filling in a hole

[ahoiberg]

i was working on a bowl this morning and forgot all about the hole i made to cut the rough circle a month ago when i first rough turned it.

so, i accidentally went through to the hole with my bowl gouge this morning and now it's just staring back at me in all its glory.

should i just use some of the shavings from the bowl and CA to fill it in or is there another fill that works better?

 

[Steve Worcester]

Scrap it, turn another.

But I don't understand the hole and what it was there for.

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Sounds like the blank was initially mounted on a screw a chuck. That would make the hole about 11/32". I had a few of those holes appear in my early days of turning.

If the wood isn't very figured then filling with chips and CA would work. If it is highly figured then I would try and cut a plug with similar grain that I would glue into the hole. You can use colored permanent markers to connect the grain lines on the plug to the grain lines on the rest of the turning. Done well, no one will every know the difference.

Ed

 

[dbonertz]

That hole is an opportunity waiting for a new idea or experiment. Have you ever worked with inlace? Try putting a plug of complimentary or contrasting wood in the hole and finish the bowl. I have in the past taken a flat polished rock (don't know what they are called but you get them in souvenier shops) and traced it and then used a dremel to cut out the shape and glue it in place to add interest to a bowl. Use your imagination and have fun - you can always throw it out but why not try something new.

 

[Richard Baker]

Cabachons(sp?), I think (polished rocks).

Andrew, you seem to be in two places, Iowa and Colorado. How do you do it?

 

[ahoiberg]

sorry, i should have been more specific. when i was making the unturned blank round, i drilled a small hole in it so it would spin on the little rod on my circle cutting jig. apparently i drilled the hole too deep or maybe my rod sticks up too much and i should shorten it.

the hole isn't very big, i can't remember what size bit i used, but it's smaller than 1/4". i ended up using shavings and CA, which sticks out pretty sorely but it completed the bowl nonetheless. with something in it, i reckon you won't be able to see the patch anyway.

this was only my second successfully (if you can deem it that) turned bowl, the other couple i've tried flew across the room or something similar. so my techniques are still coming along and my thought process (as far as thinking ahead avoiding a hole being in the bottom) is still developing.

it was also my first time trying the DNA soak to speed up the drying process, it seemed to work quite well. and there was some pithy wood in it so i used a decent bit of thin CA to stabilize the areas as i was turning it. overall, a fun process start to finish though...

thanks for the input. and texian, thanks for catching my signature, i forgot i still had that set to colorado, i just moved back to old iowa.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Have to ask, since I use a circle-cutting jig sometimes. Don't you limit the depth to the length of the tenon for an outie hold or the depth of the recess for an innie? Or did you get caught by the extra length a brad-point bit conceals? BTDT, as well as discovering the fangs extend beyond the body of the drill when tapering ornaments. Funnels anyone?

I'd pitch, or use it for practice and throw my change into it on the dresser at night. Appearance means less when it gets scratched.

 

[KurtB]

Correcting a Through Hole

Andrew, if you have some of the same wood as the bowl left, you could drill a through hole to clean up the one you made, and then turn a dowel of a similar size and glue it in. A flush cut saw or chucking it and cleaning up the dowel that protrudes should make a pretty good match. Good luck!

 

[ahoiberg]

michael,

i guess i'm a little confused by your comment. do you mean to make the tenon extra long so it won't show any of the hole when the turning is finished? i should have thought of that before i started but it was my first time using the circle jig and my excitement got the best of me and i didn't even think to make the tenon longer than it was to conceal the hole. next time!

 

[ahoiberg]

nevermind, i'm a fool. i should have just hollowed out the side with the hole in it... next time!

speaking of next time, does anyone have a good method of finding the center of a circle blank?

thanks.

 

[Dale Miner]

Finding a center (my method).

Take a dividers, and open them to approximately the radius of the blank. Put one leg on the very edge of the blank, and scribe a mark across the approximate center. Without changing the setting of the dividers, go across to the opposite side of the blank, and repeat the scribing across the approximate center. You now have two scribed lines near the center. Repeat the scribing procedure at two additional points, about 90 degrees from the first two. This leaves a somewhat square box scribed on the blank. The center of the blank is in the center of the scribed box.

Later,

Dale M

 

[MichaelMouse]

Dale, sounds like someone else took geometry when Euclid was in favor. Not much on solution by construction in the modern subject. I do the same to locate center, with the addendum of never setting the compass or dividers greater than the swing of the lathe.

My remark on holes was a reminder to myself as much as anyone else that the center goes in farther than the wings on spade/Forstner/brad point bits. Since it doesn't take much depth to make a pivot point, limit the depth to less than the depth of your tenon or recess or keep an extra quarter in the bottom, which doesn't hurt, because it lowers the CG and allows you to narrow the footprint.

Though you can hollow the hole side, you'd miss one of the big advantages of using a circle jig, which is using the table tilt to allow you to undercut those imbalancing ends. Requires a decent flat, but worth it in wear and tear on equipment and pucker on the operator.

You can even cheat out some extra depth in your cut if you can get a close center match on both faces of the blank. Remove either face to your swing and then straighten the table to cut off the middle. Makes a 6" depth saw into a 7+.

 

[Joe Greiner]

Finding the Center

How about a "Center Finder?" Such as Grizzly H3093. The description (from the paper catalog) is somewhat misleading; the 90-degree throat can actually be used on a circle of 8-inch (and change) diameter. Craft Supplies USA has pretty much the same tool, at a slightly higher price, but they also have Teknatool's "Nova 10 in 1 Gauge" (No. 100-2015), which has several additional functions (9, I guess). No affiliation with either, etc.

Joe

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

I bought a center finder when I first started turning. They are very quick on square or round stock that isn't larger than the capacity of the center finder.

If the stock is out of square or too big you are a lot better off using the techniques mentioned above.

I wouldn't spend the money if I was making the decision today.

Ed