Problem woods - updated with pics

[Roger Chandler]

I have done woodworking for more than a quarter century..........mostly flatwork until I got a lathe a few years ago to turn some table legs.........wow, has woodworking changed for me! Most woods I have used over those 25+ years were kiln dried and only occasionally did I run into issues when sanding and finishing out a project.........that usually involved pine or cedar.....the softer woods that have a softer grain and a harder grain, and seems the more you sanded, the more pronounced the raising of the grain became, so you had to be careful about how much sanding you did on these.

I got some sycamore a few weeks ago, and I am experiencing the same thing......only with sycamore, the flecks in the grain are the harder area and the in-between the flecks is softer..........trying to even this out where it looks good has proven to be a very disappointing proposition.

I have been taking the time to make another 3-sided form with lid for the upcoming Va. symposium, and the lid on this one is domed shaped, but I will probably have to make another because it just has this dull looking spot where the softer areas are and it ruins the look of the thing, IMO! :mad:

It has finish drying on it at the moment, so no pics until later today, but I was wondering how many other turners have experienced a similar issue with some wood.......sycamore or others? Was there some way you mitigated the issue? Seems like additional sanding does not work...........I have been through 4 or 5 sanding sequences with this and used sanding sealer [shellac] as a base and even went back and did another on this after putting two coats of wipe on poly......let dry overnight and now this morning it does not look much better after that sanding back and more WOP...........:confused:

Pics added today.........


289756289757289758289759

Notice the area on the lid in pic no. 3.......see that dull looking place? to me it just ruins the look of the piece! :( I am thinking about either doing another lid with a contrasting wood, or another from the sycamore with the finer grain like you see on the bowl itself...........comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Are you using a softer backing pads when you power sand? Using a stiffer backing pad will sand a ring porerus wood more evenly than a soft backed sanding pad. Kind of like using a sanding block on flat wood to skim over the soft spots and hit the hard spots. After 220 or so it won't affect the surface much. Sometimes I will put a 3" disk on a 2" mandrel to sand using a stiffer backing to sand across the bottom and the flexibility of the 3" disk to sand the curved area to the walls. I have probably 20 different mandrels with different form backings. I've used every thing from flip flops to mouse pads and stadium cushions.

[Roger Chandler]

Are you using a softer backing pads when you power sand? Using a stiffer backing pad will sand a ring porerus wood more evenly than a soft backed sanding pad. Kind of like using a sanding block on flat wood to skim over the soft spots and hit the hard spots. After 220 or so it won't affect the surface much. Sometimes I will put a 3" disk on a 2" mandrel to sand using a stiffer backing to sand across the bottom and the flexibility of the 3" disk to sand the curved area to the walls. I have probably 20 different mandrels with different form backings. I've used every thing from flip flops to mouse pads and stadium cushions.

Thanks for the reply, Bob.............I was using a stiffer backing pad for this sycamore. After several coats of WOP, it is somewhat better now.......I just put the 3rd additional coat on the lid after the last sanding..........I think the softer wood really soaked in the first couple of coats and it looked a bit dull in the area, but this third coat seems a bit more blended..........not pristine, but better.

I have a club meeting for one of our clubs this evening and this is going for show & tell, so I can't do much more today, but I may eventually just make a new lid ...............the bowl itself has a finer grain than the lid portion even though it came from the same tree. I suppose I need to select a piece that is very similar in grain to make a new lid to get the look I am going for..........sometimes grain can create problems, even from the same tree!

That backing pad from a flip flop sounds like a very good way to make a pretty nice mandrel............might have to give that one a go! Thanks again! :)

[Fred Belknap]

Roger try sanding across the grain, I find this helps on some wood. The end grain on a bowl will drink a lot of finish before it gives up the dull. I have only done a few sycamore but done a lot of ash.

[Brian Kent]

Another issue is how wet the sycamore is. Mine moves a lot as it dries and will fuzz without a surface coat. Wipe on Poly or Wood Turners Finish both have given a hard shell that can be sanded. My very dry sycamore is the opposite. Easy to sand and polish, but a lot of spaces to fill in with epoxy.

[robert baccus]

Roger, try as high an rpm as you can muster, hard backing and finer SP. I use HF air grinders at 10,000 rpm and they seem to eliminate that problem. It's even hard to scratch wood at that rpm with 2-3" pads.

[Roger Chandler]

I updated this thread with adding pics on the original post.........

[Bob Bergstrom]

That grayish area looks more like the beginning of the wood deteriorating. Some form of fungus or rot.

[Roger Chandler]

That grayish area looks more like the beginning of the wood deteriorating. Some form of fungus or rot.


I think there is some punky-ness beginning with this wood, Bob........that indeed would account for the softer area and the soaking in of the finish like happened........at any rate, it was problematic, and just an observation I had. I will probably re-do the lid.......although I showed it at our club meeting last night and was told by several guys to leave it as is......they thought it added "character" to the piece.....;)

[Bob Bergstrom]

I agree notre with you than the club members. If it we're bring Iown or red or black, maybe, but it is an off color. Wood is too plentiful to accept a "bad character"