NE #4 -shallow apricot

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have this fascination with NEs.....and some real hurdles to overcome...Here's my 4th NE....It was from some green apricot. Even with the application of CA ....the bark on this thing refused to stay on...so...after a couple of attempts...I gave up.....This thing was cracking as I was turning it......Not ring shake but drying...cracking.....I turned it to about 1/4" thickness...left it on the lathe to dry overnight........then I mixed crushed instant coffee crystals with epoxy and filled the cracks. Some cracks were too small to accept epoxy and I tried CA on those. I wasn't happy with that result......I also have a couple of places on the inside where I think I may have stayed too long with my power sander. I looked this thing over close before I put it in my donut chuck to remove the tenon. I didn't see anything but of course, after I put a couple of coats of danish oil on it....I saw the spots on the interior of the bowl....Any suggestions about getting a "wet" look before applying finish so you can tell where you might have some correctable sanding problems?

Pretty piece of wood IMHO....it's other 2/3 was roughed out, DNAd and is drying....I left the pith in the other piece because of the color in the pith.....we'll see how that goes......in a couple of weeks...

[Neal Addy]

Pretty piece of wood and very nice turning!
If you ever figure out how to keep this stuff from cracking let me know. I've never had much luck with fruitwoods. You had more patience than I ever could.

[David Fried]

Good work Mr. Fitz. The only things I do is wipe it down with mineral spirits to see if I can see more. I haven't had all that much luck with getting the bark to stay on. We could probably both use sharper tools and better bark!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ken that is a pretty piece of wood. I like the wood color and finish. Beautiful job Ken.

The only change I would have made Ken if it were mine I probably would have burned the edge. I had my 2nd NE do the same thing and lost the bark. Burned the edge and believe it or not it sold before the one with the bark.

[Mark Pruitt]

That's a great looking piece of apricot Ken. I lost the bark on an oak NE and used a propane torch to burn the edges. Not as nice as bark, but it did give the edges a pleasing look.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice piece Ken! The coffee ground/epoxy fill looks like it worked out really good - nice effect!

[John Chandler]

That is some good looking wood. I'll be looking forward to see the rest of it once it is turned.

[Gary DeWitt]

I love NE bowls too, ever since the first one I saw in a gift shop in Alaska. They're fun, aren't they?
As far as showing up flaws, anything will work, naptha, mineral spirits, any thinner you have laying around. You should let it dry before continuing any sanding, as your paper will clog immediately.

[Scott Donley]

I like it ! Nice job Ken.

[John Hart]

Well done Ken! The colors are great!!
As far as that sanding thing...This is something that I've struggled with for a long time, and I always end up disappointed. With me, it was a matter of attitude and attention to detail. Jim Ketron straightened me out though with a post he made to someone else regarding his obsession with getting the sanding right. Since then, I've done better. To highlight the bad spots, I keep naptha next to the lathe, flood the whole thing and look real hard at the piece. The moment I find a spot, I attack it until it is gone...then do it again....looking for the next spot.

Tool marks, I hit with 100 grit while the lathe is stopped, then spin it up and go over that area again to even things out. The "Fuzzies", I'll wet sand with Naptha, as it seems to make them behave better...going all the way up to 600 grit. I really try to get myself into a nitpick mode. This takes a lot of time....but when I think about how much a missed spot irritates me later....the time seems worth it.