Crabapple Stump

[Dave Zellers]

So I cut down a crabapple tree and I'm going to make a bowl or bowls from the stump.

I have zero experience with this.

I don't have a lathe.

I do have a Dewalt grinder and I will be buying this (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000224SK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1O2CBQ0XU3LSD&coliid=ISIGOV8I801A5).

This is a pure learning experience but I hope to end up with something(s) to be proud of.

So my questions surround how to proceed. Work it green? How to protect it, store it, while I'm carving it. How thin can I make the walls? How long after I'm done carving until it is dry enough to finish?

Like I said, this will be a pure learning experience re bowl making but I've got 40 years of woodworking experience under me. One way or another, I'm going to carve out a bowl or two from this stump and if they split, they split. I'm looking to jump onto the learning curve and hold on.

The stump:

It won't let me upload pictures now, I'll try again later.

[Dave Zellers]

I give up. It won't let me upload pics after multiple tries.

[Ryan Mooney]

Definitely green it'll be much easier to cut and less likely to crack. The rule of thumb for turned bowls is around 1" or less of thickness per foot of diameter. For this I'd probably go around the same or maybe a smidge less. It will warp as it dries some - ads character. Try to cut it so you get rid of all of the pith and a chunk of the center of the tree as that's where it's most likely to spilt. The faster you can take it down to final thickness the lure likely it is to crack to bad. If you can do it all in one sitting that would be best. Of probably use a drill to remove the bulk of the wood from the center of you can, that would I think be the fastest way. If you can't finish as piece in one go wrap it in plastic wrap around the outside over the rim and hope for the best and get back to it as soon as you can.

Once it's cut any one of the bowl turners tricks for drying has as good a chance as anything I guess. Personally I mostly pack in shavings and of they start to crack saturate the area with white glue and stick it in a plastic bag to show down the drying more. Not saying that's the best way though.. Search for drying turned bowls and you'll find lots of ideas all should be mostly applicable to this as well - pick one and hope for the best.

[Steve Rollinson]

These are slightly safer...
http://www.amazon.com/King-Arthur-Tungsten-Carbide-Coarse/dp/B000X3NDV2/ref=pd_sim_hi_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YK3DNSZ3K0KPCM2FX0J

[Dan Hintz]

I will warn you... those things are scary dangerous. They're like a sports car... everything seems grand when it's going right, but the moment things start to go wrong, they go ALL the way wrong. It was either here or on Woodnet, I think that someone did some serious damage to their hand/arm with one of those things. If memory serves, everything was fine... right up until it wasn't.

The lathe is the proper tool for the job... using this for deep diving, especially having never used one before, just seems like folly. Stay safe!

[Michelle Rich]

I think you should take this carving question to a power carving forum. You can get info from people who have used this tool & how & not how to use it.

[John Keeton]

Dave, you may want to take a look at this thread - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?172591-Serious-injury-from-a-power-carver-warning-very-graphic-image

[Dave Zellers]

Oh my.

OK, I won't be getting one of those after all. Thanks to all for the warnings.

Now I'm kind of lost. Drills and chisels?

One more attempt at the pictures-

292551292552292553

[Pat Barry]

I have seen demo's of this tool "Arbortech TURBOPlane Woodcarving Blade" for doing surface carving such as chair seats. Not sure how deep you can go. Obviously you must have TWO hands on the grinder and the workpiece clamped to something solid like your bench.

Update
They also have a "mini" version.


Here is the description:
4" and 4-1/2" Angle Grinders

The Mini-TURBO blade mounts to angle grinders using the included extension arm. The 2-1/2" long extension adapter fits the blade to your grinder and adds extra depth to the Mini-TURBO’s cutting capacity. You can plunge directly into your workpiece and cut up to 2-7/8" deep (we actually found it to be about 3-1/8" on the Makita grinder (http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/makita9557pb4-12anglegrinder.aspx) we used). This tool would be great for roughing out dough bowls. After cutting with the Mini-TURBO blade, you can also mount Arbortech sanding discs (four are included) on to the extension adapter and further smooth the surface.

Here is a link http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/arbortech-mini-turbo-woodcarving-blade.aspx

[Ryan Mooney]

Yeah the safety issue is important.. I took the top off of my index finger with one of the kutzall attachments. Fortunately it mostly grew back (kinda surprised I have a finger nail though). Both hands on the grinder at ALL times is important. What you propose is possible though, somewhat safer with a chisel but a heck of a lot slower :)

Looking at your pic do you have a way to split it in half? Basically if you can cut a round section out of that middle part (looking straight at pic #3) that gets you the biggest (and flattest which is generally easier to carve) bowl.

[Phil Harris]

Hi Dave

While it is certainly possible to hand carve a bowl, check your wood carving catalog for scorps and small curved adzes. What I would suggest is for you to contact your local woodturning club and talk to one of their mentors about what you want to do. At my club you would need to join for insurance purposes, but then you could go to a mentors shop and use his lathe, his turning tools, and his many years of experience. You could bring your stump and he would help you decide what would be the best way to cut it for what you want to do with it, and then cut it for you. Then he would teach you how to make some bows and maybe some small boxes and many other small items. At My club this would be around 35.00 for membership and twenty for the class, I'm sure you would find this to be money well spent.

I must include a small warning, this is a really good way to get caught up in the vortex.

You wont regret it!

Phil Harris

[Dave Zellers]

Thanks Phil- I think I'll check into that.

[Dave Zellers]

Looking at your pic do you have a way to split it in half? Basically if you can cut a round section out of that middle part (looking straight at pic #3) that gets you the biggest (and flattest which is generally easier to carve) bowl.
I could chainsaw it in half. It's still a stump in the ground so that would make that easier. But either way, I'll be cutting the stump off at ground level in the next few days.

It's funny in a way, I'm very safety conscious and don't take crazy risks (eye of the beholder alert...) but I just never saw that 4" round chainsaw as a danger but now I can totally see it. It seemed like you would have to push on it to make it work which might be the case but now I can see that working in tight quarters, the force of the grinder (and the opposite force you are exerting to control the grinder) could change instantly if you bump the back or side while carving the front.

Totally understand your point, Dan.

My other problem right now is I just don't have the time for this. I thought I was gonna take that grinder and have my way with this stump.

Maybe I'll just use my 2" forstner bit and make a finger bowl...;)

[Ryan Mooney]

What got me was actually the centripetal force, I took my left hand off of the handle and when I rotated the grinder in my right hand a smidge it jumped to the side and snagged my left hand. Didn't end up that bad but sure had me looking if I still had all of my fingers for a couple minutes there.

I think catching the backside might be worse with the chainsaw blades as well but have minimal experience with those (went back to mostly hand tools for a couple months after the grinder incident).

[Dave Zellers]

Yeah, I believe I could actually control it if I were perfectly focused every second and the piece was perfectly anchored.

That's already too many 'perfect' variables. Even being pretty careful, I've already had a couple really close calls over the years and take a certain amount of pride in still being able to count to ten.

Instead of bemoaning 'what was I thinking?', I'm going to adopt the line, 'I was thinking'.

And that's why I don't have a crabapple bowl! :cool:

[Dan Hintz]

I'll take the stump off of your hands if you don't want it now, Dave :D

[Dave Zellers]

That's a very generous offer but I'll have to decline.

;)

[Jim Underwood]

Be very careful with those chainsaw carvers. I've seen some hairy accidents with them. Make sure your work piece is fastened down, and keep BOTH hands on that darn thing. One guy thought he could hold his work in one hand and the carver in the other. Didn't take but half a second to bury the carver in the side of his neck. Darn near killed him... a couple MM closer and he'd have severed an artery.

I don't think I ever want to use one of those things.

[James W Glenn]

My limited experience with a hand held beaver, points to avoiding reaching inside a space/bowl with them. Working the outside of a plane or sphere with a "safe and controlled" run out is still all-sorts of of hazardous, but so is knife juggling......