Cracked Rough Bowl Questions

[Vaughn McMillan]

Started roughing out my first decent-sized bowl today, and I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time, considering the cracks already in the blank. The wood is some I picked up from a tree trimming crew by my office about 6 to 8 months ago. I originally thought it was eucalyptus, but in retrospect, I think it's olive. The ends of the log have been sealed with latex paint (Kilz) since I picked up the wood, but it had already started cracking before I got it.

Here's the initial blank, shortly after I started turning it. It's about 9" x 5". (Loving the bigger capacity of the new lathe.) You can see one of the cracks in the sapwood in this picture:

42124

A little farther into things, you can see some more of the cracks:

42125

And here's a final one, down to about 8" x 4", showing the other side of the bowl, shortly before I quit on it. (The tenon still needs to be addressed, but this shows the crack through it.)

42126

At this point, I've poured Epoxy Manhattan into the cracks, but I'm seeking the sage advice of my fellow Creekers...is this blank worth bothering with, or am I just sitting on a bomb waiting to go off in my face(shield)?

Thanks in advance -

- Vaughn

[Gary Max]

Vaughn --- I save a bunch of cracked blanks and know most of the tricks to keep them together. That one looks like firewood to me.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Sorry, But I vote for cool looking story telling firewood as well.

Them ain't cracks, them is crevasses! :eek:

[Philip Duffy]

Use it to get familiar with the new lathe and all the tools. Try every gouge and scrapper you own. Do all the cuts with the bowl gouge and try to find some special techniques that really work well. Then, when all that is done, burn it! Phil

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks for the input, guys. LOLM wants a short plant stand, which will be hidden by the overhanging plant. I think I know what piece of wood the plant stand's coming from. ;)

Thanks again -

- Vaughn

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Vaughn..........I just turned my first "saved" bowl that had wind/ring shake or shank....I used epoxy mixed with a little instant coffee. It worked well. The wood was peach and gifted to me by Raymond Overman. I'll post pictures in the next day or two as the wife is gone with the digital camera and won't be home until later today and I have to work late tonight. If the wood is special you can save them! This thing had a crack that went about 80% around the inside of it and about 60% around the outside. You could see light through the entire crack. The only thing preventing the crack from going around the entire circumference was a knot in one side. Good luck with what ever you decide!

[Reed Gray]

There has been more than one time when I started out with a 16 inch blank, and ended up with a 6 inch bowl. I used to put a lot of time into saving cracked bowls, but have found it not to be worth the time unless the wood is something special. If I sell one that has been repaired, I worry about how long the glue fix will work. I have a lot of 'rejects' that I put in a box and take to the local Saturday market and sell for not more than $5.
robo hippy

[Bill Grumbine]

Vaughn, I am usually one of the first to say throw the bowl away. Ken's save is one where I gave that advice, and to his credit, he was able to save it. However, in this case it looks like the cracks are mainly in the sapwood of the piece, with a little bit of bleed into the heartwood. Turn them out and keep going. Cracks like this are not unusual, and I see them on a regular basis in wood that has been sitting for a while.

You still have plenty of meat left in the blank, so turn it a little thinner, and work on the curve to get it a little less "blocky" looking. Make the bottom approximately 1/3 the diameter of the top. Just in doing this you will get a better shape, lose most, if not all of the cracks, and find that the wood cuts better for you. It is going to look like you are losing large quantites of wood as you shape it this way (and you are!) but it is wood you don't really want anyway. If you get it to the shape I describe and there are still cracks running through it, then it is a candidate for firewood.

Good luck with it.

Bill

[Bill Grumbine]

I used to put a lot of time into saving cracked bowls, but have found it not to be worth the time unless the wood is something special.

Me too, Reed, me too. I got out of that habit altogether, and especially now since I heat our entire house with wood! A famous turner once said, "Life's too short to turn crappy wood." The only way something with a crack in it lives to be anything but firewood is if it is commissioned from a special piece of wood, burl, or has the potential to be a very expensive art piece. But a lot of cracks are just that - cracks.

Bill

[Dick Strauss]

Vaughn,
It looks like you've turned through most of the problem in your last pic.

You have two options...junk it or turn it! It depends on how much other wood you have and whether you are attached to this piece as Bill suggests.

If you decide to turn it, make the bottom tenon very long and turn a flatter bowl. Then, once you get a shape you like with the cracks gone, part off the extra tenon length. Don't be afraid to turn most of the wood volume away (it usually works that way).

BOL,
Dick

[Bernie Weishapl]

Vaughn I have saved several bowls use the epoxy cocktail several times and saved the bowl. I save a lot of the sanding dust or instant coffee like Ken. Most of the bowls I have tried to save have been the ones I have paid for supposedly with no cracks or checks. :mad: Anyway put the epoxy cocktail in and let it dry 24 hrs. and give it a spin. If you save it that is great if you don't at least you got practice working on your bowl shape.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks again, guys. I'll wait until I have my chuck adapted to the new lathe, then I guess I'll give this one another try. (When folks like Bill say "try it", I find it hard to say no.) Wood is not real easy (for me) to come by, so I'd like to save it if possible. I'll see how much of the cracking turns away, but I'll turn it relatively slowly and stand out of the line of fire, just in case. ;)

- Vaughn