Wally Dickerman
02-17-2011, 5:58 PM
I firmly believe in the saying "Life is too short to turn crappy wood". But once in awhile a piece of crappy wood comes along that is worth saving. Beautiful figure, probably spalted, but almost too punky to turn without a lot of problems. What to do....
Sometimes the wood is just too far gone to turn so I toss it. However, if I can get it rough turned maybe it can be saved. Becomes a challenge.
I've mentioned my 50/50 white glue and water method before but I'll describe it here again in better detail. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. The beauty in some wood makes it worth the effort.
I rough turn the blank, hopefully without too much damage from torn wood. Be aware that the piece will probably warp a bit so allow for that. Sharp tools and cutting carefully with the grain are necessary. White glue in quart size isn't too costly from Michael's or Walmart. Mix with an equal amount of water (white glue is already mostly water) I use a small plastic tub. I turn using a glue block because the wood is too punky to hold a tenon. I keep the glue block out of the mix. It's held down with a rock because the wood wants to float. I soak for at least 24 hours. A little more if the wood is really bad. After a week or more to dry out, the piece goes back on the lathe to be finished. One real plus here is that small cracks usually just disappear. The wood swells and you're soaking it in glue. Save the glue mix in a gallon jug for the next one.
I get a lot of satisfaction when I end up with a beautiful piece that otherwise would be firewood. Some time ago a member of our club brought in a lovely, partly turned platter of figured Alaska cedar. He asked me if I could finish it. It was obviously cut from a stump because about a third of it was almost rotten and was full of small cracks. I had my doubts but I tried the glue soak on the bad part of the piece. It worked! The result was a very nice 14 inch platter which the club raffled off for almost $300.
The pic is one that I saved some time ago. Was it worth the effort?
Wally
Sometimes the wood is just too far gone to turn so I toss it. However, if I can get it rough turned maybe it can be saved. Becomes a challenge.
I've mentioned my 50/50 white glue and water method before but I'll describe it here again in better detail. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. The beauty in some wood makes it worth the effort.
I rough turn the blank, hopefully without too much damage from torn wood. Be aware that the piece will probably warp a bit so allow for that. Sharp tools and cutting carefully with the grain are necessary. White glue in quart size isn't too costly from Michael's or Walmart. Mix with an equal amount of water (white glue is already mostly water) I use a small plastic tub. I turn using a glue block because the wood is too punky to hold a tenon. I keep the glue block out of the mix. It's held down with a rock because the wood wants to float. I soak for at least 24 hours. A little more if the wood is really bad. After a week or more to dry out, the piece goes back on the lathe to be finished. One real plus here is that small cracks usually just disappear. The wood swells and you're soaking it in glue. Save the glue mix in a gallon jug for the next one.
I get a lot of satisfaction when I end up with a beautiful piece that otherwise would be firewood. Some time ago a member of our club brought in a lovely, partly turned platter of figured Alaska cedar. He asked me if I could finish it. It was obviously cut from a stump because about a third of it was almost rotten and was full of small cracks. I had my doubts but I tried the glue soak on the bad part of the piece. It worked! The result was a very nice 14 inch platter which the club raffled off for almost $300.
The pic is one that I saved some time ago. Was it worth the effort?
Wally