My 2nd Project: Candle Holders and a Grog Koozie

[John Simmons]

Spent some time in the barn turning some Pinion Pine branches into some things I've been wanting.

When we bought our house 3 years ago there was a Pinion Pine less than a foot from the house, centered between the two garage doors. We cut it down. So the wood for this project "hits close to home".

Once I get some stain on these they should be pretty sweet. There is some blue in the woodgrain patterns.

Oh, and a big chunk of bark spun off and smacked me right in the face mask... Safety First!

I'm really loving this lathe!

Question: Anybody here apply polyurethane over bark? Will that help to keep the bark attached to the wood?

Any tips / suggestions are always appreciated.

John

 

[Bill Boehme]

I think that the best way to retain bark is to use super thin CA right at the cambium layer¹. I use a fine applicator tip so that I can carefully keep the CA along the cambium. I wouldn't count on polyurethane varnish to keep the bark intact. If pine has been dry for a long time the bark may already have separated in which case it is probably best to remove all of the bark.

¹ The cambium is the interface between the sapwood and the bark and is typically only one or two cells thick which is about as thin as a sheet of paper. The outside of the cambium produces cork cells (bark) while the inside of the cambium layer creates the vascular tissue of the sapwood.