Maple bowl - Finish turn it now or let it dry?

[Jeff Grantham]

I got my hands on a nice log of maple and just rough-turned my first larger sized bowl yesterday... it's about 14" in diameter and 4" deep. In my over-zealousness, I hollowed probably a little more than I should have to follow the "10%" rule, and went down to about 5/8" thick. Now I'm not sure if I should go ahead and just finish turn it green, or let it dry first? My concern is I won't have enough material to bring it back to round once dry and still have a decent thickness left. Thought some of you more experience folks might have some advice? At the moment, I have it sitting in a paper bag with shavings inside. I've attached a couple of pics for reference.

Any input greatly appreciated. My first post here, but I've been using the site for quite awhile to get answers to my turning questions as I'm learning. Thanks!

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[Sean Hughto]

From here that looks greater than 5/8ths, but it looks too thin even if it's an inch. A 14 inch wide bowl will oval too much to bring back round in all likelihood. One can never be certain because of differences in grain and wetness to start (a standing dead tree may be much drier and there is variety between seasons too). Finish it, is my advice.

[Jeff Grantham]

Thanks Sean - that's kind of what I was thinking, but don't have any experience with something this size so I wasn't sure. Aesthetically, I fear much thinner wouldn't work anyway.

I think the picture may be deceiving as far as thickness is concerned - across the top probably looks thicker, but the calipers read 5/8 when angled to match the slope of the wall.

[Reed Gray]

Well, kind of a guessing game. You might get away with it, you might not. When the sap first comes up in the spring, there tends to be more water in the tree, and more shrinkage. If you wait till late summer, there is less water, and less shrinkage, especially if the tree is down. For me, I would turn it down to 3/8 or so, and be done with it, but that is the way I do all of my bowls. I love warping...

robo hippy

[daryl moses]

That's a nice looking bowl. It's probably going to warp maybe even crack [hopefully won't crack] no matter what you do. Since you've turned it a bit to thin I would go ahead and finish turn it ASAP.
I'm like Reed I kinda like the warped look.

[Jeff Grantham]

Thanks guys, appreciate the responses. Sounds like everyone so far is of the same mind that I should go ahead and finish it now. It'll be a good learning experience for me to do that and see what kind of warping I get with it. Just hope it doesn't crack like Daryl suggested it might!

[Sean Hughto]

If it were mine, and assuming it's a utility bowl, I would add some oil and wax to the surfaces o the lathe (my theory is that this clog the pores bit and slightly slows drying) and would get at least two papger grocery bags to put it in for at least the first week. Every day or so I would take it out of the inner bag and switch the bag order (inside becomes out and vice versa) to allow enough drying that you make progress and don't get mold.

[Jeff Grantham]

If it were mine, and assuming it's a utility bowl, I would add some oil and wax to the surfaces o the lathe (my theory is that this clog the pores bit and slightly slows drying) and would get at least two papger grocery bags to put it in for at least the first week. Every day or so I would take it out of the inner bag and switch the bag order (inside becomes out and vice versa) to allow enough drying that you make progress and don't get mold.

Thanks Sean - I have virtually no experience in turning green bowls from start-to-finish all at once, but I thought the general practice was to make your finish cuts and then let it dry out (I'm using paper bag with the shavings from the bowl inside) before sanding and finishing (which will most likely be just oil / wax... it is a utility bowl). Are you implying that I go ahead and sand and finish now, or just that I coat it with oil and wax for now to slow the drying, and then sand it out and finish it for real after it dries? (Sorry for all the questions!)

[Sean Hughto]

I wouldn't presume to know the general practice. There may be better ways or ways that you and others will prefer for good reasons. For what little it's worth, I was just relaying what I have done and would do with this one. I'd turn it to finished shape and thickness. Green turns pretty sweet - with less tearout, so it may not need much sanding, but if needs some I would do it wet - the paper will fill up quick, but it works fine. I would put walnut oil on a paper towel to apply and then use a stick or block of wax to apply roughly, then a paper towel while spinning makes plenty of warmth to melt and nicely distribute the wax. after it dries you can add more oil and wax or a prepared miture of the two like for cutting boards, butcher blocks, and salad bowls. Again, just what I would do, not the only thing to do by far.

[Jeff Grantham]

Well the bowl didn't end up cracking on me, though it warped up pretty good. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that gave advice... I was thinking today how great it is to have a forum like this where you can get help from more experienced turners!

Here's how it came out. Just a simple walnut oil finish. I realized part way through that it's a big jump from turning 6-8 in bowls, up to 12-14 inch. I probably bit off a little more than I could chew, but it was fun :-)

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[George Conklin]

I think that turned out quite nice! Quite nice indeed!

[daryl moses]

Yes, I think it turned out very well. Looks like it "warped" in the typical manner, which to me adds character. Glad you had no cracks :)

[Sean Hughto]

Lookin good! It's probably not completely dry yet, but the good news is that if it doesn't crack in the first week or so when it is losing the most water, it will be no more likely to check than a returned bowl. Did you notice how cool it felt to the tough when significant drying was going on?