What I Learned on these turnings

Thought i would share a few things i learned on these two projects i just completed. Call it experimenting

1). Platter below - turned with a decent thickness - nope... didnt measure it and wanted to leave it thicker than normal say about 1/8 or a bit more thick at a guess.......,
Sanding:::::::sanded to 220, (I read that sanding to higher grits at this point is a waste of time with finishes that build - so on this i tried stopping at 220)........Let sit in covered garage in a bag for 4 days (yep i know a short time)......Then - Antique oil x 6 coats hand rubbed in with 320 wet/dry...wiped off excess and 24hrs drying time between coats... 4 coats of semi-gloss spray laquer and rubbed lightly with 0000 between dry coats between coats. Then buffed with white diamond and Carnuba........Done
it was a earlier pc and still remains a bit porus looking - next time im going to try using some suggestion from the previous post for my finish to get a more leveled looking finish. Now been sitting for 1 month and no cracking so far.
The last several pc's i have turned i have begun using Antique oil and i really like using it - easy to apply - only problem is i have to buy it online as there is no local stores that carry it

2). Thin funnel looking bowl - I decided to turn this with two exceptions to common sense to test my ideas. I turned this to about 1/16" thick and was going to try to cut it thinner but i chickened out. It got a bit nervey when i heard the chattering and i could see the warping starting. So i decided im not that good and stopped at this thickness but still remembered how afraid i was when it was spinning at 1000 + and parts of it seemed a bit harder to see spinning that fast.........So yep i threw in the towel and switched to sanding so it wouldnt explode ............bottom turned very small foot for a large the bowl is but i did it intentionally - when it was done it sits level but is not that stable either........
The Finish - 5 coats of Antique oil rubbed in as above - drying it by letting it sit out in the open in the garage and not covered - 3 coats of semi-gloss and buffed as above. Now been sitting for 1 month and no cracking so far.

Thoughts ? Comments and Suggestion ?
I am always experimenting with this stuff.......LOL

They both came out looking nice, Dan. There's no shame in knowing when to put away the tools and break out the sandpaper. The end result is more important than how you got there, IMHO.

I've read of several other guys who have good success finishing shortly after turning green wood. I think it has to do with sealing the moisture in and really slowing down the final drying process. Keep the experiments coming.

Good looking pieces Dan. Finish looks good and as Vaughn said no shame it quiting while you are ahead. Usually I sand platters and bowls to 320. I put 2 coats of oil on then 2 or 3 coats of poly or lacquer. If I use only oil I put on 3 coats and then buff. If it is porous wood I sand in a couple of coats of oil before I take it off the lathe.

I like the results Dan. Just make sure that the funnel bowl passes the all important and newly implemented banana test. I read somewhere once that everyone should get the thin wall out of there system and move on to functional. But...there is a whole lot of skill in hollow/thin wall turning. Lord knows, patience being a gift I wasn't given...I stick with the thicker stuff. For a momentary hijack...Bernie, how do you do the oil sanding? I have frequent need of that skill.

I have been to Richmond symposium and several demo's. One thing that I constantly hear from most pro's is this. Turn a 1/8" or less thin bowl and turn a HF thru a 1/2" and get it out of your system.

Bernie-Vaughn and all.................for me ....im no pro but it just gets a bit nerving when i am at a 1/16 and thinking of thinner with no steady rest and you can see some warping by then........i have had them explode and crack and all that............so i just gave up and called it turned ...........but im sure there will be more that i will attempt to make thinner.........its not a matter of saying how good you are in doing it........just knowing i have done it or can do it i think is the motivation then........i have turned bowls both thin and thick and actually like both depending on what im doing..