Turnings

[Fla._Deadheader]

  I'm not that cheap.  : :D :D :D :D

[CHARLIE]

Harold, that is some beautiful wood and I think you did a fine job turning those bowls. I like the shapes of them, especially the first one.  You might try making round bottomed bowls for awhile though. They are a bit easier to turn, sand and finish.....no corners. 

If your motor runs both ways, try sanding the bowls running the bowl in reverse. That may sand out the endgrain a little faster.

Concerning your tools. It looks like to me, the tools you have are for spindle turning and not bowl turning.  The gouge you have has a shallow flute (It's a roughing gouge) which can catch on the inside of a bowl. I'm not sure I'd be turning a bowl using a roughing gouge.
A bowl gouge has a deep flute and you can get either a 3/8" or 1/2". Either would serve you well.  Go to www.woodcraft.com and look at their bowl gouges, spindle gouges and roughing gouges and you'll see the difference.

Nice turning job though Harold.

Charlie

[Patty]

Harold, your bowls are very nice! Has Reiana turned any yet? I would like to see her artwork as well.

[Radar67]

I sanded heavy with 80, then 120, then wore out 120, then 400.

I know you said you were just playing, but those bowls look great.

I've found it much easier to sand by going through the steps, 120, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600 grit. Skipping grits decreases the quality of the next step, in my experiences.

[Fla._Deadheader]

First, I gave Charlie a BIG thank You. I realize that ALL posters gave me good info, and I want to thank ALL of you, as well. Charlie just hit exactly on what I asked, is all.  : ;D ;D

  These 2 pieces measure 2" thick X 7" wide. They are not big. I should be able to turn 12" stock, IF I am careful.  : : :D :D

  The tools ARE spindle tools. It's all I have to play with. I have some ½" round hard stock, that I will attempt to make a Bowl Gouge with.

  The sanding sequence is just for playing purposes. I need to get a better assortment of paper grits.

  I DID turn the pieces in the opposite direction while sanding, and it DID work great.  8)

  Reins has not had time to turn yet, but she is anxious for me to teach her.  ??? ???

  Wadda I know bout teechen ??? : : :D :D

  Thanks to all for the helpful tips.   Patty, How's that 1st Cherry Bowl coming along  ??? ???

 

[Patty]

I weighed it a couple days ago and it is still losing weight, unlike me who seems to be finding the weight lost by the bowl!

[Fla._Deadheader]

I sure wish someone would experiment with soaking a wet bowl in denatured Alcohol  : :

  Supposed to work VERY well, and quickly.

[SwampDonkey]

You got the bowls ain't ya?  ;)

[Fla._Deadheader]

No denatured Alcohol  : : :

  Might have to try isopropanol. We get it at 90+% down here.  ;D

[SwampDonkey]

It's tainted here so it can't be consumed. But that don't stop some of the natives. They call it 'rubby'.

[metalspinner]

Sanding was a big bother to me until I bought on of those angle drills with the velcro sandpaper sponge thing.  What a differance a bit of rotary sanding action is!  There are even hand model sanding rotary tools with the same sponge and sandpaper setup.  The sandpaper is a bit more expensive, but it lasts a lot longer.  And no more tear out or burnt finger tips 8) 8)  Klingspor had the best price on the sanding discs that I could find.

Here is a link to the drill and such...

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10051_10001_31334_-1_12905_12510

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10051_10001_21496_-1_13651_13646

Harold, your bowls look very nice...especially considering they are your first one's.  If you are that good with spindle tools, just wait until you get some bowl tools. 8)

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Thanks MS. Your work is impressive.  8)  I went to the links. Problem is, that kind of stuff is not available down here. Here, you have to improvise A LOT.  :

  I just got a job making garden type furniture, slatted backs and slat seats.

  Now, I gotta sweet talk Fred into letting me cut the mortises with his mortising cutter and drill press. Hey FRED. Help  8) 8) :D :D :D :D

[Burlkraft]

I sure wish someone would experiment with soaking a wet bowl in denatured Alcohol  : :

  Supposed to work VERY well, and quickly.

Harold,
I have used denatured alcohol and out of all the cheaper things I have experimented with it does work quite well. I had to leave it outside in a small plastic garbage container. In a heated shop it evaporates quickly and it kinda smells. One o' them smells that gave me an instant headache. I took soppin' wet maple, cherry and box elder turned to just about finished size and soaked for 48 hours. Removed and finished turned, let dry out and finish sanded. All worked well and had little checking and almost no warping. Hickory and oak seemed to stain and make the alcohol cloudy. They checked when even soaked for 5 days.

I also tried soaking in soap solution. There's a slimy, smelly mess that worked pretty good, but the mess was not worth it. The one positive I found with soap is that if you have some really dry hard wood that is hard to turn soaking in soap solution makes it turn like a dream.... ;D ;D ;D

I'm sure I'm wrong about most of this, but this is what happened for me..... ;) ;) ;)

[Fla._Deadheader]

Thanks for that report, Steve.

  In case folks are not aware, gasoline is pretty much what is added to Ethanol to ruin it for drinking. That and Methanol.

  Gasoline is a manufactured liquid. It is not a direct derivative of refining.

  It is benzene, Toluene, and other toxic substances, mixed together to get "gasoline Blend". That's why it smells so bad and knocks some people off their seat.

[metalspinner]

I just got a big ol' crawfish boilin' pot to try boiling some bowls per Jim King's instructions.  Just need some spare time to get to it. :(

[Fla._Deadheader]

I'm gonna boil some bowls, also. Problem is, I might have glued up sections and the glue won't tolerate that hot water.

  I recently made some large wooden spoons, and boiled them. Water turned reddish from the Tannin, I guess. Now, people shouldn't have problems stirring hot stuff with the spoons.  8)

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah when they got to stirring the pancake batter might look like mooshed raspberries in the batter, especially if it's 'true' buckwheat batter.  Course it ain't hot when stirred in the bowl, but water is water. :D

[SwampDonkey]

I recently made some large wooden spoons, and boiled them. Water turned reddish from the Tannin, I guess. Now, people shouldn't have problems stirring hot stuff with the spoons.  8)

I was just browsing through my Dendro text and noticed a species of sumac, Rhus trilobata have 39 % tannin in dried leaves. It's a shrub that grows in the Rockies and westward.

Here is a reference: Bear, J.E., and A. F. Sievers. Sumac: It's Collection and Culture as a Source of Tannin. U.S. Dep. Agric. Prod. Res. Rep. 8, 1957.

[getoverit]

I dont know if you can get it down there or not, but I use z-poxy finishing resin to fill pores on my guitars. Almost any other finish will adhere to it afterwards. It comes in 2 parts and is easy to mix. Smear it on with a piece of cardboard or an old credit card. It dries hard but can be sanded smooth. Once sanded smooth and the pores filled, it gives a glass like finish to almost any wood and any type of final finish. A little bit goes a LONG way.

http://zap.supergluecorp.com/pt40.html