Ever have one of THOSE turnings...?

[Mike Cruz]

Ugh. That took WAY too long to rough out...for something that looks like poop...the wood is possibly too punky...and it may not yeild an end bowl. What a disappointment. And while I took pics of the whole process, I have no desire to share them. I feel it was THAT bad. Maybe no pics/didn't happen rule will apply to this one. That way, I can deny the whole thing...to myself that is...I've already fessed up to the lot of you...:mad:

[Steve Schlumpf]

Oh yeah.... been there a few times! I once spent 2 days trying to hollow a green chunk of maple and it fought me for every 1/4"! The wood would not cut - just gum up the edge! After two days of fighting it - I gently (yeah, right!) removed it from the lathe and threw it (again, gently) into the far corner of the shop. Out of sight - out of mind! 8 to 9 months later I see this chunk of wood laying in the corner and figured the time had come to finish what I had started.

This time it cut the way it was supposed to and when finished became one of my favorites because of all we had been through together! Check it out: Vase (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=8&attachmentid=171726)

[Mike Cruz]

Well, Steve, while I know I'm not alone, it is nice to hear it...

That vase turned out beautifully. Good thing you finished it.

Ok, I wasn't going to post pics but I'm in a differnt mood now. I've settled down to my emails, had some fun with Creek threads, and am sipping my second beer. Look at this ugly duckling. Here's what I started with. Check out the punkiness. And look at what got turned away... I have a sneaking suspicion, this won't come out (if at all) as nicely as your vase...

Actually, I took pics all the way along the process with this one. It was a LOT nicer before I tried to turn out the inclusion. That really made this thing look like a pith helmet...

[Mark Hubl]

Been there, done that. Actually it does not look all that bad. Does it still have a tenon? Has potential, add more curve to the lip top and bottom. Can you kind of give it some undercut? Just thinking.

Maybe we should have a Hall of Shame thread. I think there would be plenty contributors!

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, it still has the tenon, but that was part of the problem... I thought my 4" jaws hadn't arrived and I was forced to make a small tenon (2 1/2" on a 15" bowl :eek: ). After I had committed to the tenon, it hit me that they had arrived. A DOH moment. So, the blank wobbled a bit while hollowing it out. So, cutting went slowly. So, yes, it has a tenon, but it is way too small. When I go to mount this thing back on the lathe, I'll recut the tenon to accomodate the 4" jaws. I left enough meat for another tenon (at least I THINK I did).

Thanks for saying it ain't so bad. You are kind. Apparently, it is a bowl only somone other than its creator could love... ;):D

[Hayes Rutherford]

Mike, to top it off, the pieces you like the least are often the hardest work!!

[Steve Vaughan]

Mike, I think it has lots of potential. That's a very cool unique shape and I like it. I last year I'd rough-turned two pieces of pecan that (to me) looked punkier and way worse than what you've got there. I rough-turned anyway and let it dry, came back to it after much confusion in my brain about it becoming firewood. Then I said, why not, give it a shot. I took it and turned it to nearly the end size and IT WAS VERY PUNKY, but then I soaked them in laquer for a couple hours. It absorbed a ton of (old) laquer I had laying around - and you might could use something else - and after I let that dry for several days, it turned really nice and clean. Ended up with two very cool bowl, if I say so myself.

Go for it! Don't give up yet! Very cool shape and you've got something going on there that you'll appreciate having stay at it!

[John Hart]

Personally, I'd do what Mr. Schlumpf did. Toss it in a cubby and forget it for a while. Maybe soak it in shellac and toss it in a cubby and forget it for a while. It'll probably turn out really cool 2 years from now.

[Dan Hintz]

I was thinking the same as Mark... an undercut on the lip. Doesn't look like much meat there to do it, but it you go thin it may work.

If you cut the pith out of a pith helmet, is there anything left?

[Tim Thiebaut]

I have had several of those lately Mike, I think that is something we will all do at some point. I spent a lot of time a couple of weeks ago on trying to make a winged bowl similar to one that Steve posted a while ago...well needless to say I thought I would just take a little bit more off the wings....got a catch...now there is hardly any wing left on one side...LOL...I put it aside, maybe when I get a little more experience under my belt I can come back to it and make a design change and salvage some portion of it.

[John Keeton]

Mike, my patience for "difficult" wood is nearly nonexistent, so I admire your perseverance!! The main trouble with punky wood is that if follows one all the way to the end. The hard part is yet to come - getting a good finish.

You may want to consider the "glue soak." Wally Dickerman suggests taking cheap white glue, diluted 50% with water, and a 2 day soak. That may help with the turning and the finishing.

[Mike Cruz]

Yes to all that suggest some sort of soaking...probably the glue-water thing. That is, at least, what I was planning on doing.

Thanks for the support, too. Maybe, after drying and soaking and drying ( :) ) I'll sit her on a shelf until a day when I "see" what she should look like.

[Baxter Smith]

Looks like some of the dead maple I cut in Maine last summer and another I cut there while you were cutting up that big ambrosia maple. I think I was cutting in the wrong state then.:)
The difference between, bland, beautiful, and bad is pretty short with maple.
Have never tried the glue soak but it is worth a shot. You should have plenty of other beautiful wood to try so go grab a piece!

[Mike Cruz]

I do, and you are right. Might head out to the shop on this rainy day and see what else I can have fun with.

Oh, and this is from the stump of the ambrosia maple...

[Tony De Masi]

Mike, other that this piece has given you some trouble I see nothing wrong with it at this stage. Just take your time and think things through before you proceed to the next step, and be patient. It looks like there is enough meat still on the bones to be albe to come out with a very nice finished piece.

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks for the kind words, Tony...

What? You don't "have one" of your own? ;) :D

[Dick Wilson]

Mike, If I had a dollar for every piece of crap that I tried to beat into submission I would probably be able to buy a Mustard Monster:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:. Then I watched a John Jordan video. He made the comment "life is to short to try to turn crap wood". A light went on in my feeble brain. I can't tell you how many times I had tried to turn spaulted AND punky wood cuz it would be a "beauty". Turn it rough, soak the be-gibbers out of it in wood hardners and shellac cut 50%. Everything went great until the time came to sand it.:mad::mad::mad: Doesn't make any difference what grit you start at the soft punky wood will dig out upon sanding. Just marvelous.:mad::mad::mad::mad:. My suggestion would be to pick your fights. Get away from punky wood.

[Tony De Masi]

Mike, I DO have one. I just thought maybe you would want one of your own.

[David DeCristoforo]

It would not take much to refine this into a much more pleasing shape. It looks like you have plenty of thickness to work with. Here is just one possibility:

190725

[Don Alexander]

i realise that i am likely in the minority when it comes to difficult wood (i like it, lots of beautiful wood is in that difficult category) i modified that saying about difficult wood to read " life is too short to waste time with plain wood" :D

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, David, that was very helpful. I will keep that in mind when I finish turn it. I might even print out that pic to guide me. The shape you drew is closer (I think) to what I had wanted/liked earlier in my turning of this piece. But I was trying, very hard, to get rid of a bark inclusion that is right on the rim. Here are some progressive pics of it during the turning process and to show the inclusion. Before I removed a lot of wood just under the rim, I think the shape was much more like what you drew. BTW, when I said I had a lot of trouble turning this, it wasn't really because the whole thing was punky and I difficulty turning the punk. It was that I kept having to go further and further to get to that inclusion, and it was messing up my shape. I will say, though, that this thing dulled my gouge pretty rapidly. Also, because of the tiny tenon, the thing wobbled like crazy, and I turned the whole inside at about 350 rpm...

[Mike Cruz]

And here are a few more...

[patrick stein]

hey mike,

whats seems to be the problem,you should be able to reshape enough to get nice form.Like tony said take your time look at your options it will come to you.At worst you made a hat .lol


patrick

[Cathy Schaewe]

Turn off some of the lip, get a big catch causing a crack, and then turn it upside down. Voila - the Liberty Bell!

Seriously, I think if you turned off some of the lip and some of the bulge at the bottom it would be a much more gradual ogee, and very attractive (if there's enough wood left to do it).

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Pat for the hat...yeah, sad, huh?

Cathy, I wonder if I put it in a box and shipped it north....hmmmmmm:D The walls are a good 7/8 to an inch. I don't see this moving all that much, even though it is wet, becuse the grain is going every which way and it is punky. So, I think I'll have enough to pretty up the ogee. But I could be wrong. It might warp like crazy and I'll end up with just what I've got but thinner. We'll see.

[David E Keller]

I've got a piece of maple burl that's really punky, but it's pretty. I've got a piece that I rough hollowed and white glue soaked. It's much more firm that it was prior to the soak, but I haven't had a chance to mount it back on the lathe... I'll let you know if it works for me. The glue was cheap, so I don't think I'll be out much if it doesn't work. FWIW, I put mine in a freezer bag filled with the 50/50 glue and water solution. I soaked it for a little over 24 hours then set it aside to dry for a week. I've got a few pieces of this punky stuff, so I'm hoping the little experiment works.

[Mike Cruz]

David, where did you get your glue for cheap? And just for reference, what is "cheap"? I'm sure I could get it at a number of places, but wonder what people call cheap...Thanks.

[Peter Elliott]

Aww, Mike.. are you making me a "chamber pot"...

Your such a great bud... knowing I just had surgery and it's hard to get to the bathroom..

Thanks Dude!
-Peter

[David E Keller]

David, where did you get your glue for cheap? And just for reference, what is "cheap"? I'm sure I could get it at a number of places, but wonder what people call cheap...Thanks.

My wife bought it at a local office supply place... About $12 to 15/gallon if I remember correctly.

I just poured the excess back in the container after the soak.

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, David. I'll keep my eye out for that price range.

Peter, looks like you are stil on drugs, so I'll refrain from asking why you wanto to pee on my project...