Help -- cracks in bowl

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

I've uncovered several thin cracks in this bowl I am turning. They appear to be very shallow and may be discernible if you look closely at the attached pix. I'm not real interested in seeing a bowl explode on the lathe when I turn the inside. Anything I can do to save this project?

Larry (working on my first natural edge bowl)

[Dennis Ford]

Those cracks don't look so shallow to me. It looks like this blank has dried too much before turning; I would burn it.

[Jamie Donaldson]

10-4 on the firewood advice!:o

[Jerry Rhoads]

I agree with Dennis & Jamie.
Life's too short to waste time and have a bowl that looks patched up.

Jerry

[Jerry Rhoads]

I did however return a bowl similar to this and made some birch band aids and added some stitching.
Had the club members sign it and then gave it to a member who had a ladder accident and cracked a few ribs.
He enjoyed it and the thoughts of everyone

Jerry

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Ahhh, nuts. I was afraid that was the case. As a fairly new turner who has had a few items fly off the lathe, I am most interested in keeping head and body intact. I think I read somewhere that one can fill cracks with CA glue. I suspect that would degrade the look of the bowl, but would allow me to safely complete it as part of my "education." Thoughts?

Larry

PS: Learning a lot from you guys. Thanks!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I am sure you know the taper point on your live center can be unscrewed to reveal a cup and point that is much safer to use than the tapered point. The taper can act as a wedge and cause some pieces to split. That has nothing to do with your cracks, just a tip since you mentioned you were new. I know this because some was good enough to teach me.
faust

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Thanks, Faust. Another Eureka moment!

[Moses Weisberg]

That looks like russian olive, which is rather hard to patch up because of how differentiated the growth rings are from one another. I hate throwing away blanks when I've got some work in them, but this is probably a time to start on a new piece.

The very hard latewood and soft earlywood also makes sanding any patches down somewhat hard to do evenly.

[Dennis Nagle]

Cracks can be dealt with after it is roughed out and dry, but a blank that has a crack like that is very dangerous. It can come apart while turning it.

[Reed Gray]

It is a piece that you 'could' turn out the inside of. You can flood the cracks with thick or medium CA glue, which will make it stronger than it is, but does not really add any strength to the bowl. For me, I would be able to see the cracks before I mounted and figured that it was not worth the effort unless the tree had a lot of value to the person I was turning the bowl for as in, "we used to swing from it when we were kids". If you want the practice, you can turn it out. It looks like the bottom/tenon is solid so it should be fairly secure in a chuck. I would use very low speed, 500 rpm max, and make sure to stand out of the line of fire at all times. I would also take very small cuts. Any catch could make it come apart. You did a nice job of turning the outside, I can't really see any tool marks. If you turn the inside, you will have to do it in stages of about 1 inch at a time. It will move as you turn, especially around the cracked parts, and more so if the cracks go all the way to the rim.

robo hippy

[Steve Schlumpf]

Lawrence - I also agree with the others that you should not turn this!

When I first started turning, I treated every piece of wood like it was the last piece of wood I would ever have - meaning like it was a piece of gold or something. I fixed cracks, sanded and refinished a few but in the end I put in a lot of time fixing a bowl that would always look like it was repaired! Like Reed said, if the wood is important to you, then fine, spend the time fixing it. If it is just a piece of wood, then it already gave you all it had - which was time on the lathe! Move on to the next piece of wood!

Speaking of wood, if you want to turn natural edge bowls and keep the bark on, then now is the time of year to be harvesting those blanks! If you have a hard time finding wood, then take a trip up North to Eau Claire and see Jeff Nichol. Jeff will fix you up!!

[Jon Finch]

I had a bowl crack like that at the endgrain sides, but the grain of the bowl was just too much to not fix it. This was the result, my wife's favorite bowl in the house. You could do something similar if you really like the wood, but I wouldn't finish turn something that cracked either.

279422

[Fred Perreault]

Like Steve, when I started turning I spent lots of time on some pieces that I shouldn't have. I can remember vividly the first major disappointment I had by way of cracking. Lots of wasted time on it, being new at it. I learned more about wood selection, wood care, turning and sanding. Wait till you get more experience, and that after a beauty is all turned to shape and looks ready for sanding, you create too much heat and hear a loud "snuck..!". There are stages of learning which can be accelerated by visiting the Creek often, but the best teacher is the disappoinments and failures you will encounter. I have a small wood pile outside my shop door. It is a mix of the semi-circular cutoffs from the bandsaw, and lots of partially bowl shaped pieces that did not look promising after spinning for a short time. Trees are falling every day, and unless it is sentimental, valuable or quirky wood....... take a pass and move on. There will come a time when undertaking challenging saves give a measure of reward, but take your time learning the basics and try that stuff later. Happy Spinning :-)

[robert baccus]

I agree the piece is dangerous and firewood. If you must finish it mix some 2 part epoxy glue with powdered turquois and completely fill the cracks. Also thin CA followed by med CA will fix it. With either spray a thin coat of lacquer or sanding thinner for 3" around the cracks to prevent staining--not enough to contaminate the cracks.

[allen long]

Not to hijack the post, but that is a stunning bowl Jon!

[robert baccus]

Yeah, it is a super shape and thin to boot.