Bowl from Root

[Rick Prosser]

Tried turning a platter from a root ball, but it turned into a bowl.


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/reprosser/Woodturning/ShallowBowl.jpg

The cracks are getting more noticeable today. Seemed to be dry when I turned it yesterday.
One coat of BLO at present. Any suggestions on what to do next?
12"diameter x 3 " high - not sure of wood. Tighter grain than oak. pretty hard. Possible pecan.

[David Christopher]

dont know what it is but I like it

[Barry Stratton]

That is nice!

I'm guessing there's not enough "bulk" to return it after it dries out.

Saturate it with BLO. Really pour it on, literally. Good luck, that is a nice piece.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rick - great looking bowl! Really like the detail lines around the rim and the way portions of the rim are missing! Beautiful grain and color! Agree with Barry - really soak the piece with oil! It is drying out to fast and you need to retain some of the remaining moisture just to slow the process down.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Rick big pieces of wood like that never dry fully, not in a dozen years, too bad you didn't place it in a brown paper bag and closed it up to slow down any drying that would still happen, you can still do that, but maybe you are too late already and have it split right in two.
It is/was a nice piece of wood and you made a fine looking turning out of it, hope you save it, but remember for next time

[Rick Prosser]

Thanks for the feedback. This really seemed to be dry, and the cracks were there when I finished the turning - but they have become more noticeable. I am hoping that it will stabilize ok. It is still on the chuck (have not finished off the bottom).

The oil soaking has begun, and it is really soaking it up. I put on a heavy coat this morning before heading to work, and I could see some areas that had already soaked in when I left. I will add some more this evening.

I have another 2" slab, and then the root bottom to do something with. I have never heard of a rough turned platter, but maybe I should give it a try - or put the slab aside to dry for a while before turning?:confused:

I fixed a typo in the first post. Should have been 3" high - not 5".:o

[Cyril Griesbach]

Rick, even dry wood can crack and move as tension is relieved as a result of the turning process of removing wood. I can't offer any other suggestions other than those you've already received so go for them all.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

With all the small checks in there maybe a varnish oil would be a better product to use than the blo, it would harden more and give a bit more strength to the wood, the thing with the endgrain is that it will take-up and release moisture rather quickly, more so than sidegrain, having a good varnish on it would slow that down a lot, other than that I wouldn't know what else you could do to keep it alive, good luck.

[Rick Prosser]

I have a wipe on poly - would that work better than BLO? Would I need to let the BLO dry first?

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Don't know about how the poly would work for you Rick, I never us the stuff, (plastic look) I picked the varnish because you already have the oil on it, and you could use that right now, as you try to strengthen the bowl and stop or severely slow any more drying.
But yes you can try if the poly is compatible with an oily surface, (read the instructions) as I don't know off hand.