Platter help..

[jeff oldham]

I glued up some maple boards..all were 3 inches thick but needless to say when you glue them up you have high and low spots on the front and back which I got them all level..front and back..but my trouble is when I do a pulling cut to try and shape the platter..I cant get one continuous sweep to level it out and start forming the platter...I even used carbide tools thinking my bowl gouges might be sharpened incorrectly..still getting the high and low as I start sweeping....the platter is 14 inches by 3....if anyone can help I really would appreciate it...

[John Keeton]

I think there are two things going on. Your gouge may not be sharp enough as the cuts show torn fibers. The other issue appears to be that some of the boards are closer to quarter sawn and others aren’t. The differing grain orientation may be causing issues. A sharp gouge, speed and a light cut should work. A heavy cut will cut deeper into the softer grain.

Another possibikity is that you have mixed soft and hard maple. There seems to be some color difference.

[robert baccus]

I have always found it difficult to level out of round pieces and problems like yours with an irish grind side cut gouge. Seems much, much easier with a nose cut with an bowl gouge, high rpm's and light cuts to get it round and level. A gouge bevel rides on the rough wood ahead of the cutting edge and will follow whatever is there. A gouge just skipping on the high spots will give you a level playing field to "side cut" if nicely.

[Brice Rogers]

I used to use a freshly sharpened round nose scraper applied with the tool handle slightly lowered and very very light cuts. The scraper will do less bouncing on woods of different densities/hardness. I've read of people who would inadvertantly introduce a bounce with a bowl gouge and then use a scraper to to even it out. Then person use a super sharp bowl gouge with a light pull cut.

But lately I've had better luck with a negative rake scraper. I sharpen and raise a burr that may last 20 seconds. Then resharpen or burnish the burr again. If the burr is done right you'll end up with paper thin whisps of wood that almost float on the air.

[Michael Mills]

It appears it may be somewhat due to stance and forcing the tool a bit from the ridges. Feet position and body movement makes a huge difference. It does look like the grain direction may make it worse.
Here is a good video by Stuart Batty which may help.
https://vimeo.com/68707662

[Thomas Canfield]

I would also suggest checking your mount. It looks like a fairly small recess and a soft nose live center that could allow a little movement in the chucking. A larger faceplate on the platter side to start would give a better hold to get flat and screw holes would be turned out. I was able to turn 33" D glue up with 6" faceplate on 4 different centers without a live center assist and then use #4 chuck jaws in 4 multiple centers recess. Platter turned down to 3/8" thickness. Had to make sure having flat surface for faceplate and checked alignment when mounting in recess. The 33" disk had some 2" sides and 3" T center section and speed was only 220 rpm to start.

[Reed Gray]

Sharpness does appear to be part of the problem. That or tool presentation, which means you need a higher shear angle, like a pull cut or roll the gouge over on the side. The ripples can come from two sources.One would be a loose mount, but since they go all the way around the bowl, it is probably the other thing. That would be that your steering wheel is loose. Your whole body and how you hold your tool si your steering wheel. That, and having a too loose or too tight grip. "Hold the sword (tool) as you would a bird. Too tight and you kill it. Too loose and it flies away." Hands on session would help...

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

...Hands on session would help...


I agree - there are lots of good turners in the Greensboro area. (I forgot, Jeff, are you in the club there?) 30 minutes with one might be an incredibly good investment of time.

When I look at things like this I remember what my piano teacher used to say: "Everything's easy once you know how." (Except perhaps piano expertise. :))

JKJ

[Wes Ramsey]

I experienced this same issue last week on a hackberry bowl. There was a lot of fuzzy tearout, which I figured out would bump the bevel. The only way I found to fix it was very light, high-angle shear cuts. Once the tearout was gone I was able to finish with light cuts that didn't create more tearout.