Two Big-Uns

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Two Sweetgum bowls have been first turned. Both are in excess of 20" in dia. and one is about 10 " deep and the other is about 6" deep. In the shallow one there was an embedded nail that came out after hitting it and then drilling it out. They were boiled and are now drying and have some beautiful things going on inside them. I don't have the shots of the bowls before bagged but here are some shots of them on the lathe.:)

[dan carter]

Those are some nice ones, nice and big as well. Will be interested in seeing how they come out.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Chris those are some big bowls. Really nice looking wood and will be interesting to see them finished.

[Jim Burr]

Yuk!! Any gum wood always smells like dirty sweat socks...but it sure is pretty when done!!

[Nate Davey]

Wow, you have had some big, spectacular pieces of wood. Those are going to be nice.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Yuk!! Any gum wood always smells like dirty sweat socks...but it sure is pretty when done!! I understand your dilemma in California but everything is Sweeter in Texas!!:D:D

[Thomas Canfield]

Impressive. I'll be looking for the finished product. I did a couple just under 20" on my Powermatic and the sweet gum finished nicely after air drying with anchorseal coating. Did the boiling help prevent warping? Your thickness looks to be less than 10% of diameter and my warpage needed the full 10% to finish the bowls.

[Kelvin Burton]

Chris,
Tell me more about boiling these .. do you use straight water, how long do you boil them, how is that better than air drying, etc.?

[Baxter Smith]

Looking forward to seeing those finished. We have a lot of seetgum around here. Never thought about it being good for much. Have cut some for firewood but it doesn't split well, puts off very little heat, and produces a lot of dusty ash. Will be interested to see if my opinion of it changes!:)

[Michael James]

You've got some serious chunks of wood there! Looking forward to seeing them at the finish line.

[David E Keller]

Even the bowls are bigger in Texas! Looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow - those are some big bowls! Looking forward to seeing them finished!

How did Beauty like working with larger blanks?

[Christopher K. Hartley]

...Did the boiling help prevent warping? Your thickness looks to be less than 10% of diameter and my warpage needed the full 10% to finish the bowls.Thomas all that I have boiled I have been very pleased with. It has given me much better results than when I was using DNA. The warping has more to do with inconsistent wall thickness than with the 10% thing in my opinion.


Chris,
Tell me more about boiling these .. do you use straight water, how long do you boil them, how is that better than air drying, etc.?Kevin I'm being asked this more and more so give me a little time and I will put together a step by step tutorial of sorts for everyone. Thanks for asking. I'll try to post it after my next wood soup session.


Looking forward to seeing those finished. We have a lot of seetgum around here. Never thought about it being good for much. Have cut some for firewood but it doesn't split well, puts off very little heat, and produces a lot of dusty ash. Will be interested to see if my opinion of it changes!:)Baxter, sweetgum is one of my favorite woods to turn. Please turn some and see what you have been missing.


...How did Beauty like working with larger blanks?Steve, I honestly can't tell any difference between a 20"bowl and an 8" bowl. Beauty's 3HP,VSD, and mass make it very simple.

[Thomas Canfield]

Christopher,

I have seen the warpage amount to more than 5% with crossgrain bowl blanks such that minimal truing up outside and mimimal truing up inside was about all the shaping that could be done and have a reasonable wall thickness. Also, your blanks looked pretty well balanced at start. I expect that your speed on the 20" is much less than the speed you turn the 8" bowls in regard to your answer to Steve. The mass of my Powermatic really is nice as compared to my Jet mini that I use for classes and with grandchildren and makes one appreciate mass and power.