Sanding a Natural Edge Bowl

[Joseph Maiorano]

Hi All,

I know everyone hates sanding ...

I am looking for suggestions on how to sand the inside of a natural edge bowl. I've watched lots of videos on turning natural edge bowls but they never go into how to sand them.

TIA for your help.

 

[Chuck Lobaito]

I try to sand power sand the inside on the lathe (not running) while the tenon is still on. For the exterior, I gently sand while on vacuum or jam chuck between centers. The other option is to let it dry and hand sand after.

 

[john lucas]

I power sand with the lathe off. I have rigged up wedge that fits between my hand wheel and motor so I can lock the bowl in any position. This makes it easy to sand exactly where I want to. I sand most of the outside of the bowl with the lathe running and try to put 0 pressure on the sandpaper so I don't sand off the leading edge. If I don't feel comfortable doing that I sand with the lathe off just like above. If I have my homemade index wheel on the lathe I use that.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I power sand inside and out where the surface is continuous the with the lathe off and the spindle locked I carefully power sand the remainder of the inside and the bark. The outside I may use a random orbital sander held with my right hand, then rotate the bowl by hand to finish the uneven areas.

 

[hockenbery]

I sand off the lathe using an angle drill and Velcro discs.
Sit with the bowl in my hand or lap working the edge of the disc with the growth rings.
If I left the bark I don’t sand the bark with lower than 220.

I sand spots with 180 ( sometimes a gfew need 120) then 220 and 320

 

[Donovan Bailey]

A ROS is a great tool for sanding the wings of a natural edge vessel. The Metabo 3" and/or the Grex will do a nice job.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

I assume that, while sanding, there is the possibility that at least some of the bark might be knocked loose or the natural edge damaged. How much of a problem is this? What precautions should be taken?

 

[Gary Beasley]

Quite common is to soak some thin CA into the bark to firm it up and keep it from detaching at a later date.

 

[olaf Vogel]

I assume that, while sanding, there is the possibility that at least some of the bark might be knocked loose or the natural edge damaged. How much of a problem is this? What precautions should be taken?

I use a rotary sander. In this case ensure the rotation of the pad is INTO the bark.
So it pushes the bark against the pulpwood. And I use light pressure since the bark and pulp wood is soft.

A RAS might be more difficult.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

It depends on the species, the time of year it was cut and the amount of time between cutting and turning. The best way to get good bark edges is to cut live trees at the end of the growing season or in the dead of winter before the sap starts running in the spring. The turning should start as soon as possible or store the cut sections in a snow bank out of the sun. The best indication that you are on the right track is the sap shower you get when you start turning so have towels ready to wipe down the lathe bed and yourself. If you have a lathe with a moveable head stock put a towel or rag where the head stock and the lathe bed meet to keep water from getting in there. The picture is of a red oak piece that was a small live tree that was turned a couple days after the tree was cut in Oct 2018 and it didn't need any CA however the licens (you know the stuff that grows on the north side of the tree) did come off when I sprayed on the lacquer finish. The red oak has a wavy effect when done end grain.

 

[hockenbery]

I assume that, while sanding, there is the possibility that at least some of the bark might be knocked loose or the natural edge damaged. How much of a problem is this? What precautions should be taken?

I take the bark off many of the NE bowls to make them functional. It is more work than leaving the bark but it’s worth it.

If I leave the bark I run thin CA glue around the bark wetting the bark but not getting any on the wood.
Gravity works to keep it off the wood.
This does two things. 1- glues the bark to the wood. 2 keeps the bark from shrinking.

Without the CA the bark will shrink more than the wood making it difficult to sand the wood even and if you do it messes up the even walls.

I don’t sand the bark until I am using 220. It is soft and I sand so the edge of the disc is at the bark line with little pressure on the disc. Always sanding with the growth rings the bark is just the last growth ring.

I don’t worry about the time of year. Here in Florida the dormant period for trees is a week or so if it exists at all. This year the maple had green leaves until the end of December and flowers by 10 January.