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Ever have one of those days in the shop?

pencheff

pencheff

Joined
Nov 2, 2005
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Location
Lancaster, PA
Website
www.gvpencheff.com
What a night. First I mounted a natural edge chunk of cherry. Fought that thing from beginning to end but it turned out pretty nice. Somewhere between 180 grit and 400 grit it developed a crack up one side and by that point it was too out of round to fill and reshape. Lovely. Mounted another blank from the same log. Deja vu all over again with a crack developing during final sanding. Grrrrr.

Okay, bowls and I aren't getting along tonight. Put a 10" x 4" chunk of gingko between centers to work on a hollow form. Turned a nice shape, sanded, mounted in the chuck and started hollowing. At about 2" deep I made the inside larger than the outside.

Sigh.

I'd had enough abuse for one evening, so I cleaned the shop. At least that went well. :rolleyes:
 
Don't you just hate days like that?

That's when I turn a spindle or handle just to prove I can still turn something!
 
Greg,

Sorry to hear about the tough evening. I can sympathize.

By the way, what does "clean the shop" mean. I don't understand :eek: :D ;)

Hope it goes better next time.
 
Yup. That's about the time I drop the tools, turn off the lathe, and go for a beer. Figure it's about the only thing safe left to do at that point.

Some days just aren't meant for turning.

Dietrich
 
Don O. Jr. said:
Sorry to hear about the tough evening. I can sympathize.

By the way, what does "clean the shop" mean. I don't understand :eek: :D ;)

Hope it goes better next time.
Click to expand...
Ditto! :eek:
 
Similar Cherry Experience

I've like cherry for natural edge pieces, but early on had two that were nice and thin crack on my lathe - I think just from centrifugal force. I've slowed down the rpm since then when finishing cherry and not had it happen again.
 
One Sunday I blew up three pieces before 11 am. One of those was a Rosewood vase (probably would have gotten $1,200.) that my laser adjusted itself down to zero wall thickness at the base. Spent the rest of the day & the next two weeks roughing out blanks :(
 
Back on the horse

pencheff said:
Turned a nice shape, sanded, mounted in the chuck and started hollowing. At about 2" deep I made the inside larger than the outside.
Click to expand...
Okay, I treated the blown hollow form as a design opportunity. The wife likes it so it's okay with me too :cool2:
 

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pencheff said:
Okay, I treated the blown hollow form as a design opportunity. The wife likes it so it's okay with me too :cool2:
Click to expand...
Good save, and I'm USING your dust collector hose mount (I may modify it a bit to try and have a bigger collection area). What a GREAT idea!
 
Cherry can be a bear. I try to keep a spray bottle handy and keep the wood wet. This has reduced the cracks for me. I also sand at a slower speed so I don't produce as much heat. Heat is the enemy at this stage.
When I have a day like your having I just take a break and go out and ride the bicycle. I figure it will get better tomorrow.
If you keep cracking bowls read Malcolm Tibbets article in this months journal on making ribbons out of wood. He uses segmented pieces but there isn't any reason it can't be done using solid wood. Or you can reassemble them using epoxy the way Marilyn Campbell does.
 
Bad woodturning days

I went to a bowl woodturning class last Sunday and got such a bad catch the my hand is still black and blue from it. Was a little worried about "getting back on the horse again" but my wife came back from the physical therapist needed some handles turned for a rope and pully system. They went OK so hopefully the second half of the class (this Sunday) will go fine.
 
Isn’t there a saying such as “clouds always have a Silver lining†?
So, lacking silver I often have a bag of brass powder when I turn cherry. If I see these little cracks - these nasty elements seem to laugh at you – I fill up their mouth with brass power, add a drink of fluid CA and continue turning.
Sometimes I regret not having any cracks :D
 
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