Fir Burl WIP

[Nate Davey]

I picked up this Fir Burl from my local wood pusher. It was 22" at it widest and 20" at the narrowest. The lathe did wiggle a bit as a started roughing the outside. Unfortunately, the center is really bad off and the bark inclusions go pretty deep, so I'm going to lose some height and diameter. Hopefully, I can get a couple cores out of it.
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[Brian Kent]

Nate, I love those colors. Is that typical for a fir burl?

[Nate Davey]

I don't know, Brian. I never turned Fir before. Smells good though

[Mike Cruz]

Fantastic, Nate. I'm looking forward to seeing this one through the whole process.

[Allan Ferguson]

Good luck with it. Watch for pitch.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Looks promising. Was wondering Douglas Fir, Nobel Fir, Grand Fir or ?.

[Nate Davey]

Hayes, The guy I got it from wasn't sure. I'd guess Doug Fir, but that's just a guess.

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing, looking forward Nate to more WIP

[Nate Davey]

Had to take a bit of a break form turning to but the Minister of Finance green house together. Then back to the lathe. This is, without a doubt, the worst piece of wood I've ever turned and I've turned some pretty bad wood. Most of the top part of the bowl was completely shot. It's not pithy like maple or walnut, but stringy. The wood is really wet and the burl eyes come out in chunks. I've tried every trick I know. Stabilizing with CA, light cuts, heavy cuts, using my scraper. The bark inclusions went far deeper than I had guessed so had to change the design a bit. Book of Raffan, Chapter 3, page 47, http://www.woodturnersunlimited.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif I've gotten it to a rough shape I want and now I'm just going to let it dry and see what I can finish. The only wood that is left is burl wood, so hopefully, as it dries, it wont crack......to badly. To get it round and try to get out of the worst wood, I've reduced the diameter to 17". There is a ruined part of the edge, guess it will be a rustic refined look. I will probably never turn fir burl again!
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[Thomas Canfield]

You lost a lot of mass and diameter, but still have a special piece there. Now we are waiting for the next installment. The "edge" will only add to the final story.

[David DeCristoforo]

Sometimes wood is just too far gone to turn without some stabilizing. I would consider soaking this in a glue/water bath before going any further.

[Nate Davey]

I think I will be doing that, David. It is some beautiful wood.

[Fred Perreault]

David, what kind of a glue/water bath would one use? Would you soak it in a deep vessel or could just brushing it on help in cases like this? Thanks,

[Mike Cruz]

Fred, brushing it on would do about the same as AnchorSeal. It would help with the drying process, and hopefully keep it from cracking. But it wouldn't go in deep enough to help with the re-turn very much. A soak may actually stabilize the wood.

[Fred Perreault]

Mike, would the glue/water mix just be a weak solution of Titebond ll or something similar? Does anyone have a recommendation for a satisfactory ratio of glue to water? I occasionaly run into wood that looks like it could be handsome, but is kinda soft or weak. Thanks

[Michael James]

Atta boy, homey! That's gonna be very nice finished!!!
mj

[Mike Cruz]

I've heard anything from 50/50 to 3-1. Titebond II will work just fine. My understanding is that white Elmers wood glue will work, too. Not sure is one is necessarily "better" than the other, though. I did this method with pen blanks once. Left them in there for a couple of days. Since they floated, the parts that were floating above the mixture "glued" together. :D Had to cut them apart. But you shouldn't/wouldn't have that problem with one item in the container. My container has a 50/50 mix. When it sits for a while, it does need to be re-stirred. BTW, I just used Elmer's...