Bowl Turning Question

[Raymond Fries]

I have been admiring all of the beautiful bowls that all of you very talented people have made which have the natural bark edges remaining. I have always wanted to make one of these but have not embarked on the journey. My question is: How stable is the natural bark edge? Does it ever come off or is it easily broken?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Raymond.........I have only turned a few NEs but yes the bark can be extremely unstable and come off. Part of the time it comes off due to poor technique.....part of the time it's just the nature of a particular piece or type of wood. Often when turning an NE you'll notice the sound a piece makes while being turned change pitch or volume OR you notice a change in the vibration a piece is causing....if you stop your lathe you'll catch the bark disengaging itself from the piece. Sometimes you can repair it's attachment using CA glue. On some pieces you can use CA glue before turning to insure the bark stays attached.....

Other times you just lose the battle .......stain the debarked area with a dark stain to imitate bark or burn the edge and finish the piece as usual.

Bark coming off is one of the major problems creating a good NE. The other problem is learning to keep your fingers away from that unflat surface of the rim as it spins......they will bust your knuckles...DAMHIKT

[joe greiner]

Hello, Raymond.

As Ken says, broken-off bark can be re-attached. BUT, that assumes you can find the remnant - good luck! I've found it better to reinforce the condition beforehand. Dribble some CA glue onto the cambium (thin layer just below the bark) while rotating the piece by hand; still rotating by hand, rub the glue with a paper towel to distribute and reduce to a thin layer of glue that can dry. Repeat periodically as you cut toward the final NE shape. Bits of paper towel may adhere to the piece; they can be cut or sanded off. The NE doesn't lend itself to most finishing techniques. The CA film provides a reasonably good alternative.

Joe

[William Bachtel]

You MUST cut the tree in the dead of winter, when the sap run is down and out of the tree. Period. Some woods like locust and Ash have a naturally low occurring stump moisture content and are less likely to defect. If you cut it in the spring or summer there will be more moisture in the wood hence more shrinkage, and the bark will fall off or come lose.