Had one get away from me

[Gary Herrmann]

Was turning a bloodwood bowl. Decided to try something different and make the sides arch outward - kinda like the cup on a flower. Soaked in it dna for 2 days. It had a few cracks in it. Let it dry for two weeks and tried finish turning it tonight.

Was going along fine, a few minor catches. Trued up the outside, was workin on the inside when I decided to curve the outside into the lip to make it a little more flowerlike. Still had at least 3/8 of an inch wall thickness.

CATCH. Boom. Tenon snapped and the bowl flew off the lathe into 3+ pieces. Didn't even find one chunk.

I figure I must have caught the edge of my gouge in a crack and then opened it up in the blink of any eye.

DOH. Oh well. I'll stick with a more conventional shape for my son's teacher's retirement gift - a walnut bowl (Thanks Mark).

[Paul Zerjay]

Hey Gary, whereabouts are you in St. Louis? I'm in Florissant.

[Jim Dunn]

Me thinks Gary is up north too.

Gary I've sailed a little persimmon bowl in to the next county. But I'm shorter and get out of the way easier:)

[Mark Pruitt]

If it can happen, it will happen...so it seems. I'm still writhing from a "bad" weekend in which I lost two bowls.:mad: One of those two was so violent in the way it exploded, it would most definitely have injured me if I had been in its path. A third one I finish turned, and was wiping on a danish oil finish when it slipped out of my hands, hit the floor and got a dent.:mad: :mad: As if that was not enough, the remote switch to my lathe quit on me and I had to bypass it to continue turning. (Naturally, the switch quit while I was in the middle of a bowl and I had to choose between anchorsealing the outside to prevent cracking versus taking a chance on losing it while I addressed the power issue.

I've had better weekends to say the least.

[William Bachtel]

Next time, Mark, take the bowl off and put in plastic bag, then in refrigertor, and fix electric , then take the bowl out , and finish turning, no cracks, and all is well.

[Mark Pruitt]

Next time, Mark, take the bowl off and put in plastic bag, then in refrigertor, and fix electric , then take the bowl out , and finish turning, no cracks, and all is well.
That would work; but the odds are if I open the fridge I will see something that will completely take my attention away from anything else I was previously doing.;) :rolleyes: Heck, after a weekend like last maybe that's exactly the path I should have taken!:p :p

[Gary Herrmann]

Me thinks Gary is up north too.

Gary I've sailed a little persimmon bowl in to the next county. But I'm shorter and get out of the way easier:)

I didn't tagged by it thankfully. Altho my wife was surprised because in the past she's either heard a weird noise of me cursing...

[George Tokarev]

Something like the one pictured? I rolled a fingernailed gouge out from inside. With the fingernail about 20 degrees down. With a light touch I found the shape of the gouge would get in behind the shaving well enough to curl it and leave a good surface as I drew the tool on the rest.

It's not mesquite, that's for sure, but try the technique on something sturdy and see what luck you have.