Wonky.....

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
I have this roughed out cherry bowl, that dried really wonky, totally out of round, and to add to the troubles, the tenon on the base of the bowl cracked away from the base :huh:

Honestly, I should have put it in the "Interesting Firewood" pile, but, for some reason, I kept on trying to save this one.......
............I did the outside to a semblance of smooth :rolleyes: between centers, and then cut a new tenon on it, and flipped it around to do the inside...... :eek:

wonky1.JPG
boy was this thing out of whack...... :doh:

wonky2.JPG wonky3.JPG

I'd say the balance is out a tad on this one :rofl:

I got it done, with the help of a steady hand (lots of deep breathing) and nice sharp tools.........

wonky4.JPG wonky5.JPG

Since the pics were taken I've turned off the bottom and I've started to spray this one with clear lacquer, I think there is enough going on here.

Thinnest point at the rim is somewhere around 1/16", the base is just under 1/4".

I'll post pics when it is done.

next time I get one like this it IS going in the burn pile, MAN I spent a LOT of time on this one.....:dunno:
 
Well done Stu! I had a couple of maple bowls lately that did the same thing. Even though I considered turning a new tenon, the warp in the wall was such, that there was no way I could turn a bowl from it......Unless about 120 degrees of the side was a pouring spout!

Well done!
 
Wonky??? The bowl looks great! How do you cut off the tenon and shape the base? I did a small bowl this weekend out of some spalted river birch, but since I haven't done many bowls (this is #2) I haven't really figured out what I'm doing yet!
 
Funny you should post about the problems with Cherry Stuart,

I've been fighting a previously rough turned piece myself today,

__________Forgot how hard dried Cherry can get, spent some considerable time getting the tool edge and my approach
__________just right to finish this piece off. Despite being very dry the piece constantly kept changing shape,
__________either due to stress relief or temperature changes, at 4mm thick walls not much option but to
__________rely on finish sanding for final contours.

_________ ___ _______ click on images for larger view
_____________Aylesbury Cherry___________________(190mm)

Had a piece back in May that was so thin (<1mm)I had to fit a rim to it to strengthen it.

I find that Green Cherry has about the biggest cross grain shrinkage distortion of any wood I tackle.
 
OK, I'm building up some layers of rattle can lacquer........

wonky_shinny.JPG

All nice and shinny! I'll let this one dry, or cure for a few days before I go the buffing route.

acorn_wonky.JPG
Here it itswith a hollow form I'm working on....

acorn_shinny.JPG
Boy this thing has been a lot more work than it was worth, it started out as an exercise in using the captured hollow form rig. The main body is Ginko, I've found this wood SUCKS :bang:

It is WAY too soft and bruises if you look at it funny. Difficult to turn, hard to sand too...:rolleyes:

When it dried it went a bit out of round, but the area near the opening had a bunch of cracks in it :doh: I used a lot of CA glue to fix this, which left an ugly stain, so I decided to try some burning :D

Ah well, it is all about learning I guess. :rolleyes:

Cheers!
 
This is great. I took a Cherry bowl out of the bag on Sunday and thought how in the world am I going to save this. It ended up being the thinnest bowl that I have ever turned. I almost threw it away about half way through finishing it because I had lost hope. Now I think that it is one of the best pieces that i have done. I am not sure if it is because it looks nice or because I learned so much while fixing it. I will have to get some pics. posted.
Also Stu your bowl and vase look great. The link to your previous post about the donut chuck was a huge help. I have considered buying one but after seeing the one that you made I think that I would get more use out of it then one of the store bought ones. Thanks
 
Looking good, Stu. :thumb: FWIW, I often buff rattle can lacquer 10 to 12 hours after the last application. So far I've not seen it cause any problems. I just watch closely to avoid buffing through it.
 
..........The link to your previous post about the donut chuck was a huge help. I have considered buying one but after seeing the one that you made I think that I would get more use out of it then one of the store bought ones. Thanks

You are welcome Shawn, glad you liked it, I use it all the time! :wave:
 
Looking good, Stu. :thumb: FWIW, I often buff rattle can lacquer 10 to 12 hours after the last application. So far I've not seen it cause any problems. I just watch closely to avoid buffing through it.

This rattle can finish is new to me, so thanks for the info Vaughn!

How many coats do you usually put on?

Cheers!
 

Stu,

That bowl really "turned" out nice! :thumb::thumb::rofl:

I have 2 questions for you, the 1st more serious than the 2nd.
-What is chucked in to your drill in the above picture, and what do you use it for in turning?

Keep in mind I don't have a lathe and have never turned anything, so speak slowly and use small words for me. ;)

-The 2nd question, just out of sheer curiosity, why do you have FWW's url on the bed of your lathe?

Great Job again! :thumb:
 
Chucked in my drill, you must mean the power sanding pad thing........ :dunno:

sanding_pad1.jpg sanding_pad2.jpg
These things.

When I did the last photo shoot for the Japanese DIY magazine, the editor actually suggested it. He knew I was a member here, as I am rather proud of this place, so he suggested that I could promote it to a different audience. Lots of Japanese DIY guys at the very least READ English. If you notice, I also have the URL of my Japanese turner's club there too, www.FEWS.jp

Cheers!
 
Hey Stu, I noticed you were drying your pieces on cans. Thought I'd show what I use...

Choke Cherry from Barry4.jpg

I have a couple different versions, with different sized nails and spacing. I try to have the points all hit within the depression in the foot. I file the nail tips round so they don't scratch, and the tiny divot they leave in the finish gets buffed out. (Plus, any divot is only as deep as a single layer of finish, since the piece is never touched on the same three points twice.) I apply finish top and bottom, inside and out, then set it on the nails. If I'm spraying, I'll spray the bottom half of the piece, set it on the nails, then rotate the nail board to spray all around the upper part of the piece without touching it.

Be sure to show pics of those pieces when they're all buffed out. :thumb:
 
The High Gloss lacquer that you are using on these pieces, Is this just a personal preference or is it a preferred finish in your part of the world?

How flexible is the lacquer when hardened, does it accommodate wood movement, or does it prevent future moisture absorption completely?
 
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Hi Chas, first few I've tried, they do look cool on the right pieces of wood, the Chatoyance in this wood is something to see, and the super gloss finish just makes that better, but yeah, not my first choice in finish either.

Thing is the gals seem to LOVE this finish, so........... :rolleyes:

Dunno about the wood movement etc, the wood is all real dry, but we do get big temp and humidity swings here :dunno:
 
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