Warpage

[Bill Schoppert]

I turned this little bowl like thing yesterday and turned a lid for it and all looked great. Got up this morning and it had warped and the lid won't fit. The wall is about a 1/8 inch so is there anything a person can do to unwarp it, stick the lid on and hope it doesn't pop it back off until it acclimates. Not sure I'm saying this right.
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[Dick Wilson]

Bill, Hmmmm, there is a problem in river city. You could use one of those hose band clamps ( the kind that you use a screw driver to tighten) on the box. Put a band on the bottom and the top. Keep the wood damp and every day tighten a little. The top of box might go back to round. The other problem is the lid will probably oval on you, ergo, the lid still won't fit. I have never done it so I am the one who might be all damp. Good Luck

[John Keeton]

Bill, in flatwork, I have tried many things to cure a warp - none successfully long term. Lidded boxes are problematic. One needs to have very dry wood, and I prefer to rough turn the piece, including the lid, to approximate final dimension, let it sit for a day or so, and finish turn. Seems to help some, but there are those times......

[Greg Just]

Bill there is not too much you are going to be able to do to save the lidded box. Perhaps you could glue to lid on and reshape it into a hollow form. You can hide the seam with some sort of embelishment such as a burned line. Good luck.

[Reed Gray]

When turning any lidded vessel, I make sure to follow a couple of rules.

One, I always rough turn them and let them sit for a week or so. Any block of wood, no matter hot 'dry' it is, will move or adjust when you remove bulk from the center. Of course, wet wood moves more than green wood.

Two, I prefer to turn boxes from end grain pieces. This will mean that the box will be more stable with humidity changes. Most of the movement in wood is sideways. The long grain, up and down the tree doesn't move much at all. Your box is side grain, so it will move more. If the lid is cut from the same piece of wood, and with the same grain orientation, the movement on the lid and box should be the same, so it may go oval, but so will the lid.

I generally keep boxes under 2 inch diameter. Main reason is that as pieces get bigger, they will move more, and under 2 inches, the movement is minimal. Over that size, I make the lid more of a loose fit, just in case there is a lot of movement.

robo hippy

[Bill Schoppert]

(:o)}}} Thanks guys for all the suggestions. It's my first attempt at this so live and learn. Actually it's only the second thing that I have turned. Just got my lathe, Delta 46-460, and I'm smitten. I can see this getting a little spendy. Thanks again

Bill

[Steve Vaughan]

Yup, Bill, you're learning several things is sounds like. This being your second turning - and let me say here you did a great job with that - so you're learning well the live and learn sort of thing. But, I sense that you have already discovered that the vortex is gonna run deep and spendy. The mistakes with piece of wood will come and go...but money with this sort of thing?...well...it seems to go faster than it comes. Having said that, it's all good, you've got a good lathe there, and boy, you're gonna have a good time! Welcome!

[Greg Just]

[QUOTE=Bill Schoppert;1670297](:o)}}} I can see this getting a little spendy.

It has only just begun! :D

[Chip Sutherland]

I can only echo Robo Hippy's comments. Until I did the same thing, I had never considered movement. Nowadays, I tend to do the turning from start to finish in one session and leave lid on the box for a couple of days while it stabilizes.

[Bill Schoppert]

But, I sense that you have already discovered that the vortex is gonna run deep and spendy. !

Yes I have and I want MORE!! :eek:

[Bill Schoppert]

Nowadays, I tend to do the turning from start to finish in one session and leave lid on the box for a couple of days while it stabilizes.

I'm taking a chance so I dipped it into water for a couple of minutes and then took a clamp and kind of made it round and squeezed lid on. It's drying now so we will see what it's like in a couple of days. Thank again everyone.

Bill

[Wally Dickerman]

Woodturning is a learning experience. If you turn a face grain bowl, plan on some warping. I've turned some 4 or 5 inchers and rough turned them 3 times. Most of the tendency to warp was gone but not all. Design the lid so that the grain mathces when they both warp, and use a sloppy fit. The wood must be dry.

Also, some wood will warp more than others. Mesquite, very little. Fruit wood or madrone and many others, a lot.

[Thomas Canfield]

Has anyone tried using a band clamp to remove an oval? My guess is that the perimiter of the oval is the same as the circumference of the original circle and therefore a band clamp would not do anything about correcting the oval. A band clamp may do some good in preventing splitting if was truly tight to start and tension checked during drying.