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What’s on your lathe?

The ash blank that I just turned this bowl from has been on the shelf drying for about two years. I wish it didn’t have the bug tunnels, but some folks seem to actually prefer the “character” they impart to a piece of Un-buggy wood. Go figure! The bowl is 11 1/2” diameter by 4” tall.
 

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Michael Anderson said:
Finished the exterior and hollowing the interior of the Torreya calabash. Tomorrow I’ll sand the interior and work on fixing some cracks and other things. The light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible. Whew!
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Hopefully you have some of the bark left to pulverize and fill the crotch and bark inclusions that are missing some of it, a blender would make quick work of a small chunk of bark, CA soak will keep it in place, so far so good 1thumb.gif
 
Leo Van Der Loo said:
Hopefully you have some of the bark left to pulverize and fill the crotch and bark inclusions that are missing some of it, a blender would make quick work of a small chunk of bark, CA soak will keep it in place, so far so good View attachment 52195
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Thank you! That’s a great idea about the pulverized bark. Didn’t even cross my mind.
 
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Dave Delo said:
Mike,
Also from your pic, you have the machine feet sitting on blocks of wood. Can't see if that block is recessed for the foot to sit into or not but even if it is, don't believe it's the best set-up especially if you plan on doing big out of round pieces alot. If one of those feet ever vibrates out, you’re going to be trying to catch 700+ pounds of machine from tipping over........don't ask how I know. Here's what I did to a previous machine that I needed to jack up in the air.
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Dave

I took your observation to heart. I used an old landscape timber, cut it to size, and bolted it between the leg and the PM riser using 3/8 x 7 bolts. Not only is it safer but it’s more stable too.

I was surprised to find that the bolts PM uses for the feet and leg extension is an oddball size 1/-12. That’s why I used 3/8 thru bolts instead.
 

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Mike Novak said:
Dave

I took your observation to heart. I used an old landscape timber, cut it to size, and bolted it between the leg and the PM riser using 3/8 x 7 bolts. Not only is it safer but it’s more stable too.

I was surprised to find that the bolts PM uses for the feet and leg extension is an oddball size 1/-12. That’s why I used 3/8 thru bolts instead.
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Very nice modification Mike.
 
Michael Anderson said:
That’s what I ended up doing. I added a few coffee beans to the bark to darken the fill a bit.
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My wife drinks tea that she buys in bulk. I have tried some used tea leaves from the strainer in a grinder. I like that there are a variety of colors and it is natural. I would imagine that adding a bit of the bark would create a very nice filler matieral.
 
Todays task on this never ending Torreya project is to repair and/or mitigate the cracks. I’m using a variety of techniques. In this case, pewa/butterflies/dutchmen for the more serious/cluttered areas. Other areas are getting other types of repairs.

17863997-543B-4DF4-9A55-045F3584C3FF.jpeg

Apologies if it seems like I’m spamming this thread with my progress photos. It’s an effective way to keep me motivated during this bowl project. o_O
 
Michael Anderson said:
Todays task on this never ending Torreya project is to repair and/or mitigate the cracks. I’m using a variety of techniques. In this case, pewa/butterflies/dutchmen for the more serious/cluttered areas. Other areas are getting other types of repairs.

View attachment 52213

Apologies if it seems like I’m spamming this thread with my progress photos. It’s an effective way to keep me motivated during this bowl project. o_O
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Michael, we/I like pictures of what different turners do with/on their pieces, it also keeps the forum "alive", I have used staples that I made, to keep splits from opening more, or preventing from happening.

Some of the staples got relocated after finish turning in a obscure location, but the important part is that they do work well.

Staple keeping split closed.jpg Black Cherry crotch with staple.jpg


Beech bowl with staple.jpg

Black Walnut crotch with staple.jpg
 
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Thanks, Leo. I always appreciate the example photos. I’ve used staples a handful of times, salvaged from copper wire or coat hanger wire. Here’s the most recent:
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Very effective method for keeping cracks from opening. For this one I wanted to stick with wooden repairs. Partly for the challenge, partly for practice, partly for tradition, and partly just for fun :)
 
This will likely be the last progress photo of the Torreya calabash I’m working on. Yesterday, I managed to inlay 6 Walnut pewa. Today’s task is to add a few small Wenge pewa and a couple of Mahogany poho patches to some weak endgrain. I think that will complete all the inlays. Tomorrow, I hope to do my final sanding and start the finishing process. Here is the final layout before I start cutting into the bowl.

FF83E079-B42B-42DD-B17A-7736AE9B2541.jpeg
 
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Michael Anderson said:
This will likely be the last progress photo of the Torreya calabash I’m working on. Yesterday, I managed to inlay 6 Walnut pewa. Today’s task is to add a few small Wenge pewa and a couple of Mahogany poho patches to some weak endgrain. I think that will complete all the inlays. Tomorrow, I hope to do my final sanding start the finishing process. Here is the final layout before I start cutting into the bowl.

View attachment 52244
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Neat idea Michael. How do you cut the pockets for the patches/Dutchman? By hand? or router with a jig?
Be safe and stay well.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
 
Heya Barry! For a couple of the larger Dutchmen I used a router and jig from Slabstitcher. It’s meant for flatwork, so it took some finagling to get the angles right. For the other ones, I’ve been hogging out the majority with a palm router, and then use a chisel to clean up the edges and corners. The problem with this method is the router follows the contour of the bowl, which means I need to sand away the same profile in the back of each inlay. The benefit of the jig is that it cuts in one plane, so I can just inlay the patch the same way I would with flatwork.
 
Michael Anderson said:
Heya Barry! For a couple of the larger Dutchmen I used a router and jig from Slabstitcher. It’s meant for flatwork, so it took some finagling to get the angles right. For the other ones, I’ve been hogging out the majority with a palm router, and then use a chisel to clean up the edges and corners. The problem with this method is the router follows the contour of the bowl, which means I need to sand away the same profile in the back of each inlay. The benefit of the jig is that it cuts in one plane, so I can just inlay the patch the same way I would with flatwork.
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Thanks Michael. I like the effect, so I'll be doing some experimenting. I built a jig for flatwork some time ago; from you comment I just need to experiment in applying it to round work! If you have some pictures of your jig in use they would be appreciated.
Be safe and stay well.
Barry
 
I thought I had taken a photo during the process, but I guess not. Here’s a photo of the removed template that shows some shims I taped to the backside. This stabilized the jig so that it sat on a tangent to the bowl’s curve. I then taped it to the bowl itself so it wouldn’t move around during routing.
184A0AFA-A603-45A2-8074-E405B7EC1FC0.jpeg
 
Nice, Monty. That form is looking great so far. I haven’t heard of Obeche before. Thanks for the link. It almost looks like a light colored Mahogany.
 
Michael Anderson said:
Nice, Monty. That form is looking great so far. I haven’t heard of Obeche before. Thanks for the link. It almost looks like a light colored Mahogany.
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The wood came from English Woods in a "selection box" with some other woods that are uncommon here. Cost of the wood was reasonable and the quality was excellent, but shipping was egregious.
 
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Michael Anderson said:
I thought I had taken a photo during the process, but I guess not. Here’s a photo of the removed template that shows some shims I taped to the backside. This stabilized the jig so that it sat on a tangent to the bowl’s curve. I then taped it to the bowl itself so it wouldn’t move around during routing.
View attachment 52248
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Perfect! Thanks Michael. Useful stuff that blue tape!
Be safe and stay well.
Barry
 
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