Walnut Crotch rough-out/ citations from the shop police?!!

[Roger Chandler]

Way too many other pressing things as of late to turn anything :( I got the obligatory April 15th things off to the CPA and had a little time I could finally get to do a little bit of work at the lathe.

You may remember the walnut crotch slab that Jeff Bartley gave me a couple weeks ago....[thanks again Jeff!] 228399 Well, this is the bottom half with the feather grain roughed out into a platter.......

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This roughout is 13.5 inches in diameter.........I decided that because the wood was so unbalanced, that I had better use a face plate instead of a glue block...........I just did not trust a glue block with a 17.5 inch and about 65 lb. blank of wet walnut........I did mount it on the sawn side and roughed from the bark in to preserve the feather...........

more in the next post

[Roger Chandler]

Now weekends are truly busy for me always, so shop clean up will have to wait until Monday afternoon :eek::eek::eek:

I know John Keeton will just cringe when he sees this, but I had no choice but to leave the curlees......this is only about 1/2 of them as the first pile about this size I already got up before the wife called me for supper, and this is just what is left after I went back to it.........

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I thought I would show the roughout because I am not sure about how this one will fare seeing that it has a crack right in the base of the thing........another reason for the face plate and the screws. I have this platter soaking in DNA for a couple of days, then will begin the drying process..........I think I will use some shavings and the anchorseal on this one before I bag it up and wait for a few months to finish turn it.

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[John Spitters]

Roger

I would apply some epoxy to that crack otherwise there is a very good chance that it will expand through the rest of the blank roughout

[Roger Chandler]

Roger

I would apply some epoxy to that crack otherwise there is a very good chance that it will expand through the rest of the blank roughout

John ..........I used a good bit of CA glue on it before I even mounted the blank on the face plate. I don't have any epoxy on hand right now, and it is already soaking in DNA..........would you advise filling with epoxy after the soak in DNA?

[Steve Vaughan]

Man, that thing has lots of feather in it! Hope it makes it through the drying. I think it's still gonna open up following the dna soak. I've saved similar turnings after it dried completely by using brass key shavings and CA. I'd say that or dust or coffee with CA or something would work fine. I think you're gonna be able to make it work.

Love the curlies everywhere! Sort of looks like decorations everywhere - that's it! - it's a party!

[Dennis Ford]

Of course there are no guarantees but I think that platter will be fine, the void area appears to be confined to the base. It will look great when finished.

[Jamie Donaldson]

I also advise removing that sliver of cambium on the rim, as it has a bad habit of popping off when the wood dries.

[Roger Chandler]

I also advise removing that sliver of cambium on the rim, as it has a bad habit of popping off when the wood dries.

Thanks Jamie..........that was my plan as this is in rough-out stage, and the finish turning will decrease the diameter by a bit, so I had planned to turn it away.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, & hope for the best during the drying process. I'd hate to see you lose that great feather. I do have to agree with Jamie though & think you should remove the cambium as soon as possible.

[charlie knighton]

beautiful walnut Roger, looks like it will be a super bowl, have you ever tried a piece of plywood under bottom, with slats across the top of bowl and bolted together using thread rod acting as a press to keep a bowl from warping, i believe you can turn green wood to finish thickness and not have it warp

i saw this tip i believe in American Woodturner

[Roger Chandler]

beautiful walnut Roger, looks like it will be a super bowl, have you ever tried a piece of plywood under bottom, with slats across the top of bowl and bolted together using thread rod acting as a press to keep a bowl from warping, i believe you can turn green wood to finish thickness and not have it warp

i saw this tip i believe in American Woodturner

That is a pretty interesting idea Charlie.............I would think with the right amount of pressure while drying the warping could be minimized a good bit............not sure about eliminating it altogether, as there would of necessity be some movement anyway, but it might work.

Since I already have this one in process, I will just allow it to finish its soak and dry with some anchorseal on it, and put it in a bag until it stops losing weight............should be okay to finish turn after that.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice looking roughout Roger. It should be very pretty when done!

[Jerry Marcantel]

Wow, that's got some nice character. Can't wait to see it finished.
BTW, the shop looks used, not dirty. Would you rather be turning or cleaning?... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Brent VanFossen]

That's a beautiful piece. And I'm laughing at all the photos. Man, keep those drawers closed.

[John Keeton]

Roger, you are an embarrassment to the "Have you Cleaned Your Shop Today?" support group!!!!:o:D I am appalled!

Great pics (other than the mess!) - I have several walnut crotch slabs that Jamie and I harvested from his place. They are still sitting in my shop. You have inspired me to get them rounded and sealed today! That is one nice looking platter.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Roger,
I probably would not have even used CA at this point. I would not use any glue in the bark inclusion until the wood is completely dried. It will act like a wedge and increase chances the bowl will crack further. Don't rush it. When you are ready to finish turn it you should be able to true enough of the inside between centers then mount it on the vacuum and complete the outside. You will know quickly if the bark inclusion created an opening through the bottom of the platter. My guess is it will not.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, you are an embarrassment to the "Have you Cleaned Your Shop Today?" support group!!!!:o:D I am appalled!

Great pics (other than the mess!) - I have several walnut crotch slabs that Jamie and I harvested from his place. They are still sitting in my shop. You have inspired me to get them rounded and sealed today! That is one nice looking platter.

My bad John....:o:o:o..........I let our shop police down! No time last evening for clean up.......but I can't stand it that way for long........I would say by mid afternoon on Monday, it will all be nice and tidy again! :D

This piece of walnut was just really wet........my hands got stained from the walnut juice slinging off this piece and I did not want to wait a few months or even a year to get at this one...........I guess the turn green and soak in DNA will be put to the test with this one.

When I go to shake hands with the congregants this morning .........no doubt I will get some looks like .....gee, why didn't you wash your hands? :eek: I have.........several times already.........I am going to use some GO-JO hand cleaner like the mechanics use for greasy hands and see if it helps!

[Tom Winship]

Great job, Roger. I'm starting to think John K. just built his shop to admire in it's clean state. I believe he buys all those things he posts. Your shop makes me feel "at home".

[Roger Chandler]

Great job, Roger. I'm starting to think John K. just built his shop to admire in it's clean state. I believe he buys all those things he posts. Your shop makes me feel "at home".

Tom.........I just think John is too smart to post pics of a dirty shop like I did!:eek:

[charlie knighton]

I am going to use some GO-JO hand cleaner like the mechanics use for greasy hands and see if it helps!

you may want to try some lemon juice from fresh lemons on your hands

[David DeCristoforo]

That's an amazing feather, Roger. I like the platter too. It's a nice, simple profile (not always easy to achieve) that really maximizes the figure. And don't worry about those "dust busters". You will never get an easy night's sleep if you start listening to them!

[Roger Chandler]

That's a good one David........the shop police are now "dust busters" ..... I like it..........maybe cause I are one :rolleyes:

[Jon Nuckles]

+1 on the lemon juice to get rid of walnut stains. It works great, and you can even use the bad tasting stuff that comes in the plastic lemon container.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Charlie and Jon for the tip on lemon juice........had not thought of that one. I did use some Go-Jo this morning before I went to church.....it got about 95% of the stain off...........only a slight discoloration on a couple of places......not too bad.

[Kathy Marshall]

Looking good. That's got some really nice feather in it, it's going to look great when it's finished.
As far as the shop, it looks pretty clean to me. I can still see the floor and curlies hanging from tools and drawers make nice accents.

[Rick Markham]

Wow, that is a spectacular piece of wood Roger, and good work on it's preliminary form too. The shop looks like it could use another couple of layers of curlies before cleanup... Maple curlies would go nicely with your Walnut ones! :D

[Roger Chandler]

Most of the curlees have been duly collected now, and emptied into my little sawdust pile out back.........I still have some minor tidy-up to do, but I knew I could not stand it the way it was in the pics for long.......busy morning taking care of work items, and then soon as I got home.........out to the shop to clean up! JK would be proud! :D:rolleyes:

The Walnut platter is out of the DNA and is air drying for an hour or two.........then a light coat of anchorseal and then bag it for a few weeks.........weighing it every few days until it stops losing weight............should be ready for finish turning at that point and I have to go by the hardware store for some epoxy for the crack........likely will fill it before bagging it for drying.

[Bill Wyko]

Isn't it sad that there is a part of society that would look at the original blank as a piece of fire wood. You on the otherhand, saw an extraordinary opportunity to make a piece of art to be enjoyed by generations. Very nice work my friend. Can't wait to see it done. Thanks very much for sharing.

[Jeff Bartley]

Roger,
The platter looks great! I can't wait to see it finished! I love the white wane of walnut (even though it grays with time).
I have another chunk of walnut to cut, it's just over 3' across and about 5' long, another crotch and also an outside piece from cutting the log 'en boule'. Why don't you stop over and help me decide how to cut it up? Of course I'd send you home with some of it ;-)! Jeff

[Alan Trout]

Rodger,

That is an awesome piece of wood. That should be a great piece when done.

Alan

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,
The platter looks great! I can't wait to see it finished! I love the white wane of walnut (even though it grays with time).
I have another chunk of walnut to cut, it's just over 3' across and about 5' long, another crotch and also an outside piece from cutting the log 'en boule'. Why don't you stop over and help me decide how to cut it up? Of course I'd send you home with some of it ;-)! Jeff

Jeff,

I am going to have to find a way to take you up on that offer! :D;)