It didnt have any particular smell. That may be because of the age of the wood, it was pretty dry.
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
I have much better results from soaking with lacquer and letting it dry for a week or two. The Minwax Wood Hardener does a decent job too but is softer than the lacquer. That I usually apply several times as I turn just to get complete penetration.My latest experiment was not particularly successful, but provided some answers to whether applying Danish Oil as a hardener to spalting prior to finish turning is a good answer to the question of how to treat severe spalting...
This Maple burl bowl is heavily spalted and excessively soft in places. After seasoning the roughed bowl, it was brought to round. At this point, I applied a heavy coating of DO, with the hopes that the spalting would become hard enough to turn......(providing sharp tools presented well is a part of the equation). After waiting a few days for the DO to cure, I then attempted the 2nd finish turn. What I found was the DO does indeed harden to a turnable degree......ON THE SURFACE. Below the surface, the DO becomes gummy and smears on the surface as well as severely clogging the sandpaper. I wasted a lot off sandpaper dealing with this, but I eventually did acquire a decent sanded surface.....ready for final finishing.
I'm not sure the drawbacks are worth the effort to attempt hardening the spalted wood with DO.....but, it certainly is doable
=o=
i too have had good results using 1/2lb cut shellac 1oz shellac to 1 pint of alcohol as its so thin it will soak it right up. i have a 3 gallon bucket half full just for this i dip it in then give it a week or more to dry
i have also dipped it, then put in my vacume oven/chamber, pull a vacume & release and it all gets sucked in deeper
Sanded the Padauk to 320, mainly to blend everything and see the wood in a bit better fashion. Next step is to carve, and then create the other components for the piece.
I also started working on another mushroom-style captured spin top. Black Cherry. Nothing too spectacular with the wood grain here, so this one will get a bunch of color on the exterior (I'll carve the interior to look sort of like gills). Because this is side-grain orientation, the little 3/8" tenon is somewhat fragile (risk of shearing off). To add a bit more support, I like to drill a hole and add a small dowel that assists in connecting the bowl to the finial/pull I will glue on. The Jacob's chuck helps center the dowel when gluing. You can also see the acorn nut bearing in the photo of the interior. This gives a better spin.
I also started working on another mushroom-style captured spin top. Black Cherry. Nothing too spectacular with the wood grain here, so this one will get a bunch of color on the exterior (I'll carve the interior to look sort of like gills). Because this is side-grain orientation, the little 3/8" tenon is somewhat fragile (risk of shearing off). To add a bit more support, I like to drill a hole and add a small dowel that assists in connecting the bowl to the finial/pull I will glue on. The Jacob's chuck helps center the dowel when gluing. You can also see the acorn nut bearing in the photo of the interior. This gives a better spin.
Absolutely beautiful!
Very nice!
Beautiful grain - really like working with walnut!
Very nice work!
I like your chip/dust collection setup - will be attempting to fabricate one for my lathe in the near future from sheet metal in my metal forming shop.
Look forward to seeing the finished piece - beautiful grain pattern!
Hey Karl, FYI these posts you’re replying to are from 2023. Nothing wrong with replying, but the final pieces may already be posted somewhere.
Thanks - I’ll check dates from now on. I am new to AAW forum as well as to woodturning. Got message that I wouldn’t be completely “legal” until I logged 10 posts - just trying to get up to speed
I had no idea your spin tops are that large!
In that case, welcome and welcome! It’s a deep rabbit hole, this woodturning thing. Have funThanks - I’ll check dates from now on. I am new to AAW forum as well as to woodturning. Got message that I wouldn’t be completely “legal” until I logged 10 posts - just trying to get up to speed
Hi Ric! Most are a bit smaller, but I like this scale for the more involved ones
Working with a scrap piece of spalted beech.
Got my new Lyle Jamieson hollowing rig mounted today. Tried it on a piece of ash. This thing is rock solid and such a pleasure to work with. Going to take some practice. Ended up about 1/4 “ thick. Not sure what I’m doing with it from here. Maybe let it dry some se what the cracks do. Maybe fill with some colored epoxy then iron acetate the outside, put some life into the ash. Open to suggestions!
Attachments
Jumped back on the heart bowls today. Removed the tenons and getting ready to dye most of them. Hopefully in time for Christmas…if not I’ll shoot for Valentines Day
Spalted beech and purple heart ornament and a maple and walnut segmented ornament.
Mark Hepburn
Artist & Chef
My latest experiment was not particularly successful, but provided some answers to whether applying Danish Oil as a hardener to spalting prior to finish turning is a good answer to the question of how to treat severe spalting...
This Maple burl bowl is heavily spalted and excessively soft in places. After seasoning the roughed bowl, it was brought to round. At this point, I applied a heavy coating of DO, with the hopes that the spalting would become hard enough to turn......(providing sharp tools presented well is a part of the equation). After waiting a few days for the DO to cure, I then attempted the 2nd finish turn. What I found was the DO does indeed harden to a turnable degree......ON THE SURFACE. Below the surface, the DO becomes gummy and smears on the surface as well as severely clogging the sandpaper. I wasted a lot off sandpaper dealing with this, but I eventually did acquire a decent sanded surface.....ready for final finishing.
I'm not sure the drawbacks are worth the effort to attempt hardening the spalted wood with DO.....but, it certainly is doable
=o=
View attachment 81218 View attachment 81219
That's a beautiful bowl and the wood is truly amazing.
Mark Hepburn
Artist & Chef
Just a simple bowl that will have a curved edge. 13" cherry.
Finished turning and sanding the pedestal for the cherry spin top body in my previous post. The wood is Imbuia, also known as Brazilian Walnut. This is my first time working with it. Slightly softer than Black Walnut, and similarly colored (though with a sort of yellowish tint). Pretty interesting grain, and a very fragrant scent. Turns and sands well. I sanded this to 600, and then went over with a grey scotchbrite pad and some brown paper. Will either lacquer or finish with paste wax. Undecided. Next step is to turn a small ebony spin platform that will insert into the top of the Imbuia pedestal via a 3/16” tenon. Following that, I’ll turn the stem/finial, and then the base. Carving and painting (of the Cherry spin body) afterward.
Continuing the spin top build from my previous post. Imbuia is a bit too soft to serve as a spin platform, so I used Macassar Ebony instead. I turned a small concave dish in the top, and then a thin neck beneath for clearance (so the sides of the Cherry bowl won’t rub while spinning). Beneath that I turned a 3/16” diameter tenon ~3/4” long. This allows me to attach the spin platform to the pedestal securely, while the long tenon also reinforces the Imbuia pedestal’s thin neck. I slightly undersized the tenon so I will have room for epoxy (likewise, the mortise in the pedestal is slightly longer than the tenon—gives a small cavity to collect the extra epoxy). I won’t permanently affix the platform to the pedestal until the pedestal is finished.
Back in the shop after a few weeks of unplanned break. Spalted sugarberry. To bad the wood is ugly.
Looks prey good to me. That heavy spalt line looks like bark inclusion. It will draw the eye to the inside of the bowl!