Walnut Natural Edge In Progress

Vaughn McMillan

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I was talking to a guy at a recent show about a walnut natural edge bowl I'd sold earlier, and he asked if I would be willing to make another one for him. After a few messages back and forth, here's what showed up the other day from Mark Cothren...a 19" x 17" NE Bowl Kit.

Malnut NE 2 - 001.jpg

A little work with the Forstner bit on the drill press to make a flat spot, and I was ready for the faceplate...

Malnut NE 2 - 007.jpg

Mounted up...

Malnut NE 2 - 002.jpg

Bottom roughed out...

Malnut NE 2 - 003.jpg

Inside roughed out...

Malnut NE 2 - 004.jpg

And the damage afterwards...

Malnut NE 2 - 006.jpg Malnut NE 2 - 005.jpg

It's bathing in DNA now. I'll post an update in a month or so after it's dried and finish turned.
 
Just think, with a coring set up, you could have made him a "Nested Natural Edge Bowl Set.......... a " NNEBS" :D

Looks like it will be a winner, and your shop looks like it needs a shower curtain, or something, I've been thinking about that for myself.

Sure looks like it turns well, and how are you liking that adjustable curved tool rest?

Cheers!:wave:
 
Looks great for the moment, I thought that you had some sort of dust/chip extractor on your shop, one thing is sure you've got real sharp tools, otherwise you would be making dust instead of shavings!:thumb::thumb:
 
19" in diameter! Wow! I've gotta get me some mustard! ;)

Looks great, Vaughn. But I don't know where you get the patience to wait three weeks before you do the final turning... ;)

Here's hoping the bark doesn't fly off! ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
A 19'' natural edge bowl, that's gonna be a pretty big bowl Vaughn, so far it's looks good, I'm waiting to see the finished bowl.
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Just think, with a coring set up, you could have made him a "Nested Natural Edge Bowl Set.......... a " NNEBS" :D
From what I've read, coring a NE blank can be done, but it can be pretty scary when things go bad. I've seen finished pieces, but they were quite a bit smaller, and taken from a log with a flatter bark face. I'll probably try it when I get a coring rig, but I'm not holding my breath that it'll be doable. ;)
...how are you liking that adjustable curved tool rest?

Cheers!:wave:
It's fine as long as I'm not out at the end of the tool rest. Especially on the long bar (the one in the picture) out on the last 2 or 3 inches, it starts to vibrate if I don't use very light cuts, and sometimes even that doesn't solve it. I suspect I'll get the Oneway version one of these days.

Thanks for the comments guys -
 
That's gonna be quite the bowl once it is finished! How did your arms and legs hold up? I get fairly tired when roughing out large diameter stuff - for me thats close to 15". I've also heard that walnut is not good for compost - what did you do with all the shavings?

Back to the bowl... looking forward to seeing the finished product! So far, it looks really nice!
 
Lookin' good, Vaughn! Git'r done...

Steve, I have composted quite a bit of Walnut shavings... I haven't used it anywhere - don't know if I will - but I can tell you this... the earthworms LOVE that stuff.
 
...I thought that you had some sort of dust/chip extractor on your shop...
I have a dust collector, but I don't think there's a dust collector alive that can catch wet curlies being sprayed in a 10' radius. If it was big enough to do that, it would suck me in, too. :D Also, the big chips and curlies would fill the DC very quickly. Like most guys, I just sweep up the curlies with a broom and shovel (or dust pan, in my case). I do use the DC when I'm sanding, or turning dry wood. I also use a filtered face mask (Trend Airshield) so I'm not breathing the fine dust that always seems to happen.

...How did your arms and legs hold up? I get fairly tired when roughing out large diameter stuff - for me thats close to 15". I've also heard that walnut is not good for compost - what did you do with all the shavings?...
My arms and chest were feeling it this morning for sure. Some people pay money to go to a gym and work out -- I do it for free in the shop. :p

I usually put my wet shavings in the "yard waste" bins that are emptied weekly by the city. I don't really have a good place for a compost pile, so I usually toss them all out. Since walnut is supposed to be bad for other plants, I may use this as mulch in a few areas where we don't want anything growing in the yard.
 
Vaughn Nice looking job so far. The wait would kill me that is why I seal soon as I turn and don't wait. Sure have a mess in the shop afterwards. I made a large vase couple months ago and had a mess like that, that is when I put up a three way shower curtain, now the mess is easy to contain. Looking forward to seeing the job completed. Mitch:thumb:
 
Vaughn
Nice job so far. Looks like the blank has been sprayed with adhesive? Beautiful piece of wood you have there. Quite a mess too. I turned a large vase recently and had the same mess. I put up a 3 way shower curtain and it contains the mess in the small area, not all over the benches and tools etc. Now comes the hard part. Waiting. I never wait, I seal soon as I turn and then don't have to wait, but I need to seal several times. Good luck with that baby. Mitch
 
No adhesive Mitch...just some Anchorseal.

One of these days I should rig up a shower curtain, although the drawers in th built-in cabinet behind me when I'm standing at the lathe contain all my turning tools, so I'd be having to reach around or under it to get to my tools.

I can relate to your not wanting to wait for the piece to dry, but I'm a little leery of applying finish to a piece that's all the way dried. I like using membrane finishes like lacquer, and I don't think they'd do that well longevity-wise on top of moving wood. In the short term, I think they'd be fine, but since I'm selling them, I want to be sure the finish will be around long after I am gone. ;)
 
Vaughn
Thanks, I can see your an honest man thinking of selling a piece that will last forever.About the shower curtain you could put one up and only close it when you know your going to make a real mess. Get a couple tools out before you start turning.
One thing about sealing wet wood Vaughn, when it is sealed inside and out there should not be any movement as you say. If the inside and outside are fully sealed they dry equally and there is no problem, if one dry's quicker than the other, therein lies the problem. I don't intend to belabor this point, just wanted to mention this. Do whatever you need to to insure your beautiful walnut blank turns out like you want. Mitch
 
Thanks, Mitch. I do want to experiment with turning green wood to finished dimensions and sealing it with finish and see how it works for me. I do know other turners do it that way and get good results, although I believe there is still a possibility of wood movement, depending on the wall thickness, moisture content, and finish (sealer) used.

For this one though, I think I'll stick with what's worked for me in the past. ;)
 
Vaughn, looling good. That is a big natural edge bowl. I have one on the lathe right now but it is not that big.
Can't wait to see the finished product.
 
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