I had high hopes for this one.....

[Roger Chandler]

A few months ago, Jeff Bartley came over because he needed some anchor seal......brought me a nice
walnut crotch slab. [Thanks again, Jeff!] It looked like this 237011

I rough turned it and put it into a DNA soak and it has been drying until no more weight loss............I found cracks when I took it out of the bag!

237012

With all that feather in the rough-out I had high expectations for a finished platter, but the cracking and the voids ended up going all the way through........that was a disappointment for me....I had my heart set on some solid wood......but alas..........the wood gives you what it wants you to have! :(:D

I finished turned this today.........I am going to have to go back and take the finish off.....this is WTF, and it was so hot in my shop that it did not give me any open time at all to smooth it down, and it has some ripples in it :mad::mad: ........but on a cooler day, I should be able to refinish this to a nice smooth finish.

It ended up 12.5 inches in diameter. 237013237014237015

although this is pretty nice, and will be better when I revisit the finishing on it........I am not thrilled with it, but my wife likes it a lot, so I guess there is some redeeming aspects to this one...comments welcome!

Sorry about the little box......the wrong picture posted at first, and now it won't go away!

[Mike Tilley]

Roger sorry about the crack but is a good looking piece of wood.
I have seen lately that several people are using WTF i have never used this how is it applied and is it some kind of friction finish or does it take quite a while to dry?

[Roger Chandler]

Mike ........WTF is a urethane [water based] finish.........it dries very quickly [has extra dryers in the mix] and usually you can recoat in about a couple of minutes in warm weather.......today, it was flat out hot in my shop and as soon as I put the stuff on the wood, it would begin setting up, and I got some ripples in the finish. I will fix that later when it is cooler.

I encourage you to get a can of the General Finished Wood Turners Finish........it will speed up the finishing process and gives a very nice finish!

[Steve Vaughan]

Man, I'm sorry about the cracks...but that's a sure nice looking platter. Love the grain and sapwood together. That's a bit of a glossy finish, wonder if a satin finish would have 'hidden' the cracks a bit better? Regardless, still a nice piece!

[Tim Leiter]

Great piece of wood and a very nice turning Roger.

I just received my first can of General Finishes Wood Turner's Finish today from Rockler via the UPS man. It was free shipping from Rockler on orders over $25.00 so I HAD to place an order. I have read lately that many, many turners are now using this finish. Can't wait to try it.

Tim.

[Fred Belknap]

Roger the platter is nice, the cracks look like windshake cracks. I had a nice bowl that did that couple weeks after it was finished. Like you, my wife liked it so it takes a place of honor in the kitchen.

[Kathy Marshall]

That's a good looking platter Roger and a nice piece of walnut. Sorry about the cracks, but it still looks good and your wife likes it, so all is well.

[robert baccus]

The cracks finished black like did not detract from that piece. they look natual and add a lot of character. Heck, i charge extra for character---the victorian age is well over. OBTW you did a nice job--nice shape and wood yeah.

[Eric Gourieux]

Roger,
Could you inlay some turquoise or coffee in the cracks? It gives the cracks a nice, clean finish.

[Marc Himes]

Beautiful platter Roger. The sapwood and the crotch figure make it really special. Glossy vs satin is a good question and is hard to judge from photos but it looks good to me as is.

[Michelle Rich]

the best laid plans of mice & men....sure pretty tho

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,
Could you inlay some turquoise or coffee in the cracks? It gives the cracks a nice, clean finish.

Eric.......I only wish I had some turquoise.......gonna have to order some of that I guess. I almost pulled out some brass key shavings I got from the last club meeting.........but decided not to........I am out of thick CA glue, and well, you know....;)

[Roger Chandler]

Roger the platter is nice, the cracks look like windshake cracks. I had a nice bowl that did that couple weeks after it was finished. Like you, my wife liked it so it takes a place of honor in the kitchen.

Fred.........those cracks .........some of them were not there on the rough-out.......perhaps the stress in the wood as it was drying in the bag over the last couple months? They do remind me of wind shake that I have seen before, but my thinking on this is that it was the stresses in the wood and they opened up in cracks as the drying occurred..........you might be right however!

[Bob Rotche]

Really nice feather and very well turned. I second the suggestion of coffee/epoxy mix for the cracks. There is already enough color variability in the area that it will hardly be noticeable and will give you a flat, smooth surface. I have had good luck with this approach, especially with walnut.

[Scott Hackler]

That's a very nice piece Roger. I would have probably turned the figure away by accident....so kudos for that! :)

[Mike Cruz]

Roger, that is a sharp turning. That your wife loves it is ALL that matters... Does anyone else's (including YOURS) opinion really matter? ;) I think many of us are getting lost in what other turners would "like" rather than what the "public" thinks/appreciates. They are two COMPLETELY different things...

[Reed Gray]

Looking at the cracks, some of it looks like bark inclusions. The others look more like wind shake/cracks along the growth lines. I have had them show up before on some bowls, and they were there before I dried them, I just did not know what to look for. The darker line is part of it, and if you feel with your fingers, there is usually a small recess/indent along the line that you can't cut out. They do fill nicely with super glue and saw dust.

robo hippy

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, that is a sharp turning. That your wife loves it is ALL that matters... Does anyone else's (including YOURS) opinion really matter? ;) I think many of us are getting lost in what other turners would "like" rather than what the "public" thinks/appreciates. They are two COMPLETELY different things...

I agree with you on your thought that many are getting "lost" in what other turners would like" .........that is not my reason why I am disappointed. I like the form I turned. I like the figure. It is the wood cracking and having voids that disappointed me. I had a vision of a solid figured platter when I roughed this one out...........I sort of suspected it would have one void all the way through, but not as many as it has. The cracks when I took it out of the bag........that was a surprise.....:(

Then the finish.........the hot temps in my shop and the WTF just did not get along! This one has to be completely redone........it dried so fast I had no open time to work it smooth. Also, it is my guess.....and what I am surmising that occurred............I like to finish on the lathe with the turning spinning at a low rpm [about 100 rpm] and that has worked very well for me and I have always gotten a smooth finish this way........anyway, my thinking is the hot temps allowed the centrifugal force [small though it was] to create little runs in this, and then it set up so fast I could not smooth them out! Never had this happen before!

Therefore my disappointment! I can fix the finish...........I can't do much for the cracks and bark inclusions, except fill them with filler.........not what I wanted with this one!

[Mike Cruz]

No worries, Roger. I KNOW your frustration. I was just trying to look on the bright side of things... Yeah, having inclusions and cracks show up when you didn't want/expect them is dissappointing. As for the WTF, I have yet to apply it while the piece is on the lathe. Mainly because I'm not done until it is OFF the lathe. But also, any streaks left by the finish can look like tool marks that weren't sanded down. To each his own. If you like finishing on the lathe, have at it! Just not my cup of tea. And I think I said it before, but not sure...I think you did a really nice job on this one. I like the rim and everything about it.

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Mike!!! :)