Rot surprise... what to do?

[Jeff Grantham]

Had a nice blank that I started rough turning when I discovered this rot inclusion (it wasn't visible from the surface). I dug it out to see how deep it goes and it looks the only way to remove it is by removing about 3" of thickness... I'd just have to turn it into a platter or something instead. But I'd thought about keeping it and just having it be a 'feature' instead. Obviously the bowl would lose some of it's functionality :(. Anyone had experience with this type of thing where you decided to keep it?

334229

[Marty Tippin]

Go ahead and keep turning. Worst case, you end up with kindling.

Just don't give it to my mother-in-law... I made a bowl like that a couple of years ago while they were visiting, took me maybe 3-4 hours to turn and finish and I was reasonably proud of myself. Brought it in to show off and her first words were "Well, that bowl is worthless - it's got a big hole in it..." (and not followed by a wink and a smile, either). (Not coincidentally, that was also the same day I decided the in-laws were no longer welcome in my house...)

[Mark Greenbaum]

Drill it out with a Forstner bit and plug with contrasting wood and Titebond glue; let it dry and cure, then finish turning as normal. That's what I would do.

[jared herbert]

I have filled holes like that with turquoise mixed in epoxy. Just make sure the epoxy you used cures to a clear look rather than turning yellow as some of them do

[David Delo]

Hard to tell alot about the condition of the remaining wood by just this 1 picture but if you think much of it is rotten inside........I'd be tempted to do one of 2 things. Don't know what tools you but you could split it in half just as it sits and get two bowls out of it. The straight knife from a McNaughton coring rig would cut that in half in less than a minute. Or, just drill an access hole just as it sits right now and hollow the thing out. Just my 2 cents.....Good luck.

[John K Jordan]

If it's big enough you might make it into a yarn bowl with a bit of carving.

JKJ

[Jeff Grantham]

Great ideas! This has helped convince me that I'm definitely going to keep turning as-is. Don't have any coring tools, but I think a Yarn Bowl could definitely work, or filling it with something decorative. Thanks y'all, I'll try to share once it's finished.

[Aaron Craven]

My first thought would be to fill (I'd probably go with epoxy mixed with something - dye, pigment, brass filings, coffee grounds, etc...). If you want the piece to be utilitarian, I think you pretty much have to fill it (unless it's intended as a fruit bowl or similar). But if you are willing to compromise on that point, the sky's the limit on what you could do with it. I would suggest setting it aside and thinking about it until inspiration hits; I bet you'll come up with a unique idea that suits you better than anyone else can come up with.

[Brice Rogers]

Jeff, if you fill it with something like resin, it may take quite a bit. I saw a trick on Youtube, where a person carefully crammed in some clay or weather seal (the sticky clay type) to help fill the back of the void. Then the amount of epoxy or resin needed is minimized. But, I suppose that there are a lot of inexpensive things a person could add including caulk, silicon, etc. Just a thought....

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Another option. Turn it as is, and turn it thin. Flare the top, make it semi closed form. A couple options. It's ART if it has a hole in it. I LIKE it. It appears to be solid around the hole. Good luck and be careful when the wood is not really soild.....

[Gary Baler]

Stop right there. That is art. "If it don't hold soup ... its art!"

[Prashun Patel]

I turn specifically so I can find stuff like this. I would turn as is, and I would not fill the hole. Apart from being beautiful and ironic, your bowl will make a perfectly serviceable fruit bowl. This is still functional art.

A couple years ago, I turned a cherry bowl with a similar hole through the bottom. I left it as-is and kept it on my office desk. Literally twenty people picked it up and gave suggestions on how I could fix and fill the hole. Finally, one woman came in a month later and commented, "I love this bowl".

I tempted, "Alas, it has a hole."

She countered, "That's the whole point!"

I gave it to her.

[John Keeton]

That appears to be a limb void - where a limb once was, but apparently became severed leaving the remainder of the limb to rot. The swirling grain around the area supports that assessment. There doesn't appear to be any rot beyond the limb hole. I think leaving it open is an acceptable choice, as is filling it now with coffee grounds and glue. If you choose to fill the void, when you hollow the bowl proceed cautiously and consider some plastic wrap on the exterior while hollowing.

[Pat Scott]

I don't know about trying to fill it. To me it looks like a pretty big hole, and I'd be afraid that: 1) You're going to end up drawing more attention to it with a big patch job, 2) Because it's so big, anything you fill it with will result in a weak patch.

I have the same problem myself on a Walnut platter that I started to turn months ago. I uncovered a big hole about the same size as yours that goes all the way through. I've had it sitting aside while I think about it, and so far nothing. To me, filling it with epoxy mixed with whatever is not a good answer because it's such a big hole. I thought about trying to put a big butterfly across the hole which would fill some of the hole, and would also help keep stuff from falling out the hole. On your bowl I'd probably just finish turning it as is without filling it and call it a fruit bowl.

[William Bachtel]

Go ahead and keep turning. Worst case, you end up with kindling.

Just don't give it to my mother-in-law... I made a bowl like that a couple of years ago while they were visiting, took me maybe 3-4 hours to turn and finish and I was reasonably proud of myself. Brought it in to show off and her first words were "Well, that bowl is worthless - it's got a big hole in it..." (and not followed by a wink and a smile, either). (Not coincidentally, that was also the same day I decided the in-laws were no longer welcome in my house...) Thats an outlaw, not an inlaw.