Weepy Warpy Woes

[Christopher K. Hartley]

First bowl from the big elm haul. I thought it was good and dry. I left it for the night and came back to warpy wood. It is too thin to recover so I guess I'll just have to finish it as is. It was going to be a donation bowl...oh well, back to the DNA with another.:( :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Chris - nice looking bowl! I'd finish it as is. A lot of people actually like the warp - gives it charactor!

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Steve just finish it. Chris I have found with Elm I DNA it no matter what. If it has any little mositure in it say 12% and up it will warp. Looks good though just finish that puppy and go.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris..........Round is functional....Warped is art..........Finish that puppy!

[John Hart]

yup...looks good. Fine art for a donation!! ;) :)

[Mark Pruitt]

What Ken said.:)

[George Tokarev]

Elm's some funny stuff. The interlocked grain that gives you the shimmer can also hook you pretty good in the warp department. Of course, if the piece weighed the same for a week in constant relative humidity, it's as dry as it gets, so what you see is the result of changing the shape and the equalization of stresses in the wood from that weird grain. I'm sure you've seen this when ripping planks on your tablesaw if you're a flat work type. The kerf can close or open, or in some cases the piece, no longer restrained by its former section, can even corkscrew on you. Elm is especially lovely because binding the blade chars it, filling your shop with that wonderful barnyard odor all over again.

Elm, aspen, yellow birch and other interlocked woods which are virtually bullet-proof in drying are best handled with outside, inside, outside inside sequence if you're going for best round. The new stresses from hollowing are turned away, then the thinner material is retrued on the inside. Goes without saying that doing this means leaving a method to reverse and center after hollowing, or taking the worse option of trying to cut around the back of the turning.

Other thing that might catch people even with more tolerant woods is that we're using winter rules right now. A piece may have shown constant weight in the cool and damp, only to begin losing again in the warmed, and lower relative humidity of the shop. It's a player where you don't store the wood in the conditions you'll be cutting it. Flat folks allow a week of acclimitization if they're smart. We have stuff that's small enough to weigh.

[Bill Boehme]

It's art!

Just level the rim and finish the bottom and call it done. Green elm turns wonderfully even though it does stink up the shop. Once dry, it is the dickens to turn so I wouldn't even try. I just recently turned an elm bowl and partially microwave dried it, but it still warped like a potato chip. After microwaving it, I soaked it in tung oil and let it dry for about a month. It is now so hard that I can hardly sand it. It looks nice, but I think that I will stick with mesquite.

Bill

ps -- If there is enough thickness, turn the bottom off-axis.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Yea, I had a nice big piece of elm that Cecil Arnold gave me. I roughed it out at 14" and left the walls about 1 1/8" thick. That was not enough for the warp that happened. Wished I'd roughed it a little smoother. Sorry Cecil.

Yours looks nice Chris. Thay might like it warped.

[Frank Guerin]

I don't know anything. I don't turn. I just dream of turning (one Day) but not long ago I was at some cheap arts and craft show and one booth had some bwls turned. No finish. Everything looked pretty bad to me. Almost all pieces had warp. Just about that time a lady picked upi a piece that was exsteamly warped, turned it around a few times the asked the seller how he managed to accomplish that. I think the price went up 100%. I may just have to take up turning.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Thanks everyone, some good info in this thread for me, I appreciate the Elm education. Guess I'll have to learn to tame it since I have so much of it. I'll just take a break every so often and turn something easy...like Oak.:)

[Mark Pruitt]

I don't know anything. I don't turn. I just dream of turning (one Day) but not long ago I was at some cheap arts and craft show and one booth had some bwls turned. No finish. Everything looked pretty bad to me. Almost all pieces had warp. Just about that time a lady picked upi a piece that was exsteamly warped, turned it around a few times the asked the seller how he managed to accomplish that. I think the price went up 100%. I may just have to take up turning.
Frank,
Get to it! There's a spinny thing somewhere just-a-waitin' for ya!:D

[George Tokarev]

[quote=Christopher K. Hartley]Thanks everyone, some good info in this thread for me, I appreciate the Elm education. Guess I'll have to learn to tame it since I have so much of it. /quote]

Take advantage of its special qualities and use it for pieces cut long grain rather than across. With almost any care short of throwing it out in the sun, it'll survive. In large chunks, throwing it out in the sun and watering/turning it once in a while will get it spalting, which can make some really attractive color and pattern.

Makes good tool handles, but lousy mallets.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Take advantage of its special qualities and use it for pieces cut long grain rather than across. With almost any care short of throwing it out in the sun, it'll survive. In large chunks, throwing it out in the sun and watering/turning it once in a while will get it spalting, which can make some really attractive color and pattern.

Makes good tool handles, but lousy mallets.Thanks, I need handles. All those cheap mahogany HF handles are cracking on me.:)

[Jim Ketron]

Nothing wrong with a little warp Christopher.
Some people like that style of bowl.

[Ed Scolforo]

I 3rd what Ken said!

[Barry Stratton]

Definitely finish tht one! I'll bid on it!!!