Platter/plate makers - I have a question

[Mark Burge]

Hello everyone,

I have recently been inspired by some of the native american designs I saw on a recent trip to Moundville, Ala. The design I'm thinking of includes a platter-like surface, so - I was wondering how you all usually cut a large flat surface like that. I normally use my bowl gouge for just about everything when I'm making a bowl. From shaping to a shear scraping cut for finishing. What does everyone else use? Skew? Gouge? And how to you keep it consistently flat?

Thanks, Mark

[curtis rosche]

when i do it, i rough it out with a bowl gouge. but then i switch to a round nose scraper. the easiest way to keep it flat, is by eye, and making sure that your toll rest is parralell with the surface that you are trying to make flat. also, it doesnt have to be perfectly flat to still look flat.

[Mark Burge]

it doesnt have to be perfectly flat to still look flat.

Thanks, Curtis. I guess I need to start thinking of a flat surface as a special case of a curved surface! Then, I'm just trying to make a fair curve that happens to be flat. :)

- Mark

[Dave Schell]

How Curtis described it is how I do it too. I do as best as I can with the gouge and then I come back with a round nose scraper and get it as smooth and flat as possible. Sanding then flattens it further. Skill gradually increases making the scraping and sanding less necessary over time.

[Chris Stolicky]

I have only attempted one platter so far. Just practice on a piece of poplar. It is just a little over 12". I mostly used a bowl gouge, and then a round nosed scraper. I actually used a small straight edge to see how flat the bottom was.

Well, guess what? I finished the piece with a gloss finish and you can see a couple of circular ripples! I could not see these before the finish was applied. So, beware, the finish you use could impact how truly flat, or not, the bottom is. Light can show wonderful things about our skills (or lack there of)....

[curtis rosche]

use your finger as a depth stop on your scraper. and be vary careful if you get a "mound" in the center, otherwise you will end up taking to much away trying to get rid of it, then you will have to make the whole thing deeper, basically starting all over again.

[Mark Burge]

Thanks, Dave and Chris. Looks like I'll be practicing with my round nose scraper for a bit. Chris, thanks for the heads up. I'll be certain wet the surface with a little oil or DNA and see if anything shows up. Ripples are my bane on my bowl bottoms too. That's part of why the platter design had me worried.

- Mark

[curtis rosche]

one mroe thing. to help get rid of ripples and rings.. take your tool rest to the belt sander before you start with the scraper. smooth out the rest, so that your tool anc glide right across and not get stuck and make a low spot on the platter

[Mark Burge]

Great idea Curtis. I have been trying to use a stone on my tool rest and some of the dings have gotten too deep to get out that way. Also, you are right about the bulge in the middle, it always presents special problems to remove smoothly. Thanks. I can't wait to get off work now!

[Steve Harder]

Having just finished up a couple of walnut plates I have another suggestion. I found the R2 carbide insert (ala EasyRougher) did a very nice job of leveling out that wide stretch of wood.

As I passed it slowly (gently) across the plate, the curl of wood coming off the cutting edge moves back and forth across the carbide insert as you enter and leave a valley or hill. If it's coming off the center then you're probably on a flat but if it moves to a side then the surface is changing. It doesn't take long to figure out where you need to make another gentle pass to get things leveled out.

I mounted my tool in a steel snake so it was easy to control (but handheld works fine also).

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mark I use nothing but a bowl gouge on platters/plates. I have made several of them and use a straight edge to make sure it is flat. Light cuts are in order. I also wipe on mineral spirits to check for swirls along with small high and low places. When you wet the surface with MS you can see imperfections easily and take care of them before it is to late with finish on it.

[Reed Gray]

You can do it with a gouge. If I am doing one, I prefer a gouge that has a long bevel on it so I can ride the bevel across the bottom. It can work likd a hand plane if you have a sensitive feel for what the tool is doing. Go gently. If you are cutting air, then you have a dip. If you are cutting a bit deeper, then you have a hump. A straight tool rest and as Curtis said, use your finger as a depth guide, and you can get it pretty close. I will stick a tape measure into the plate, and move it from center out, reading across the rim of the plate. This also lets you know how close you are.

robo hippy

[Ryan Baker]

A gouge is one way. I prefer a square-nose scraper to a round one -- it's a lot easier to keep flat. Get a steel ruler that fits on the surface and press the edge up (gently) against the spinning piece. It will leave burnish marks where the high spots are. Work those down slightly until you don't have any high spots left and you will have a nice flat tray.

[Thomas Canfield]

Frank Penta mentioned in a class that it is acceptable to use a random orbital sander to get the bottom flat for larger diameter platters. That was restated at the last meeting of our local East Texas Woodturners meeting in Tyler, TX. I agree that all is fair in finishing, not just love and war.

[Richard Madison]

Mark,
Depending upon how your piece is configured you could use the technique of segmenters to flatten segmented rings. Simply turn it "flat" with your tool of choice, checking with straight edge to remove the big lumps. Then flatten it with a sanding board, a straight or flat board with 80 grit paper attached. For a recessed surface simply make the board to fit into the recessed area. Sand and continue checking with straight edge until it is flat, flat.