Kellerized Beech Bowl

[Baxter Smith]

After a recent turning trade with David Keller, I became “inspired”;) to try and repair a bowl that had developed some serious issues shortly after turning!
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Looking like this after only a week, I had no hope for its future. As a result, I let it bounce around the shop for a couple months just to see how bad it would get. The crack did get worse, but then closed up almost completely as it dried. :cool: In fact, it began to look like a repair might be possible. Although I have wire stitched one bowl, I just didn’t feel like doing it here. A butterfly patch was an option but that seemed like a lot of work to save a cracked bowl. I seem to have plenty. (bowls that is):rolleyes:

Now back to the Dr. ! So this wonderful cherry burl vase arrives in the mail and it has a couple of rectangular stitches in it that look pretty neat. On further inquiry, I am told they were done with a plate joiner. Light comes on! Now I remember reading awhile ago about using one for just that purpose and thinking at the time, here’s a justification for keeping mine! :D So with a curved slice from a beech board I had….
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So thanks for the inspiration and advice on doing this Keller. I might not have ever sanded out and finished this set otherwise! No clue on what I am going to do with them, but at least they are done. For those of you who turn warped sets of bowls, is there more value in keeping something like this together or do you split them up and give/sell them to whomever might want one?

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18”, 15”, 12.5”, and 9.5”. Finished with two coats of Mahoneys walnut Oil applied a week apart. After at least another week for the oil to dry, they will get a mix of oil and beeswax which should give them a bit more sheen.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome!

[Brian Kent]

Baxter, how did you hold that repaired bowl together?

As for the warped bowl set, come up with an esoteric sounding name and charge a fortune for it!

[Ted Calver]

...On further inquiry, I am told they were done with a plate joiner....
Looks like bowl joiner work to me. It's a great save and I'm betting it will hold it together for a long time. I can see using several of these on larger pieces and you could even set them on a diagonal for a 'stitched' effect. Nice job!

[Allan Ferguson]

Some people are really attracted to warped bowl. It is an added attraction.

[Steve Schlumpf]

One more trick to store away fro future use! Thanks Baxter! Oh... Nice bowls!! Glad you figured out a way to finish them!

[Neil Bosdet]

How did you use the bisquit joiner? ie: what was your method of cutting the bisquit and then gluing the bisquit without apparent gaps?

P.S. -cool save!

[Kathy Marshall]

Really nice save Baxter!
Since I turn almost everything green to finish I've learned to not mind the warping, especially on nested sets since they all warp in the same direction and pretty much to the same degree so they still nest together nicely.

[John Keeton]

Great repair, and the end result looks flawless! Extra nice set of bowls, Baxter.

[David E Keller]

That looks great, Baxter! You did a much better job with your patches than I did! I intentionally placed the cuts haphazardly on the piece I sent you as I thought it added to the piece, but I like the structured way you incorporated them into the bowl. If you hang on to this set, I'll be interested to hear how this repair holds up to use and abuse.

I told Baxter that I thought I'd had an original idea in using the plate joiner, but as is often true in the world of turning, somebody has already been there and done that… In this case, there's a fella named Jerry Kermode who's done a fair bit of this type of repair. Although I wasn't aware of this prior to attempting it, the credit belongs to Mr. Kermode for originating the technique(unless there was someone before him).

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for your positive thoughts!

Baxter, how did you hold that repaired bowl together?
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Brian, after it had dried as much as I thought it was going to, the crack had just about completely closed on its entire length. I put some shellac along the edges on both sides then pulled it apart a bit to get some medium CA in there. Then hit it with accelerator. Titebond probably would have been better but I didn't feel like waiting. I just wanted to make sure everything stayed alined while I cut the slot and put in the stitch.


How did you use the bisquit joiner? ie: what was your method of cutting the bisquit and then gluing the bisquit without apparent gaps?

P.S. -cool save!
Neal, I wasn't going to mention this....:o..but since you asked.
I held the bowl upside down overhanging the end of my worbench with a board across the foot and a clamp on either end(and being careful not to break the joint I had just glued). . Holding the joiner against the outside of the bowl in what I hoped was the proper position......I then choked!:eek:
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Starting to plunge before hitting top rpm caused it skate across the top. Kind of like buck(bowl) fever. :rolleyes: Fortunately, I tried this first on one from another set that I had slopped some medium CA into when I first noticed the checking but hadn't taken the time to shellac the edges. The second plunge worked.
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The slot the joiner cuts is on a 4" arc. I used a beech board I had and sliced off a piece of appropriate thickness to the kerf. I then used a compass to draw the arc of a 4 inch circle across the side of the spline. Cut that on the bandsaw then sanded to the line. Inserted it into the slot cut into the bowl but still had to do a little more sanding to get an acceptable fit on all four visible ends. (The joiner doesn't cut a perfectly flat bottomed slot. I don't have a chisel less than 1/4" so couldn't flatten it without grinding and didn't want to bother. ) Once that looked ok, I marked the protuding parts and cut them on the bandsaw so it would sit a little proud of the surface. I spread 5 minute epoxy on all surfaces and slid it in. Scraped off the squeeze out, then sanded flat when dry. The CA on the rest of the crack may fail in time but I think that spline will last as long as the bowl does.