Can someone explain stitching

[Sam Beagle]

I have always thought it looked cool. But I just seen a video by Jerry kermode, and I know I have to try it now. Can someone explain the procedure, materials. Etc. Thanks. Sam

[Robert Edington]

If you are talking about on a bowl over a crack, sure. This is how I do it. It may not be the right way, but it worked for me. People like it.
I first stabilize the crack as much as possible with CA.
I do this after I have finished the bowl.
Then I cut a strip of 1/4" graph paper that will cover the crack. I tape it over the crack.
I use an awl or similar device to make evenly spaced indentations at regular intervals along side the crack. Sorta like eyelets for your shoes.
Then I remove the graph paper and drill holes through the bowl at the indentations based on the size of stitching I will be using.
I usually strip some sort of copper wire, or use winding wire off of an old motor.
You can Google lacing and find there are all sorts of styles of lacing. Pick one
I just guess how long the wire should be and start lacing or stitching.
I use an aircraft safety wire pliers to twist the ends. I cut it off neatly and tuck it in the lacing.
It isn't hard.
I hope this is what you were talking about.
RP

[Don Palese]

Hello Sam,
I had just finished a bowl, looking at in bright light, I turned-hit my elbow on the tail stock .. It flew to the floor and cracked cleanly. I carefully used CA to put it back together but it was damaged not something I would give away .. So I decided to apply some stitching .. I experimented with different stitching material -- yarn, nylon string, old shoe laces and then found rawhide cut neatly about 1/4" and 15 long at Michael's store .. I soaked the material and then did a baseball stitch pulling the hide tight.
After it dried .. it look OK ... I call this bowl my "stitch in time"
2015-12-1.jpg

My version of stitching..

Don in Medford, OR

[Mike Nathal]

Jerry Kermode wrote an article on his technique for the AAW magazine in 1999

[kevin nee]

Just covering a flaw. Good luck with your experiment.
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[Leo Van Der Loo]

Way back 1997 IRC I had a nice piece of figured Black Walnut, but it had a split in the wood, normally I would not turn a piece with a split in it already, but for the promise of the figure in de wood, I decided to turn it anyway.

I decided to wire it up with brass wire as I found that to go well with the dark wood.

I drilled the very small holes through the wood but for the last two, these two are only drilled in partway, as the last of the wire is hooked into the holes and glued in with CA.

I only made picture of the finished piece at that time, but a couple years later when I was to do another one I made a picture of how I laid out the holes and drilled the holes, I used a very small carbide bit used in the electronic board manufacture, some are so small a thin wire like that can’t get through the opening.

As you can see I start from underneath with the wire going through the holes crossing over on the top side and down, crossing again and up etc till the last two holes, cut the wire to length with enough to go into the last two holes and then glue them in the holes.

Stitched bowl top side.jpg Stitched with brass wire.jpg Holes layed out and drilled.jpg

[Leo Van Der Loo]

You did a nice job on that Don.

[Pat Scott]

Sam since you mentioned stitching and Jerry Kermode, you know that he does not do a shoelace type of stitching. I saw Jerry demo his stitching at the AAW Symposium years ago and always thought I'd like to give it a try myself. I finally tried it a few months ago.

Jerry uses a plate jointer or biscuit cutter to cut slots across a crack or void. He makes his own biscuits that are glued in the slot. Store bought biscuits are compressed beach and expand with moisture from the glue, so using them might cause a crack to open up more if they expand. Store bought biscuits are made to allow some movement between two pieces that are joined together, so they couldn't be used anyway. You need to mill up your own stock for a tight fit in the slot, and I found this the hardest part of the process. Milling them for thickness was no problem, but shaping the curve so the biscuit fit fully in the slot took time. I used a store bought biscuit to trace the curve, cut it out oversized on my bandsaw, then used my stationary disc sander to smooth the curve. If you don't get the curve just right the biscuit doesn't seat fully, and I ended up with a gap on one end or the other. Sand a little more, now the gap was on the other end, and back and forth.

Jerry uses the #20 biscuit setting. I tried #20, #10, and FF, and found that even with the FF blade, there wasn't that much difference in slot length on a curved surface. The biscuit cutter makes a long slot, and on my 10" bowl that I practiced on I think the slots are too long. I think it would look better with slots half the length, but that's not going to happen no matter which blade I used.

You need some way to keep the bowl from moving as you make a plunge cut. The spindle lock on my 3520B still allows a little play, so I used my Trent Bosch Carving Stand instead. Using the stand also let me pivot and rotate the bowl so the biscuit cutter was straight up and down and the weight of the machine was resting directly over the slot. This worked much better than trying to hold the cutter on the side of a curved surface while plunging. Now all I had to worry about was holding the cutter steady so it didn't move or rotate as I cut. I had visions of the cutter skating across the surface as soon as the blade touched the curved surface, but this wasn't the case at all. Hold the cutter with your left hand, slow steady plunge and release with the right.

Jerry used CA glue in his demo, I used Titebond. I don't know in the long run which is better, but since I had so much trouble getting biscuits to seat fully in the slot, I wanted the slower setting glue. In practice the biscuit was such a tight fit that once it's in the slot it doesn't move much at all. One other thing is the biscuit cutter doesn't cut a square ended slot. The blade is like a mini table saw blade with alternating teeth so the resulting slot has a point in the center. I used a small chisel to square up the ends of the slot for a cleaner look. I don't know if Jerry worries about this or maybe he has a custom blade with square teeth.

After the biscuits are glued in place, cut or plane or sand most of the excess off before turning on the lathe. If you try and cut the excess off with a gouge, the biscuit could break off below the surface. When you shape the inside be mindful of your wall thickness. If you want the biscuits to show through on the inside, go for a thinner wall. If you don't want them to show, leave the walls thicker (3/8" or 1/2").

Here's my first attempt. I laid out pencil marks where I wanted the slots cut, and was trying to make the biscuits follow the curve of the crack. I wouldn't say that I nailed it, and I'm not sure that I like it, but it was my first practice piece. I think it adds a different look that I will do more of, and it definitely turns a piece of firewood into a usable piece.
stitching.jpg

[Sam Beagle]

Hey pat. Good read. I have a domino, I'm gonna give that a shot first. Thank you for your message and post. Sam

[Doug Rasmussen]

Very nice Pat.

Any thoughts on doing this with an open crack? Did you make any effort to close your crack or was it relatively tight to start with.

How deep is your slot, was there a chance of cutting through wall of the bowl?

[Pat Scott]

Very nice Pat.

Any thoughts on doing this with an open crack? Did you make any effort to close your crack or was it relatively tight to start with.

How deep is your slot, was there a chance of cutting through wall of the bowl?

I've got more bowls with cracks and I think some have open cracks so I'm definitely going to try an open crack. The crack in the picture was tight, I didn't do anything to try to close it. The crack looked like wind shake to me and not a normal drying crack. I almost threw the bowl away but then I thought it would be a good bowl to practice on. I trued up the outside to get the bowl round, and then cut the slots for stitches. After that was done and I knew the bowl was a little more solid, then I cut the inside. The slots go fairly deep, I think 3/8" or so. I wasn't thinking about that as I cut the inside and did my normal undercut rim and tapered wall thickness, and 3 of the stitches started to show through. So next time I need to be more mindful of my wall thickness and either go thicker so none of them show, or make an even 3/16" or 1/4" thick wall so they all show. I think both ways could look nice so I'll try both. I was going to take a picture of the inside but I sold the bowl today!

Sam I have a Domino as well. I just bought it and haven't used it yet, but I was thinking the same thing about trying it. The Domino might be the answer for getting a smaller slot length. Post some pictures if you try it before I do!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Is there other turners that do the actually stitching, as that was the question raised by the OP, rather than adding Dutchmen or splines to hold splits together, a good way to repair split wood, but not what was asked about

[Pat Scott]

Is there other turners that do the actually stitching, as that was the question raised by the OP, rather than adding Dutchmen or splines to hold splits together, a good way to repair split wood, but not what was asked about

The OP specifically asked about stitching by Jerry Kermode. Jerry uses the term "stitching" to describe what he does with a biscuit cutter. Maybe Jerry should use the term "splines", but he's been "stitching" bowls with biscuits or splines since 1988.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

OOPS I read over that, as stitching is something all together different, and as you replied Kermdee does not do the (shoelace) stitching.

[Mark Greenbaum]

A long time ago, Antiques Roadshow had a genuine Hawaiian Koa Bowl that had bowties installed to keep a crack from growing. The bowties were done over a hundred years ago, so it's a very old technique.