Jerry Ingraham
05-25-2005, 12:46 PM
Well, I just finished my first natural edge turning. This is a pear bowl 5 1/2" x 2 1/2", turned from a piece of green wood from my folk's back yard. It is a triple trunk pear tree which my dad had to cut back by eliminating one trunk. I was there recently and happened to see the pieces stacked next to the remaining trunks so I quietly loaded up several and turned this bowl from one. My mom has stood at the kitchen window for 30 years looking out at that tree so I think it will please her to have this bowl on display.
Several firsts were involved for me here, first natural edge, first cutting of my own slab, and my first attempt at drying. I used the microwave after roughing out the bowl. I nuked it for 1.5 min's at 30% power allowing it to cool in between each cycle. I did this 35 times and it seemed to work fine as it did warp but since I've turned it to 3/16" walls it has stayed stable. The finish is 3 coats of tung oil, 2 coats of poly, 2 coats of wax.
There it is, any comments are welcome and thanks to everyone who answered my queries along the way. Bill's turning video was a great help as well.
Jerry
Several firsts were involved for me here, first natural edge, first cutting of my own slab, and my first attempt at drying. I used the microwave after roughing out the bowl. I nuked it for 1.5 min's at 30% power allowing it to cool in between each cycle. I did this 35 times and it seemed to work fine as it did warp but since I've turned it to 3/16" walls it has stayed stable. The finish is 3 coats of tung oil, 2 coats of poly, 2 coats of wax.
There it is, any comments are welcome and thanks to everyone who answered my queries along the way. Bill's turning video was a great help as well.
Jerry