bowl roughing question

[david brum]

Thanks Kim. I thought about burying the bowls in shavings, but the shavings are so wet, and it's so damp here in the PacNW that I'm pretty sure everything would mold.

If all goes well, I should be able to turn down the cracks. Here's hoping that the other bowls behave themselves.

[Reed Gray]

A 18 inch diameter Walnut tree here in the Northwest can be over half sap wood. A 30 plus inch diameter tree will have maybe 2 inches on the outside. Size matters. I have found Walnut to be fairly easy to dry, with little movement and little cracking.

robo hippy

[david brum]

Thanks for the encouragement Reed. This tree was probably 20" diameter. I was pretty surprised to see so much sap wood. The contrast is kind of cool though. This log was seriously heavy. I sawed it into 60-80 lb chunks in order to get it home. My back was talking to me the next day.

[Kim Ford]

[QUOTE=david brum;1161861] I thought about burying the bowls in shavings, but the shavings are so wet, and it's so damp here in the PacNW that I'm pretty sure everything would mold.
QUOTE]

Dave;

I did get a little bit of mold as well, but it was only on the surface. I didn't leave them in shavings for more than a couple of days each time.

Another trick that a friend of mine in Hawaii uses is she will turn a wet blank and then put it in the freezer for a couple of days to hold it until she is ready to turn it again. It doesn't dry it out it simply "suspends" it and keeps it from cracking. With the Wisconsin winters we get I will do the same thing except I just put them in my unheated garage. It will buy time until I can get back to then next step.

Kim

[david brum]

Hmm, that's an interesting idea about the freezer. I'll have to think of an appealing way to present that to my wife.

Thank goodness it never gets cold enough here in winter. Everything does mold, mildew or rot though.

I'll try the shavings on the next bowl and see what happens. Thanks for the advice!

[Reed Gray]

The sap wood will oxidise or get brown or grey as it ages (like the sap wood on cherry goes from white to orange in a few minutes). In fancy terms, that is getting a 'patina'. The shavings can leave spots on the wood that are visible. If you are returning the bowl later, most of this will turn away. If you turn to final thickness while green, the spots will not sand out, and the oxidised sap wood will sand out unevenly. If you have it in dry shavings, this is not as much of a problem. Personally, I like to turn to final thickness and let it warp. It is easier to dry, and I get less cracking. Sanding is a bit of a problem as you need lathe speeds of 10 rpm or so, because any faster than that, and you can't keep your hand or sander on the wood.

I do store my log sections burried in damp shavings from the chain saw and from turnings, with tarps on bottom, top and sides. This creats a nice humid environment for the wood to sit in. Sinking logs in the mill pond is another method.

robo hippy

[david brum]

Thanks for the insight Reed. I like the idea of storing logs chunks in shavings. It seems like efficient use of materials.

I did turn finish turn a small, practice bowl which I gave to my daughter a few weeks ago. She filled it with "interesting rocks" and so far, no sign of cracking. I'd guess the wall thickness was just over 1/4".

Turning with walnut is interesting. When I committed to using the wood, I assumed it would pretty much be uniformly heartwood color. So much to learn about different woods. I'm anxious to try some bowls from Big Leaf Maple next. It grows everywhere around my area.

[Reed Gray]

A few other things about Black Walnut. After drying, the wood will have a strong walnut scent. Some people love it, and it drives some people crazy. I make sure to tell people about that before they buy one. I don't think I would like to eat ice cream out of a walnut bowl, but main course meals or salads (not fruit/sweet ones) would be fine. Also, lemon juice can help cut the walnut stains on your hands.

BLM is a great wood to turn. Not really hard, it does tend to get a bit stringy as in end grain tearout, but very light cuts with a freshly sharpened tool can eliminate most of that. Leave it for a year and it will color nicely most of the time, and it looses water very fast. It will lose over half its weight in water in a few summer months.

Dave, I don't know where in the Northwest you are, but if you are ever coming through Eugene, stop by and see me.

robo hippy

[david brum]

Yeah Reed, I was surprised to see black stains on my hands. My hands are usually dirty anyway (occupational hazard) but it surpised me that the stains stayed on for a few days.

Thanks for the info about the smell. My shop has had an unusual fragrance since I brought the wood in.

I'd love to visit if/ when I get down that way. I'm up on the Olympic Penninsula, so the same goes if you're up here.

BTW, what kind of finish do you recommend on walnut? I had thought of Tung Oil to give a non-glossy finish, but I'm open for suggestions.

[Reed Gray]

Dave,
I will be in Seattle the second weekend of November (12 through 15th) for the Best of the Northwest show at the Seattle Center near the Space Needle. I am going to try to get to the club meeting in Kent which is on that Thursday. Not much time for travel outside of that.

For food bowls, I like Mike Mahoney's Walnut oil. It takes a week or so to dry out enough so that it won't leave rings on a table cloth. Putting it over a 70 watt light bulb for a few days will help it. The tung oil will work as well, but I wouldn't use the bowl till you can't smell the finish or actually the solvents any more. Surface finishes (sprayed laquer, water based finishes) will eventuallly chip and peel off, and then the bowl looks horrible, but will be fine for decorative pieces.

robo hippy

[david brum]

That would be a great excuse to get over to the city in November Reed. I'll look you up when I get over there?

Thanks for the advice about the oil. I do intend these to be used. I'm making them for a Waldorf school benefit auction in October. Since the bowls are from locally harvested trees ( and if I don't screw them up) they should be popular. If you give people enough wine, they can really bid a lot for things like this ( I hope).