Question For The Experienced Turners

[BILL DONAHUE]

Am working on a 14" very dry maple platter that has now been turned, a design carved in it and it soon will be inlayed with minerals. Because of work, I only turn on weeekends. So I turned it last weekend, carved the design today and when I went to cut a groove around the perimeter for inlay it was slightly out of round. It hasn't been off the chuck all week but I do my woodturning in the garage which is often open and it was raining today. Question: should I re-turn the rim or should I just hope it goes back to round when the weather dries up?

[Dennis Ford]

I would re-turn the rim the same day that I cut the groove. You will likely have to face it off again also to prevent the groove being different depths around the rim.

[charlie knighton]

it will not go back to round, it may stablize, or continue into eggy shape

the latest cover of American Woodturner has three bowls where the outide of bowl are round and the inside hollow of bowl is off center, one side of bowl thickness is wider than the opposite side,

can you post a picture of your platter

[Jeff Willard]

I don't think I'd count on it reverting to it's old self. I've watched bowls move as I turn them. How out of round is it?

[Bill Bulloch]

That is what happens when you let work interfere with your turning. You'll probably need to turn it round again and you might want to consider quiting your job too.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Try this. I was told by a good source that if you put the platter face down (perhaps on a flat damp surface) and put a heavy weight on top of it the platter may absorb some water back and the weight will help flatten it. Considering you only turn on week end it will have plenty of time to work. If it straightens, I would quickly turn the grove because will probably warp again.

[Ray Bell]

That is what happens when you let work interfere with your turning. You'll probably need to turn it round again and you might want to consider quiting your job too.

Funny Bill, this cracked me up.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Yep. Quit yer job! In all seriousness though, if I have to stop working on something (specifically something dry), and know that I won't come back to it for a while, I'll put it inside a sealed bag while I'm not working on it. Even the air in the bag might be enough to make a small change happen, but the bag is its own little micro environment. A garbage bag will work just fine; lightly squeeze the air out, twist it up, tie a loose knot in it, and you can come back to it when you're ready. There will likely be some warpage, but not nearly the potential that can happen when the humidity fluctuates wildly as it often does in the springtime.

This method works for green wood as well, BUT; depending on the temperature and the moisture content, and how long you leave it in the bag, you're going to come back to black mildew spots on your bowl, as well as rust on your faceplate or chuck.

[Reed Gray]

Wood moves, and is never stable. That is why you don't screw a solid wood table top down tight to the table frame. Movement over the years will cause the table top to crack apart, blow up the frame, or both. Not sure which is needed, some times geting it dryer will do the trick, some times getting it wetter.

robo hippy

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is what happens when you let work interfere with your turning. You'll probably need to turn it round again and you might want to consider quiting your job too.

LOL Bill I did quit my job because it interfered with my turning.:D;):rolleyes:

I have did like Dennis Ford said. I have turned it round and most times you don't take off much wood. Then face it so your groove will be the same depth.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Bill you say it was very dry wood, can you tell if the wood got wider or narrower.
If the wood got narrower then it dried some more, and I would return to round.
If it got wider than it absorbed some moisture and letting it dry in the house for instance it could get back to round again, but still I think that it is not noticeable out of round when just looking at it, so if you returned it now and finished the groove, then if the piece does change a little later it wouldn't be noticeable, after all wood does change size all the time if the moisture does change in it's environment. HTH

[BILL DONAHUE]

Thanks for all your help. Saying it was out of round was probably a misnomer in that it was more "warped." I decided to re-turn the rim and in the process it bacame so thin that I won't be able to inlay minerals on it anyway. In any case, out of frustration I wrapped it in plastic, put it in the house, and decided to worry about it next weekend. With the oil spill in the Gulf, it looks like I'll be spending more weekends turning and not fishing.