Yes Sir! I love turning cherry.
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
Yes Sir! I love turning cherry.
Cherry burl is one of my favorite burls......too bad that from my sources I seldom see it.
=o=
Howdy strangers. Post shoulder surgery and easing back into turning 
I see about 30 cherry bowls in your future
My longest drought not turning this week. I had to get some projects done around the house and move some of my logs off the ground and under cover. Was able to get to my large maple log that I had covered up so decided I had to turn some today. Turned 3 of the 4 blanks today, cored all three, and wrapped the other one for later. Larger ones should finish 16” x 6”. Trying to save some of this log for hollow forms.
Experiencing turners claw/crap in my hand now
Experiencing turners claw/crap in my hand now
Hey Michael, did your shoulder injury affect your music? (I'm assuming you play, based on your avatar photo)
Last year I had an AC separation on a fall and after surgery and 6 months of PT I could get back to the piano and guitar (and woodturning). But I think my future as an accordionist is history (too painful to work the bellows). I did get a cello recently, mostly as therapy.
Ok, I'd love to know what kind of wood that is on your lathe. Stunning color and figure. Can't remember ever having a piece of wood that looked like that.
JKJ
Well this one few apart a few times, I perused it and I think it will be nice when done !
Oh yes it’s cherry !
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OOF! Some internal cracks, that what's flying apart? I had a piece of wood, I am pretty sure it was Canarywood but not certain (it was never labeled, and even when I asked the guys at the woodcraft store I bought it from, they weren't certain, although their guess was canarywood as well), that had some pith in it...mostly centered, so for boxes I thought it would be fine. What I couldn't see from the outside, was that just in a ways from the outer end, a crack started, and ran through most of the internal length not far from the pith. Once I turned the first chunk round, a fairly large chunk just flew off, and I don't even think I had the tool on the wood. Just poof. That one was close enough to the center, that the live center on the lathe no longer held properly, it cracked through the bit of wood that remained, and the whole piece flew (not too fast, IIRC I was around 1000rpm) off the lathe and took some damage.
Second chunk I cut out of this block of wood (it was about a 14" or so long 4x4 spindle blank) I thought was doing better...but it, too, tossed a chunk when the edge of my tool caught a hairline crack I could barely see. Pretty sure it was the same crack, only it had angled a little farther away from the pith at this point.
I still have about half the blank left. I haven't done anything else with it...not sure what to do. I can't really even see the crack, its there, but very fine hairline. I think it runs through the entire blank. I may try to see if I can get some ultra thin (almost the consistency of water) GluBoost CA glue in there...maybe it will penetrate far enough down this crack to actually hold everything in place for the remainder. Not sure. Sad, because the wood is actually quite nice, and fairly colorful grain wise with some oranges, yellows, reds and even some slight grayish-blues.
If surfaces are smooth or can be made smooth (disk/belt sander, tablesaw?) you could try testing by applying a fast drying liquid. The liquid can seep deep into invisible cracks and can reveal the crack locations after that on the surface has evaporated, especially on end grain. Some use alcohol or mineral spirits but I prefer naphtha - extremely fast drying, leaves no residue, affects no finishes. Once you locate and mark a crack, yes, soak it with thin CA. Test again after turning a bit since the CA may not penetrate far.
I also use naphtha to reveal sanding scratches. Apply liberally, and for just a few seconds after the surface dries any sanding scratches may be revealed. Have to look fast.
Another way to test for invisible cracks is cut off a very thin slice on the bandsaw. Gently bend the slice and the wood will break at the crack. If I suspect the cracks are not deep, but simply shallow end grain checking, I might continue to remove thin slices until I get to good wood.
Deep cracks, or worse, ring shake, I'll either cut the wood into smaller useful blanks or throw it all in the burn barrel.
JKJ
I live in a darn nanny state!! No naphtha, no real mineral spirits, no VM&P, no toluene, no xylenes. I think even hexanes were, well, at least restricted. I think the list goes on. Sadly, not all of these are actually "banned" but the consequences of violating even just restrictions, like on naphtha, are strong enough that none of the manufacturers seem willing to ship any to Colorado. At least, I haven't seen naphtha or toluene anywhere for some time now. I could really use something to reveal sanding scratches.
I'll try alcohol, see if it helps reveal the crack more.
I might try the bandsaw trick. Pretty sure the top half of the remainder has the crack most of the way through it, but the bottom half, maybe not.
This cherry was given to me and is quite dry.
I won’t use ca glue on this type of separation, I have found that ca doesn’t alway have the strength of pva glues, but that’s my opinion no science applied ! Just in the field of carpentry. seems like there’s some good suggestion here.
I won’t use ca glue on this type of separation, I have found that ca doesn’t alway have the strength of pva glues, but that’s my opinion no science applied ! Just in the field of carpentry. seems like there’s some good suggestion here.
It did indeed. I had a concert at the end of March and delayed surgery so I wouldn't miss it. It was tearing of the ligament and a burr on the ball that was tearing a hole in socket. Orthopod rasped down the burr, stitched the tear and laced a braid along tendon. I've been easing back, but two of my sons are learning bass also, another cello, and I have been using their practice time to sneak in some time on the fingerboard
David-You struck the motherlode with this super curly/ambrosia maple. I keep waiting for my tree guy neighbor to cut some down on a jobsite-I really need some of this wood!My longest drought not turning this week. I had to get some projects done around the house and move some of my logs off the ground and under cover. Was able to get to my large maple log that I had covered up so decided I had to turn some today. Turned 3 of the 4 blanks today, cored all three, and wrapped the other one for later. Larger ones should finish 16” x 6”. Trying to save some of this log for hollow forms.
Experiencing turners claw/crap in my hand now
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Excellent!
Our middle son plays the cello and he and I have played some weddings for friends and such (with me on the piano).
I assume you know Edgar Meyer? His father started the strings program in the elementary school in Oak Ridge, TN. That's how my son got started in the 4th grade. I encouraged him to go for the cello (since I love the sound!) and he was one of the few who stuck with strings. (Did you ever hear a concert of Christmas music with over 100 fourth-graders with about 3 months of experience? Aaaa...!) I think what helped our son the most was findind a good private teacher - he studied for years with the 1st chair cello in the Knoxville symphony orchestra.
Edgar did something very kind when he visited Oak Ridge. He always spent time with the bass and cello players in high school and gave advice and encouragement! I think there were only 5 or 6 students still with strings by then. What a guy!
I played the bass for a while at Berea College in KY when they needed someone for the band for the college Country Dancers. I'd never touched one so I put scotch tape on the finger board so I'd not be too far out of pitch. No bowing, fingerstyle only. I even got to go on tour with them to places in KY and Ohio. The band was piano, fiddle, guitar, bass, and I forget what else.
I learned enough cello years ago to play duets with our son (we had several cellos by then) but haven't touched one for a long time so I'm starting from scratch. As well as the lathe, welding, and machining, my shop now has the cello, violin, guitar, cornet, french horn, harmonicas, melodica, and a new Yamaha electric piano. I can play as loud and poorly as I want and not bother the rest of the family! A friend gave me an electric bass but with I had to give that up - stretching the left arm was just too painful for the shoulder. (Another friend is threatening to give me a musical saw - the hardest instrument I ever tried to play!!) Fortunately for the instruments the shop has central heat and air...
This was our music room when the son was in high school. (Anyone interested in a bunch of midi gear?)
JKJ
crazy ambrosia and ripple too! What a log!My longest drought not turning this week. I had to get some projects done around the house and move some of my logs off the ground and under cover. Was able to get to my large maple log that I had covered up so decided I had to turn some today. Turned 3 of the 4 blanks today, cored all three, and wrapped the other one for later. Larger ones should finish 16” x 6”. Trying to save some of this log for hollow forms.
Experiencing turners claw/crap in my hand now
View attachment 75812
View attachment 75811
View attachment 75810
Have you tried looking up Ronsonol Lighter Fluid? Possibly at Ace Hardware. Its naptha.
No naphtha, no real mineral spirits, no VM&P, no toluene, no xylenes. I think even hexanes were, well, at least restricted. I think the list goes on. Sadly, not all of these are actually "banned" but the consequences of violating even just restrictions, like on naphtha, are strong enough that none of the manufacturers seem willing to ship any to Colorado. At least, I haven't seen naphtha or toluene anywhere for some time now. I could really use something to reveal sanding scratches.
I'll try alcohol, see if it helps reveal the crack more.
I might try the bandsaw trick. Pretty sure the top half of the remainder has the crack most of the way through it, but the bottom half, maybe not.
Black cherry onion burl.
Hollow form from likely pine. House and tree burned down in Altadena, CA, so I’m making this as a memory for them. Don’t even know them—son in law asked me to do it. Opening 3/4 inch. Rough turned it since the wood is wet. 5 1/2 inch diameter.
Wow what an amazingly small world. I went to a week long bass master class in the 90s at UofA in Tucson. Edgar Meyer and Victor Wooten hosted some sessions there. I will never forget listening to Wooten play twinkle twinkle little star morphing into full chords... both hands up on the fretboard... and devolving into slap arpeggios that just kept accelerating until it was perfect chaos.
I think I took a phrase of advice from Meyer to heart to this day to 'play with perfection, but look casually deliberate' while doing so. I believe it got me my full ride as music performance to ASU... The 4hrs of daily practicing likely helped too... I was a nerd and orchestra dork.
Our music room has a baby grand, 3 basses, 2 cellos, 2 violins, a viola, French horn, trombone and tax boxes of sheet music. Every child in the house plays piano and one or more other instruments. We just finished 'concert season' of at least 2 concerts a week for 3 weeks.
That must have been amazing. I've heard Edgar play live several times and Yo Yo Ma once.
I bought my Baldwin SF10 in 1980, long before Baldwin moved production to China and the quality and reputation went to pieces. The action on mine was made in Germany. My only claim to fame is, according to the dealer, the concert piano bench I got was the one Billy Joel sat on when he came to Knoxville. The bench was on sale since it was used!
I think making music is good for the soul. I studied classical for decades and played in churches and for weddings, sometimes with an amazing friend on trumpet. Good clean fun! A few years ago I lost most of my muscle memory after an extended illness but it's slowly coming back. (If I just quit this woodturning stuff there would be more time for practice.
)What I enjoy the most these days is improv hymn playing - think of a song, pick a key, and see what happens. I say "oops" a lot if anyone is there to listen.
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