Buffing natural edge bowls

[skott nielsen]

Do folks normally buff their NE bowls and if so any tricks to avoid knocking off the hard won bark? Also when applying finishes do you usually put the finish on the bark or leave that alone? If you do finish the bark how do you apply it?

Thanks, Skott

[Tony De Masi]

When applying my finish on a NE I put finish on the sides of the bark area but not on the top. One of the keys, IME, in buffing a NE is to do a careful examination of the bark areas, inside and out, to observe any sustpect areas. Of course if you remember to so this earlier, before final sanding, you are better off in case you intend to use CA glue to assist. If it's a small NE I will use the regular buffing wheels on the outside and bowl buffs on the inside. On larger NE bowls I will use the regular buffing wheels inside and out.

[Thomas Canfield]

Scott,

I am definitely not an expert on finishing, but I use a danish oil/polyurethane mix that I wipe on, and then later wipe off. The whole piece gets oiled. The mix I use is used by several turners in Hawaii as a soaking solution and then wiped. I am not sure how you can avoid coating the natural edge. Buffing has not usually been a problem, but then there has been some bark loss at times. Try some differnt methods and see what works for you.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I pretty much do what Tony does except I finish bark and all. I try to stay away from the bark when buffing.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I use a combination of Bernie's and Tony's methods. I first look the bark over very carefully inside and out. I will apply thin or thick CA depending on the size of gap I think I'm looking at between the body and the bark. After the CA has a reasonable length of time I apply my finish to the piece. I buff as Bernie suggested.

[Art Kelly]

Hickory (along with it's relatives') bark is generally awesome, including the bark on the roots. For it I use an acid brush and apply high-gloss Wipe-On-Poly right down into the bark edge. Do it first and you can blow out any excess if necessary without spoiling the sides. For the later coats I switch from gloss to semi-gloss, the gloss helps you keep track of where you've applied in the rough bark, but it's normally a little too shiny to suit me as a final coat. I buff the sides (no WD) of the NE as vigorously as the rest after I've made sure no CA needs to go in suspect areas. And after gluing back on the piece that I knocked off by banging it into the tool rest.:mad:

Here's some mockernut hickory bark with WOP in the bark edge and sides, then Beall:

177721
For thin bark like in the 1" x 2" close-up of the little pine vase here (which isn't complete) I lightly hand-buffed the bark with steel wool, and maybe also lightly with a steel "toothbrush" to get any flaking pieces off.

The last WOP will be semi, then I'll Beall Buff it and expect it to remain intact, both due to removing loose flakes ahead of time and due to the WOP "gluing" it down.

177720

That's more than I know.

Art