Newbie from Georgia saying "Hello"

[Arnold Dyer]

Hello everyone! I just registered for this forum yesterday and can’t seem to get anything done for reading the comments on here. Really a lot of great information. Thanks, I need that! :D I have always been interested in wood but mostly on the growing side. I am a forester/biologist so I do a lot more timber and wildlife management (growing) than woodworking. Just started turning about 4 months ago. Good comment about not numbering your bowls. I had been wondering about that.

I also read on here you should keep your first bowl. I did for about four months then I refinished my first and second and gave them to my two grand boys for Christmas (my oldest, 9 ask for my first one as some as I had finished turning it!) I also gave my daughter my twelfth (and largest bowl). I have now done a total of 13, one mug and 5 Christmas ornaments…I really am a newbie! Here are my #1, #2 and #12 bowls posted for C&C. I need a lot of improvement so don’t hold back I can take it. I finished with tung oil and WOP. Any thoughts on this? Oh yeah...I'm definitely not a photographer. The white spot on the bowls is glare. I don't have a photo tent...any ideals?


Thanks,

A Dyer

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I would say your grandson got the best looking one Arnold :D, (just in my opinion) other than that you turned the more typical bowl form just about every new turner makes (called a dog dish ;)) nothing wrong with that, we all had to start and learn :D

You got quite a nice finish on them, so it is now back to the drawing board and looking for the shapes you do like, then go and turn it :)

[Steve Vaughan]

Those are some really nice 'early' bowls there, those grand boys and your daughter are gonna have a great appreciation for those. Especially as the years go by. And, as a forester/biologist, I'd think you'll have lots of opportunities to come across some nice wood that's fallen. Have fun, stay safe, and dig deep in the wallet!:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Arnold. Those are some nice bowls and surely will be cherished by the grandsons and daughter.

[Roger Chandler]

Welcome to the creek Arnold.......we could use someone around here with some knowledge of trees........a biologist might just be able to help us on occasion to identify some wood!

[Ted Calver]

Hi Arnold and welcome. Those are beauties. Glad you found us.

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks for comments Leo. Right now my form is mostly determined by my mistakes!:D What's your thoughts on tung oil? Seems some do not like it others do. I like it. I think it hardens and protects the wood.

Thanks Steve. Yes if the bowls survive the early years I hope the boys will look back and enjoy the bowls as I do things my grand dad make for me. I am fortunate in that I manage 20,000 acres and have the chance to collect blow downs as well as chunks after a tract has been harvested. I have a 17" diameter cherry burl among others that has been air drying for almost a year now. How long would you dry it? I have dug so deep the wallet now has holes in it!:D Take care.

Thanks Bernie. I hope so!

Hey Roger. Be glad to try to help. The tree is a lot easier to identify than the wood since I have spent most of my life looking at the out side but i will give it a shot! Maybe it will still have some bark on it.:)

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Ted. Yes, me too!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Arnold - Welcome to the Creek! Nice bowls! Forms for bowls come with time and lots of turning! The most important thing is that you have fun! Do a search here and take a look at some of the bowls folks are turning. I think the only major difference will be the curve from rim to foot. Find a style that you like and give it a try!

Looking forward to seeing more of your work real soon!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Thanks for comments Leo. Right now my form is mostly determined by my mistakes!:D What's your thoughts on tung oil? Seems some do not like it others do. I like it. I think it hardens and protects the wood.

Thanks Steve. Yes if the bowls survive the early years I hope the boys will look back and enjoy the bowls as I do things my grand dad make for me. I am fortunate in that I manage 20,000 acres and have the chance to collect blow downs as well as chunks after a tract has been harvested. I have a 17" diameter cherry burl among others that has been air drying for almost a year now. How long would you dry it? I have dug so deep the wallet now has holes in it!:D Take care.

Thanks Bernie. I hope so!

Hey Roger. Be glad to try to help. The tree is a lot easier to identify than the wood since I have spent most of my life looking at the out side but i will give it a shot! Maybe it will still have some bark on it.:)

Arnold, Polymerized Tung oil is my goto finish, not an "instant" finish like lacquer, but a very nice and tough easy to repair/rejuvenate finish.

As for drying solid wood, my opinion is that the longer you wait, the more and bigger the cracks get, and if any size at all, it'll never dry.

Turning wood when wet/green/fresh is the best you can do, because, thinner wood can dry relatively fast and is able to move without splitting if given the right conditions.

You can turn to final dimension and let it warp as it dries (harder to sand etc) or turn it with thicker wall that have enough meat to be able to re-turn to final and wood-stable size.

There's lots to learn and with time and practice you'll be able to get what you are after, in the meantime, take care and have fun :)

[Mike Peace]

Welcome, Arnold. Nice job on the bowls. You will progress faster if you join a club. This is a good group near you. http://mountainlaurelwoodturners.com

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Steve...glad to be here! Reading and learning a lot...going to try to put the info to good use. Great forum, nice friendly people!

[Arnold Dyer]

Yes, agree..thanks Mike. Been trying to get there but our schedule has not meshed...working on that.
Take care

[Josh Bowman]

Welcome Arnold. You have found a great group here. Mike has given you a great piece of advice. Get involved in a good club.
Mike the Mountain Laurels clubs link seemed to be down, but I found this one will work (http://mountainlaurelwoodturners.com/g1/).

[Thomas Heck]

Looks like your off to a good start. I just started turning a year and a half ago. I've learned a great deal on the forum. And I've found out the more I read, the more I spend. Keep up the turning.

[Arnold Dyer]

I use pure tung oil cut to 40% then 60% for the next application then 80% using a citrus thinner. I think the thinning process gives the wood a little better chance to absorb the oil. Since the oil is more viscous than wood moisture I think it needs help replacing the moisture left in the wood cells. Just my humble opinion. On that theory I turned the attached handle out of a fairly green piece of red maple. I am giving it the tung oil treatment and waiting to see how much it shrinks and cracks...more, less, same. You probably can already tell me but just as you said turning green wood is fun! I have less than $.50 in it and a lot more enjoyment so what the heck.

[Arnold Dyer]

Hi Josh,

Didn't mean to ignore you...just bumping along here! Thanks for the working link. I am trying to make a meeting but I work 10 hour days, drive for a little more than a half hour getting home and the club is about 25 minutes away. Going to have to cut some corners :) to get there but 'm working on it.

AD

[Arnold Dyer]

Hey Steve. Thanks for the Welcome! I am digging into the forum...great stuff here. Checking form...lot to look at here and even more for my weak talent to aspire too, but a challenge keeps life interesting! If I can just reach up and grab hold of the bottom rung of turning talent I see here I will just let the turning momentum drag me along for a ride of a lifetime!

Take care

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Thomas. It is hard not to read here but if more reading causes more spending (and it does) I am going to have to read less and turn more! :D because I was sending way too much even before I found before SMC!

[Lee Koepke]

Welcome!
My folks live in blairsville, and used to have a 'forward staging ground' in Cleveland when they traveled with the RV. Love that part of the state!

The more you turn, the more you realize that it gives you a chance to show off wood in the way it was meant to be (round). Your job does provide you with the unique opportunity to find all sorts of unique wood. Looking forward to seeing what you make!

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Lee. We moved from Blairsville to Cleveland when I was about three years old. Yes I am partial to NE GA but boy has it ever changed over the years! Progress or growth? :) Some really great turners on here! I have a lot to learn.

[Richard Madden]

Welcome to the creek, Arnold. Good job on the bowls and a good suggestion made about searching here for form suggestions. I know form is my biggest problem. Look around here and find something you like, then try and duplicate it. There are a lot of good people here willing to help in any way they can.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Thinning does help for penetration, but don't forget to let the coat polymerize before putting the next coat on, or you will prevent the oxygen from getting to the oil and it needs that to polymerize.

If I thin the polymerized Tung oil (I get it from Lee Valley) I use real turpentine, but most times I don't thin as the wood is dry by the time I do finish my turnings .

Oh your handle will get thinner in an oval way I would expect and the ferule will probably fall off, been there done that :D

[Arnold Dyer]

How long for it to polymerize? I usually wait at least over night. Is that long enough? How do I tell?

I suspect you are right..ferule seems loose already! Just wondering if the oil will cause it to shrink less.

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Richard. I would like to try one of each shown here but with time and talent lacking I will just settle for something fairly simple and give it a try shortly!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

How long for it to polymerize? I usually wait at least over night. Is that long enough? How do I tell?

I suspect you are right..ferule seems loose already! Just wondering if the oil will cause it to shrink less.

As usual, It Depends ;), Arnold The pure Tung oil take longer than the Polymerized Tung oil to polymerize, it also depend on the temperature, and air movement a little bit as well.

If the temperature is too low, the polymerization will not happen at all, warm and dry conditions like 70 Degrees and overnight to 24 Hrs should have it all polymerized, how can you tell, feels still tacky or not dry when dragging your hands over it and it is not done yet

Pure Tung oil takes longer from 1 day to 2 days.
I recommend you take a look at the Lee Valley site where they have the technical and instructions data for you to download, follow the rules and you will have good results.

One additional "heads up" the tung oil will polymerize in the can if there is air in it, meaning you should keep it full.

I use a closable beer bottle where I add water to after every use (Oil floats on water) that way I am able to use each and every drop of it and have it last two years without hardening :).
Some people add glass beads to the can for the same reason, it works.

Polymerization can not be undone, adding thinners etc will not make the tung oil good to use again :eek:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=20050&cat=1,190,42942

[Arnold Dyer]

Thanks Leo!