Crotch Turning Dilemma

[Gary Conklin]

So for you guys that turn crotch wood bowls, what side do you prefer to hollow from and why. I have turned a few, but they weren't any spectacular wood. I have seen them turned from both sides, but it seems to me that if you hollow from the outside(bark side) in you will keep more of the figure and place it in the bottom and outside of the bowl. Is my thinking right or did I miss this bus entirely?

[Dan Forman]

That's how I do it, keeping the figure on the bottom of the bowl. Otherwise, too much of the feather is lost. The downside is that you end up with a smaller bowl, as you have to come in farther in order to get any height. Sometimes I end up with more of a plate or shallow dish. But with a really big crotch, you can get a pretty good sized bowl. Unfortunately, a lot of tree guys seem to make their cut in the middle of the feather. Grrrr.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1030542.jpg


Dan

[John Hart]

What I like to do, because I think it's cool, and if I think it's cool then everyone must think it's cool....I think.:rolleyes::confused:

Anyway..If you visualize the top of the piece as being the bottom of the V of the crotch in the tree....that puts the feather in a vertical orientation fading downward. Cool effect.

But the real hazard is how the feather dries and how the surrounding wood dries. It's gonna pull and twist and ripple while the surrounding wood is just going to try and keep up.

[Steve Schlumpf]

It all depends on where you want the grain to show and also on what style of wing you are turning (natural edge, sloping, rounded, etc). You have to use your imagination a little bit to envision the end turning. I find it is worth experimenting with the orientation of each piece as there are no set rules.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=8&attachmentid=171351

[Baxter Smith]

Gary, the first one I ever did I went for size and that resulted in me turning away most of the figure. Have done the rest with the center of the tree toward the bottom but haven't had a crotch piece big enough to make much more than a plate. The last crotch piece I turned was from a sycamore. Made a tall shouldered HF from the very center with the v part of the crotch being the top. The heartwood running down both sides of the form in a v pattern was kind of neat. Hopefully it will dry nicely so I can finish it next year.

[Gary Conklin]

Thanks, all great replies. Looks like some play time might be in my future.

[Ron Rutter]

Timely. I have a crotch of cherry and don't know how to cut it. Looking at it as a Y do you cut down in the vertical parallel plane & end up with 2 Y's? Thanks. Ron.

[Bob Rotche]

We discussed this at my bowl turning class at Campbell Folk School and the recommendation is to cut from pith to pith, essentially giving you two "Y" shaped pieces. The feather should be at the bottom of the bowl, therefore hollowing from the bark side which will preserve the most figure. It was also mentioned that if it is a smaller piece of wood, it may be better to cut off center, sacrificing one of the 2 blanks but giving you one really good piece rather than 2 marginal pieces. Good luck, I'm still trying to figure this out for myself having already messed up a box elder crotch but still have a cherry crotch waiting for me.

[Keith Westfall]

The comments raise a couple of questions:

What is the feather? (sorry :(

When you say cut from pith to pith, is that the saw cut before you start to turn? Would you then cut on the side of the "Y" to end up with 2 haves of the crotch?

Thanks for more clarification on this ...

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I think it's what you want to see. Most have said to keep the heartwood at the center, and this is my preference also. But there is the other option of keeping the sapwood on the bottom. As mentioned, this will result in a bigger bowl. It will also result in the heartwood being in the "outside" of the bowl and you can see it without picking up the bowl to look "inside" to see the figure. If you take the time and effort to balance out the heartwood around the bowl, it can be a very attractive bowl also.

[Jon Nuckles]

In order to keep the figure, do you have to leave the pith(s) in the piece?

[Bob Rotche]

Just to clarify, Keith, the feather is a very attractive grain pattern that occurs in the crotch where a tree trunk splits into 2 (my wife always laughs when I talk about my crotch feather...) Cutting pith to pith refers to the path of the chain saw when cutting into 2 turning blanks, each with some feather. The pith, of course, needs to be removed when roughing the bowl as that is where cracks will originate. By turning so that the feather is at the bottom of the bowl, you will keep the most attractive grain figure. If you turn the opposite way (feather up), you will get a larger bowl but the feather will mostly end up as shavings on the floor with feather pattern only remaining high on the side walls. Hope that is clearer. Check my last post for a walnut bowl with a great feather pattern.