working with what you have

[Roger Chandler]

Today I turned a hollow vase out of piece of Bradford Pear, that a neighbor gave me about 3 months ago. The tree had been blown down in a storm, and it had a lot of cracking and layer separation [wind shake] I had to apply CA glue a number of times just to keep this one together, and there was considerable pucker factor with this one. CA glue may well be a wood turners best friend! ;)

I am not particularly proud of this vase because of the tool marks [I do not have a steady rest, and I got centrifugal rotation that was out of round on the upper part, and though I tried over and again, I could not eliminate all the tool marks because of the out of round rim oscillation]

Also, I think the cracks detract from this piece, but I went ahead because of the desire not to waste a piece of wood that a neighbor took the time to get for me. This was my first time turning Bradford pear, but I hear that it is notorious for cracking.

While we all know that hollowing is an operation that exerts the most stress on the turner and on the lathe itself [torque required, and drawing on the power curve of the motor] this entire operation on my Grizzly G0698 18/47 was done on the high belt setting, and it never hiccupped! I had 2 significant [big] catches with my hollowing tools [handheld] and the lathe circuit breaker kicked out just like designed, and protected the electronics and the motor. I just hit the reset button and off she goes again! The smooth operation and performance make it a pleasure to turn on!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger that is still a good looking vase and nice recovery from the catches. I must say I bought a Jeff Nicol steady rest and I don't know why I waited so long. It surely makes vases, HF, etc much easier.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger that is still a good looking vase and nice recovery from the catches. I must say I bought a Jeff Nicol steady rest and I don't know why I waited so long. It surely makes vases, HF, etc much easier.


I emailed Jeff about making a steady rest for my lathe, but have not ordered it as of yet. It is my understanding he is not going to be making any for a while..............at least a couple of posts have been to that effect.

Bernie, have you ever turned Bradford Pear? Did you have trouble with a lot of cracking?

[John Keeton]

Roger, from looking at that piece, there is no way it would have stayed round! Everytime one of those cracks opened or moved, the diameter changed disproportionately. You did very well with this!! Persistence and hard work paid off for you.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, from looking at that piece, there is no way it would have stayed round! Everytime one of those cracks opened or moved, the diameter changed disproportionately. You did very well with this!! Persistence and hard work paid off for you.


Thanks John,

I did not think that my imagination was running wild with me...........I tried probably 8 or 10 finish cuts with a carbide hunter tool to get the hollowing marks out of it, and it just would not finish out.

I even turned the speed up to about 2250 rpm, but looking back on it, that probably made it worse as the centrifugal force was compounded, making more rim oscillation.

I think the camera distorted the dimensions of the bulb in the picture, as the piece looks less "squatty" in the bulb area than in the picture.

[David E Keller]

Way to stay with it, Roger. I find pear to be a joy to turn, but I guess all I've really done with it has been really small stuff and spindle work... Mostly dry wood. I've got a few rough outs from green Bradford that I anchor sealed(before I started my DNA treatments). I'll check on them next time I make it out to the shop and let you know if they've cracked.

[Roger Chandler]

Way to stay with it, Roger. I find pear to be a joy to turn, but I guess all I've really done with it has been really small stuff and spindle work... Mostly dry wood. I've got a few rough outs from green Bradford that I anchor sealed(before I started my DNA treatments). I'll check on them next time I make it out to the shop and let you know if they've cracked.


Thank you, David....... I think I need to get a handle on the DNA drying process and gather the materials, etc.

This particular log was already cut, and given to me by a fellow woodturner, and I don't think he had sealed it, and it was put under a shade tree out of the sun with a bunch of other logs, and I was just able to get to it today, so 3 months with a wind blown tree...........I am probably lucky to have been able to salvage it at all.

This form is not the easiest either, especially without a steady rest. It was hollowed about 8" deep. A tough way to go with hand held Ellsworth tools!

[Dennis Ford]

You did a good job on the turning. I have turned several pieces of Bradford Pear and really like it. It is hard and cuts very cleanly. I was told it is bad about cracking but I have not found that to be the case as long as the pith is removed from the blank and normal precautions are taken. I usually coat rough-outs with anchorseal and let them dry slowly.

[Roger Chandler]

You did a good job on the turning. I have turned several pieces of Bradford Pear and really like it. It is hard and cuts very cleanly. I was told it is bad about cracking but I have not found that to be the case as long as the pith is removed from the blank and normal precautions are taken. I usually coat rough-outs with anchorseal and let them dry slowly.


Thanks Dennis,

What you described with the anchorseal is what I should have done, but with all that was going on the time that I got that piece, I did not have time, but I guess I let it slip my mind later on that day, or the next week.

I have heard that fruit woods have a lot of movement anyway. I have turned a good bit of cherry, and it moves a lot, and if not sealed at least twice, then it will crack before it is anywhere near ready to turn. Also, apple will crack in a heartbeat :eek: and since this is a pear tree, although ornamental, the growth rate of the tree most likely makes it move a bunch as well.

I think slow growth wood will have the least movement.