Busted Dogwood goblet

[Brian McInturff]

I did this several weeks ago. Roughed it out and then came back a few days later to finish. Came back and had it all done except for some sanding. Dang, broke the captive ring sanding. Next, I made the mistake of taking it inside. Shop temp was about 28 degrees. House temp was around 70. Well, here's the start of what happened. It ended up splitting completely into and warping out just enough where I couldn't glue it back. Lesson Learned. Pay attention to severe temperature change. If moisture content is high in the wood this is what's sure to happen. Brian
http://stampclassics.com/images/creations/dogwood%20goblet/IMG_0278.jpg
http://stampclassics.com/images/creations/dogwood%20goblet/IMG_0287.jpg
http://stampclassics.com/images/creations/dogwood%20goblet/IMG_0286.jpg

[Jim Young]

How about putting three more around the base at equal distance and then call it art.

[Steve Schlumpf]

How about some inlay, inlace, other wood... Should be able to turn it into a great looking segmented goblet!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I've had good luck filling cracks with epoxy and crushed instant coffee crystals, let it dry over night and finish turning.

[Brian McInturff]

I don't have another pic but the goblet ended up spliting all the way from top to bottom. But you have given me an idea where if I split the other side then maybe I could do a symetrical segment. I'll have to think on this one. What would be a good color combo with the hues that the Dogwood already has? Thanks guys for the ideas. Brian

[Keith Burns]

Man, I just hate it when this happens !! Bummer !!

[George Conklin]

Yikes! That is one JUMBO crack:eek: !

[Bernie Weishapl]

Whoa that is some crack. I hate it when it does that.

[Glenn Hodges]

Brian, that is what you get from knowing me. Stuff like dat happens to me much to often so I learn to patch. Problem solving is part of this game isn't it?

[George Tokarev]

Temperature counts only as it reflects in relative humidity. In your case, a heated environment will normally be lower in relative humidity than an unheated, so you moved it into the most advantageous environment, not the reverse.

You've got a radial check. It appears that you did dish in the base of the goblet to give it contraction room. Did you also elevate it off the base so the bottom would dry in synch with the top? I've found that to be most helpful. Last, when working with spalted wood you can sometimes get into a situation with a preexisting but concealed crack, or incipient radial check that will never stay closed no matter what you do. Of course, when working with spalted wood you get the best drying advantage because the exterior is somewhat delignified, and less likely to pull itself apart.

[Brian McInturff]

George,
I did dish the base in. Didn't know it would help with contraction, just thought it would look better. I would've thought extreme temperatures would affect it either way. Sounds like I did eveything right based off your observation. Guess I just chucked up the wrong piece of wood. Do you think an DNA soak would've helped any? I've got a few more pieces. One other thing about this Dogwood. After it was cut about 4 years ago I put it in garbage bags and tied them up. Set them behind a shelf and forgot about them. So they sat for 4 years in an unheated environment closed off in trash bags, creating moisture(the logs were pretty wet when I took them out of the bags. Do you think this may had any adverse effects?
Thanks, Brian

[George Tokarev]

EtOH would be no different. The molecule's too small, not polar enough, and has a lower boiling point than water. Means that it won't bulk the structure as large molecules like glycol or other treatments used to stabilize wood using water-soluble compounds do, won't bind to available hydrogen-bonding sites on the sugars which compose the cellulose until the more polar water's gone, and will evaporate faster than the water because of its lower boiling point.

Ultimately, it's a bit like pouring concrete. There are ways to work it which will guarantee failure, but none that will guarantee success. "Stress happens," and where it exceeds the elasticity, or overcomes cohesion, cracks happen.

Take a look at the interrelationship between absolute humidity, which is how much water air can hold, and relative humidity, which is percentage of that amount, and temperature. You'll see that warmer air is capable of dispersing and holding more water molecules than cooler, which means warming effectively decreases relative humidity, making more room for evaporative moisture to saturate the air. Wood will reach a state of equilibrium with the relative humidity as documented in the data presented in chapter three at http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm

[Brian McInturff]

Thanks George,
Very educational and I think the more we learn about the effects the better we can work the wood. Well, for me anyway. I guess that's why we have Severe thunderstorms in the summer, more so than in the winter.
Thanks Again,
Brian