When to finnish green wood?

[Ron Warman]

I have not turned a natural edge bowl before now. I was told that because the bark would hide any out-of-roundness it dosen't need to dry and be second turned, as I usually do. I turned the bowl, sanded to 800 grit and put on one coat of Deft, but the wood felt cool and wet at the time. Did I make a mistake?

Ron

 

[davidwalser]

You didn't make a mistake. Sometimes I'll finish a thinly turned wet bowl as you did. It still warps out of round, but the wetness does not seem to harm the finish nor does the lacquer keep the wood from drying.

I don't think the bark will hide the out of round nature of your eventually dried bowl, however.

 

[Vince Welch]

Hi Ron,

Sounds like you did good. I would suggest that rather then turning one turn 3-5 of them. If one blows up good! If the third one is better then the first and second that is great! On green wood uniform thinkness is a key factor to prevent cracking. Show us a PIC when you can.

Vince

 

[hockenbery]

I let my natural edge bowls dry before sanding and finishing.

Sanding wet wood doesn't work well for me. I'm too impatient to dry the surface with a heat gun and sand.

I finish turn them wet. Put them on a shelf to dry for a day or two then sit in front of a fan and power sand them with 3"velcro discs.
I would not save time sanding them on the lathe since I would not run the lathe when sanding a natural edge bowl. I could not sand the interupted surfaces evenly with the lathe running.

happy turning,
AL

 

[dkulze]

I actually finish my green pieces with eurythane oil. It doesn't mind the wet, stablizes the wood well, and never fogs up. A few extra coats as the days go by with a light sanding/steel wool in between and the piece is done.

Dietrich

 

[Dave Smith]

For the few green to finish pieces I do I use witch's brew. Loosely defined as equal parts boiled linseed oil, polyurethane, and thinner. I also add a couple drops of Japan dryer to the concoction. Remember that drying linseed oil is an exothermic reaction and rags can spontaneously combust if not disposed of properly.

After saturating the piece use low pressure air to blow finish out of crevices. High pressure air can have unintended consequences. DAMHIKT

The piece will have a dull surface when the finish dries. I am usually not in a hurry so wait a couple of days before I hand sand and apply several more coats of the same finish. I sand as much as possible on the lathe. It is much easier and safer to do at low speed.

I added a natural edge honey locust burl bowl to my gallery that I turned green to finish a couple months using the process I described here.

Your mileage may very. Good luck.

Dave Smith

I see the world a little different in Longview, WA.