I have been sealing the full inside and outside with Pva glue. I know it’s not necessary so I would like to know what I really need to do. Do I just seal the end grain on the outside of bowl and not put any seal in the inside?
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Sealing first turned bowls
- Thread starter Barry Holman
- Start date
If you want to use a sealer, yes the inside end grain needs to be sealed. PVA glue is a good choice, as is PVA based primer, usually a bit cheaper.
I prefer using paper bags. It’s a lot less time and mess, and the bags can be reused many times
I prefer using paper bags. It’s a lot less time and mess, and the bags can be reused many times
Okay, so, are these twice turned bowl blanks and you have removed most of the bulk? There are hosts of sealers out there for rough turned bowl blanks. PVA glue actually works really well since it breathes, and water can escape. If you are twice turning your bowls, do make sure to round over the rim, both inside and outside since a sharp edge can cut you, and a sharp rim is far more likely to crack since there are limits to how tall of a bowl you can make. You want even wall thickness, but when you come to the rim, there is no more wall, and rounding over the rim eases the stress that a sharp edge makes. Outside end grain especially needs to be sealed, and inside grain doesn't hurt to seal that either.
robo hippy
robo hippy
Man! I got a response from Robo Hippy! I am honored! I will start sealing end grain on the inside and outside.
Wait one. There are many different 'systems' used by turners to dry rough turned bowl blanks. It's kind of like witchcraft.
There are a number of variables that affect the rate of drying and chance of cracking. Important to me, as I live in an arid place, is the ambient humidity. Yours will be different than mine, or Reed's, or Doug's. Where will these be sitting while they dry? (Attics are hot and dry, basements are cool and wet. Shops are all over the place. Garages have a variable climate due to seasons, presence of heat or not.) What wood are we talking about? (Aspen, and mesquite from what I hear, move very little and are less likely to crack. Fruit wood cracks before the toppled tree hits the ground.) ETC.
I don't want to make this vastly more complicated than it needs to be. Talk with local turners in your area and see what methods work for them. Try some of those methods. Eventually, you will figure out what will work for you.
Personally, I coat the outside, but not the inside, of the roughed blank, put in a paper sack, and place on a wire rack (which allows air circulation), with the open end of the bowl down, in my basement where the temperature year round is most stable. Your mileage WILL vary.
There are a number of variables that affect the rate of drying and chance of cracking. Important to me, as I live in an arid place, is the ambient humidity. Yours will be different than mine, or Reed's, or Doug's. Where will these be sitting while they dry? (Attics are hot and dry, basements are cool and wet. Shops are all over the place. Garages have a variable climate due to seasons, presence of heat or not.) What wood are we talking about? (Aspen, and mesquite from what I hear, move very little and are less likely to crack. Fruit wood cracks before the toppled tree hits the ground.) ETC.
I don't want to make this vastly more complicated than it needs to be. Talk with local turners in your area and see what methods work for them. Try some of those methods. Eventually, you will figure out what will work for you.
Personally, I coat the outside, but not the inside, of the roughed blank, put in a paper sack, and place on a wire rack (which allows air circulation), with the open end of the bowl down, in my basement where the temperature year round is most stable. Your mileage WILL vary.
Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
I have a question concerning the notion that rounding over the edge prevents cracking that originates with a sharp corner.
For years, I've followed this practice of rounding the corner, but sometimes I forget to do this. In all this time, I've never noticed a crack that originated from a sharp edge intersection of two planes.
So....has this particular issue been problematic for other turners?
Note: I will continue the practice of rounding over the corner because it's so easy and quick to do, and besides, it does eliminate a sharp edge that can be dangerous......but, are we concerned about a problem that may be nonexistent?
=o=
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Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
As for sealing roughed bowls, I'm a believer in sealing the entire bowl with a wax emulsion sealer I've sourced from CSUSA for the past 40 years. It does breathe, so it successfully slows down the rate of moisture loss.....and, that's exactly what you want. The slower the seasoning process, the fewer stress cracks you will have.....it's that simple! 
When it comes to seasoning a roughed bowl......time is your friend! With that in mind, the best way to have as few problems as possible, a turner needs to have many bowls drying at a time. When the monthly weights stabilize.....the MC has stabilized to it's own environment. (This is an important consideration, as @Dean Center appropriately suggests above in post #5.)
With many bowls in the seasoning process at any given time, along with monthly logged weights, the choice of which bowl to 2nd turn next becomes much less problematic for a bowl turner.
=o=
When it comes to seasoning a roughed bowl......time is your friend! With that in mind, the best way to have as few problems as possible, a turner needs to have many bowls drying at a time. When the monthly weights stabilize.....the MC has stabilized to it's own environment. (This is an important consideration, as @Dean Center appropriately suggests above in post #5.)
With many bowls in the seasoning process at any given time, along with monthly logged weights, the choice of which bowl to 2nd turn next becomes much less problematic for a bowl turner.
=o=
Odie, the concept of trying to keep an even wall thickness is pretty well understood. But, what happens when you get to the rim? I round over the rims for safety sake so I don't slice myself, which I have done a few times, as well as on boards that have been hand planed run through the drum sander. Those edges can be very sharp. Also, and I have had this happen a number of times, with sloppy wet wood especially, if you leave that sharp edge, you get uneven drying at that point which creates stress, and as we all know, wood relieves stress by cracking. Hope that makes sense.
robo hippy
robo hippy