes, back on the lathe, hand sand 120 or maybe even 80, try diagonally across the scratches perhaps with the lathe stopped then repeat what you did. If you use something like an old dry paintbrush or bit of dry kitchen roll to remove dust between grits you can easily see what still has to be done. When I started out I spent a lot of time sanding, but now manage to need a lot less by getting better with the final cut. Next time once most of the work is done, sharpen the tool, maybe move the speed up a bit and take a light cut. It doesn't always work, some pieces still need a fair bit of work. Are you using sanding sealer at any point? Most people seem to sand to 240, check there are no marks left, then apply sanding sealer and go to the finer grades.
 
Looks like there is some tearout on the end grain bits, and some radial marking just below the rim. Yes, back on the lathe, hand sand 120 or maybe even 80, try diagonally across the scratches perhaps with the lathe stopped then repeat what you did. If you use something like an old dry paintbrush or bit of dry kitchen roll to remove dust between grits you can easily see what still has to be done. When I started out I spent a lot of time sanding, but now manage to need a lot less by getting better with the final cut. Next time once most of the work is done, sharpen the tool, maybe move the speed up a bit and take a light cut. It doesn't always work, some pieces still need a fair bit of work. Are you using sanding sealer at any point? Most people seem to sand to 240, check there are no marks left, then apply sanding sealer and go to the finer grades.
Richard, thanks for this. Sanding sealer? I've tried shellac but not on this bowl. Mixed my own and 1.5 lb cut but amber in colour. Does this qualify as a sealer? Have just got hold of some clear shellac but probably would only use on some wood if it was really bad say on the end grain. Oddly enough it feels as smooth as the babies bum.
It do dust off between grades and I always sand forward & reverse. Maybe I will spend more time sanding across the radial lines as suggested. Also I do a final cut on a higher speed and I'm getting better at the final cut but I do spend an age sanding. Back to the drawing board I guess. Cheers
 
Quick update. I've sanded this piece of eucalyptus down to 180 and as there was still some marks I then put a coat of the amber shellac & continued sanding. Looking much better. The shellac has wax in it as seen by the sandpaper in the bowl and at the bottom of the shot is the 2 different types of shellac I have. So thanks for the advice and this could be the solution to my sanding issues. The orange pointer is to highlight the marks.
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This would possibly get more replies if it were posted in the turning section of the forum.
Rotary sanding, with either a drill or hand held rotary sander can be helpful in such situations.
 
This would possibly get more replies if it were posted in the turning section of the forum.
Rotary sanding, with either a drill or hand held rotary sander can be helpful in such situations.
Robbo. Thanks. Yes I thought of posting on the turning section but thought that I would get more replies in general site. That said it wasn'ton the daily feed so maybe not many people have seen it.
Did try a drill but felt slightly aggressive so went lightly with a Dremel but coming along better n
 
My mistake, it has shown on the daily feed today so ignore that bit above.
 
I've had good results from Yorkshire grit, it's a paste/cream that you apply after sand and sealer,the grit in it gets finer and finer to something like 1,000 grit there are other brands out there from Chestnut, and yandles do one hope this helps
 
You need to leap to the end before you decide on the next step. Yorkshire grit is very good as a final stage before finishing - it 'takes over' above 240 grit and has the real advantage of being dust free. In my experience it won't remove anything that is still visible after sanding with conventional 240. Leap to the end? Yes, because yorkshire grit and its equivalents use wax as a carrier and the wax gets worked into the grain, even after cleaning off any surplus you might find that laquer or varnish finishes won't take well. Fine if your end point is wax or oil finish. I picked up a twin pack of yorkshire grit, one called microfine. On wood I don't see much benefit from using them both, the standard one does all I want. Maybe if I worked with acrylic or epoxy but I don't.

I can't really comment on shellac as a sealer, never used it. I use chestnut cellulose sanding sealer, seems expensive but you use very little. I also picked up some hampshire sheen brand pre-thinned which is even easier to use. Sand to 180 or 240, wipe some on, dries in a 30 seconds (or maybe a bit more now my workshop is barely above zero degerees), it seals and binds the fibres in the wood and you then sand throught the grits to 400 or even 600. Some people go beyond. It will take laquer, oil or wax happily and you might need fewer coats as it won't sink in as much. I did without sealer for a couple of years but find it makes a real difference if you are after 'shiny'. Again though leap to the end - what do you want it to look like? Some things might be better with a mellow-looking oil finish. Personal choice and all that.

Blister above makes a good point about getting a good finish off the tool. I when I stared out sanding was 80-120-and so on and took ages. With practice I rarely need more than a touch of 120 these days then upwards, but sanding does let you get good results as you learn and practice so you never have to throw a decent piece away because of poor finish.
 
You need to get the best finish you can using sheer scraping with a freshly sharpened tool before thinking about sanding


Blister. Thanks for the video. I'll give it a shot & hopefully get a better finish with the tools before I start with the sanding. 🖒🖒🖒
 
I have never heard of Yorkshire grit but will keep an eye out for it here. Not in the UK so a lot of the products people mention don't happen to be in Portugal and Brexit has put the cobwash on companies sending abroad or just way too expensive.
The finish I normally use is mineral oil and beeswax. The linseed oil and beeswax dried out fairly quickly so need to sort out some more but a smaller amount. Maybe jar wasn't air tight, not too sure really.
The shellac seems to work as a sealer and finish and is food safe as well which I prefer, especially with the bowls.
Thanks for the advice Guy's and once I get the bowl done will post a photo on the site.
Cheers
 
As mentioned earlier, Chestnut do their own version if it's available in Portugal
- Cut’n’Polish – Chestnut Products – First for Finishes
Robbo, thanks for the link. Unfortunately don't send abroad and no stockist here in Portugal. Gone are the days when I could purchase tools etc through Screwfix for example and get free delivery on orders over £100! Maybe when back in the UK can use them. Been after tung oil as well & see they stock it also.
Cheers Shan
 

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