Hollowing Vessels Discussion

[Dan Mosley]

Regarding Hollowing vessels- Personally I turn them to completion. I know others that will twice turn (10% let dry etc....) but, I choose not to and every now and then I get one that will warp so bad it is not really worth the effort to try to resuce it. The final sanding alone would be a chore in itself.

In the pictures below is one of my projects that warped that bad. The pictures do not show the extent of the warping very well but it warped in a elongated way. Usually this is not the case and they dry fine and the shape does not change much if at all. I guess it is just one of those things that happens.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I also finish in one session including the bottom. One thing I have found is that if I pour Antique oil on the inside and slosh it around till it won't soak any more in most times it bleed thru to the outside. Then I flood the outside till it won't soak anymore in I don't seem to have much if any warping. Don't know for sure but I am guessing the oil displaces the water left in the piece. Since I started doing this I haven't had a piece that has warped to where I can't do anything with it.

[Dan Mosley]

Bernie.............I do the same thing with BLO sloshing it around on the inside - leaving the outside alone and yes it works very well. On this pc I must have been in a hurry and did not do anything to it but simply let it dry inside with other projects in a large box. I don't even remember when I turned it...........

My regular way now a days on vessels is to use a mixture of BLO/MS (or sometimes just MS) and spray it into the pc as it turns at a very high speed on the lathe and then use my typhoon air gun to blow it thru the side walls of the turning. I repeat the sparying several times and then take it off and leave it out in the open air inside the house to dry. I have pretty much eliminated warping this way and the drying time is much faster (I use a moisture meter and wait until <10%) - no need for boxes, bagging and other methods as this seems to work very well for me with no losses.

On Bowls assuming I want to twice turn, 10% rule etc.. I coat with Anchor Seal, stack them up and let them dry over time - checking frequently for cracks etc.....I don't have many of these - possibly 8 or so

On Bowls that I turn to finish - I do the same with BLO/MS spray that I mentioned and it works well

I added some pictures below of some that are just sitting out in the open in my garage waiting for finishing that were dried as above

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dan on my bowls I generally turn all to 10% and coat the entire bowl with anchorseal. I have about 50 or more in the supply line in various states of drying. On my bowls I have started using thinned Tung Oil. The Lee Valley polymerized Tung Oil sealer. I just did a green ash bowl to slightly less than 1/4" wall thickness. I put a soaking coat of TO on and it dried for about 48 hrs. I have the second coat of the Tung Oil finish on it now. So far it hasn't moved or cracked so it will be interesting to see how it reacts after a week or two of curing. As far as BLO goes I just have never been a fan of it. Don't know why but just haven't. I do still use Mike Mahoney's walnut oil on some bowls.

[neil mackay]

I find that the species greatly effects what I do with it.Plus where I live has a sizable humidity range along with temperature, all these factors have to be taken into account. Rarely do turn and finish green timber, any green blanks for example from Tasmania will have a very high water content and by comparison blanks for the desert area are dry. On a trip to New Zealand I picked up a good sized blank dried for ten years, within a few weeks of being home it opened up as if it was wet. So locale has an effect as well when you move blanks around
So I employ various methods, 50/50 soap, water soaking, DNA, BLO on rough outs,fully seasoned logs and I have a micro wave but as yet have not given it a real workout. I have at present a couple of large eucalyptus burls in water soaking, semi dry they would be around 30lbs each. They will be there for a couple of weeks with a few water changes. Probably turn some part of them over the Christmas break.
Generally I use the rough out rule then stack to dry slowly in cardboard boxes continue to do so, so now I have a stock of dried rough outs. I must admit with Aussie timbers I prefer to rough them out green where possible. Dry they can be a hand full to turn, I dont mind the final touch up. Dry burls from start to finish you earn your satisfaction the hard way.

[Dan Mosley]

Bernie - Neil - I have used the 50/50 and DNA and they work - I used liquid dishwashing like Ron Kent did and spoke with him about it prior to doing it - It worked out well but I moved on trying out other methods. I have filled trash cans with water to keep large logs from spliting or drying to fast - it works well to but you have to change the water frequently to avoid the algae or add a bit of bleech to the water but still needs changing periodically. I seem to have the best luck and outcome in using the spinning/blowing of MS thru the inside to the outside. Like you said I assume it is displacing any water in it.

I should have explained better - I only use the BLO to slosh around in the vessel - outside I finish in different ways but it seems to help in the drying. If I use my blow gun I may get some that has bled thru but after a good drying and light sanding it does not seem to effect any of the finishes I apply. On bowls ill spray the MS from the inside out if I have turned to finish otherwise coat the whole thing like you said with anchor seal and stack them. So far so good on all of them..........However, when sealing the whole bowl the drying time is very long.........but im in no rush....On turning thin depending on the project the warping adds some interest to things...........
We all turn differently and this is the fun part is talking about it and seeing what others are doing and how.............thanks for the replys

I turned a pc of Mallee Aus Burl once that was very dried out and it was like turning concrete and your right it is a work out . I wish it would have been green the turning would have been much easier. I used two coats of DO on it and buffed it - A very nice pc of wood those aus burls

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree Dan. Turning, finishing, etc differently is what keeps the world going round. I know it takes months to dry with coating the whole thing with anchorseal but I am in no hurry so like you doesn't matter. I also turned a Mallee Burl. It was dry as a bone and dang was it hard. Mostly dust but did get it done and it did turn out pretty. Yea if I got another piece I would do it again.lol Like you I have tried many different methods of drying. I just wanted to simplify things and started using anchorseal after watching and listening to Mike Mahoney at a couple of his demo's. That is all he uses when drying. Anyway day have a great weekend.

[neil mackay]

I guess the answer is to keep on hoarding and turning blanks until you amassed a great number so it wont matter any more.

I have a friend who hoards wood, literally hoards wood, he as 4 large sheds full of wood. O doubt if he knows what he has these days.

Back to mallee or any Aussie burl for that matter. If you do find some semi green and finish turn it, the surface as it dries will take on an interesting finish not unlike leather.