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rsser
27th September 2013, 03:46 PM
As a gift I'm going to turn this chestnut blank as a functional platter. For serving cheeses etc.

It's 14" diam so I'm thinking to turn a rim so's the thing can be carried without a thumbprint on a ripe brie :rolleyes:

For the finish I'll use a high resin content oil. To fill the pores and to resist staining.

What do you think?

DonIncognito
27th September 2013, 04:40 PM
As a gift I'm going to turn this chestnut blank as a functional platter. For serving cheeses etc.

It's 14" diam so I'm thinking to turn a rim so's the thing can be carried without a thumbprint on a ripe brie :rolleyes:

For the finish I'll use a high resin content oil. To fill the pores and to resist staining.

What do you think?

How thick is the blank? Can you add a raised lip to stop the crackers from sliding off? Maybe come up with some brilliant way to hold a knife on there as well?

rsser
27th September 2013, 04:53 PM
Yeah, it's about 40mm thick so there's scope for dishing to keep those pesky water crackers inside.

Good thought about some way of retaining cheese knives. I was assuming the various knives would be stuck into the cheeses. Maybe a partial raised laminate on the rim with slots?

DonIncognito
27th September 2013, 06:37 PM
Yeah, it's about 40mm thick so there's scope for dishing to keep those pesky water crackers inside.

Good thought about some way of retaining cheese knives. I was assuming the various knives would be stuck into the cheeses. Maybe a partial raised laminate on the rim with slots?

Can you turn / make a matching cheese knife? If you know the dimensions of the knife to be used with it, you could have an appropriately shaped indent somewhere. If you place it in the middle, you could be extra brilliant and work in some handle type thing on the reverse.

Scott
27th September 2013, 10:09 PM
I think a simple design where the crackers are on the outside and a flat plateau is in the middle of the platter would do. There are many ceramic inserts you can buy for this purpose. I've used a mixture of tung oil and citrus turps in the past which has worked a treat, it burnishes brilliantly and is food safe. Besides, I thought that, after your AWR experiment, that you're the finishing expert! hehe. We'll have to catch up again sometime, I enjoyed our last get together.

hughie
28th September 2013, 01:11 AM
I would probably roll the edge over and under with a decent bead diameter to get the hand that carries it a good grip

rsser
1st October 2013, 01:11 PM
Yeah; I was thinking about a slightly rounded over top rim, maybe 15mm across, for the thumb.

Knives: dunno about other folk but I like to serve around 3 diff cheeses and they need diff knives to avoid messing up the tastes. Think I'll back away from that refinement.

Finish: Scott, I'm no expert. After the AWR article tests, all I know is what questions to ask!
The Chestnut is fairly open pored so it needs a finish with a high resin content or it needs wet sanding (aka hard burnishing). I have little patience with wet sanding. OTOH a high resin content finish will if overdone be prone to knife scratches.

hughie
1st October 2013, 01:20 PM
Yeah; I was thinking about a slightly rounded over top rim, maybe 15mm across, for the thumb.

Knives: dunno about other folk but I like to serve around 3 diff cheeses and they need diff knives to avoid messing up the tastes. Think I'll back away from that refinement.

Finish: Scott, I'm no expert. After the AWR article tests, all I know is what questions to ask!
The Chestnut is fairly open pored so it needs a finish with a high resin content or it needs wet sanding (aka hard burnishing). I have little patience with wet sanding. OTOH a high resin content finish will if overdone be prone to knife scratches.


Using a satin finish might help get around the problem on the last one I did I used BLO and let it dry for several days. Then gave it a rub with 0000 steel wool and finished it off with two coats of satin WOP and again gave it several days to dry out.

rsser
1st October 2013, 01:59 PM
I've only done one functional platter so far, for whole fruit.

Used Rustins DO. It didn't cope well with the sweating of citrus fruit. (There's still 3 peeps in the household; I missed that; at $2 per lime for the +1's G&Ts, they sit for a while often).

Having left a recess in the platter bottom it was poss. to cut it back, and another couple of coats of finish, of FW Scandinavian oil that time, performed much better.

Dunno about the effects of cheeses and subsequent washing; still have some of the FW so will try that again. And again leave a recess.

burraboy
1st October 2013, 06:09 PM
I'd like to see it with a handle, (look up french bread boards), very functional!

rsser
1st October 2013, 06:41 PM
Yeah, that could work well too.

But breadboards are a dime a dozen.

With chestnut, there has to be a back story that likely appeals to the recipient as it would to me. It has to have come from the NE valleys of Vic and that's where it'll go back to.

smiife
1st October 2013, 09:18 PM
hi rsser,
if you are open for suggestions
how about a platter with a dip section in the middle,
if there is enough ''meat'' in the blank,a bit like this one
287759
cheers smiife:2tsup:

rsser
2nd October 2013, 11:35 AM
Thanks for the suggestion smiife.

Confess I hadn't thought about a dip bowl in the centre. May need to speak to the 'client' about what she wants.

rsser
22nd October 2013, 03:36 PM
Started in on it this arvo.

Trued the outside from top down. Too big for over the bed so the outrigger was needed.

The wood is fairly soft and very ring-porous. Sharp edges on the tools are essential.

The biggest dovetail jaws in the kit only reached mid radius so I cut a recess for them in a step and then put a bead on the base closer to the rim - as it's a functional piece and knives will be pushed down on it the widest base support is called for. I don't much like the look of the base but can't be bothered with the process needed to tidy it up. It's a gift, not a work of art.

Notes on the pics: I like faceplate rings and the one pictured is the T/tool 130mm that fits on the Titan Powergrips. The centring widget in the pic is not for that ring but for the largest VM faceplate ring I have and is included just for interest. Screws are square drive units that I recommend for faceplate ring fixing.

Does the Chestnut smell like the nuts? Dunno. It sure is offending my mucous membranes.

rsser
22nd October 2013, 04:49 PM
Outside done.

One coat of FW Scandinavian Oil. Chosen as it has a fairly high proportion of resin without producing a plakky-like result. Another coat will go on tonight.

rsser
24th October 2013, 02:09 PM
The 2nd coat didn't fill the porosity on the outside. So that'll be a job for a wax methinks; maybe Neil's Shithot Waxtik. He's changed the name sadly, but dollars drive us all: Woodturners Wax Stick foolproof finishing for woodturners (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/waxstix.html)

That suggests the inside will need wet-sanding with oil with heat. A pain but at least acc to LGS's tests that means it'll be ready to go as a functional piece.

rsser
24th October 2013, 04:16 PM
Hollowing out revealed a void. Could've been filled with repeated CA and dust filling but the shed was out of CA.

Used epoxy and coffee bean grinds at 50:50.

It's now a feature :rolleyes:

Hollowing started with a 3/8" bowl gouge and then a smaller one (finer cut, less tear out) and then refining with a wide scraper with a 150mm rule for reference.

Then sanding with a powered 75mm disc at #120 before filling.

In case that's of the faintest interest to anyone.

pommyphil
24th October 2013, 04:48 PM
Oh it is Ern, i'm now thinking about wax, hot oil and w&d, all very interesting. Thanks Phil

rsser
24th October 2013, 05:04 PM
My daughter had to explain to me what a Brazilian wax meant.

Geez.

rsser
26th October 2013, 08:58 PM
While waiting for the epoxy to harden I knocked up a bowl out of figured Euro Ash. Finish: n/c sanding sealer and Ubeaut waxstick. That's a quick finish that I prefer for lighter tone woods.

Have now sanded and wet-sanded with oil the inside of the Chestnut platter (#800). Done wet in order to grain fill. Not v. happy with the result; filled the grain but left lines - at a guess the FW Scandinavian Oil is too thick for that to work well on a lathe. Once it's dried I'll cut it back with 0000 steel wool and apply a last coat of oil.

Scott
26th October 2013, 09:01 PM
Nice form Ern, like it. You're right though, you can see the lines in the finish.

rsser
26th October 2013, 09:27 PM
Thanks.

Yeah, the lines in the pics were in the hard wax on the Ash however. They will come out with some fine cutting back.

Looking more closely at the unpictured lines on the Chestnut, now I reckon they came not from the wet sanding but from two medium grits of the infamous Norton 'Dry Ice' discs. This stuff has had rave reviews from some turners but I've not had good results with it. You're sposed to sand fast and light and maybe I haven't got the knack. I'm up to my ears in the stuff from a bulk buy. Might start using it up restoring edges on garden tools and lawn mower blades :rolleyes:

wheelinround
27th October 2013, 07:50 PM
Ern good to see your back to it how's the hands holding up.??

rsser
27th October 2013, 07:54 PM
Thanks wheelin.

They complain so I just take it easy.

Sawdust Maker
27th October 2013, 08:51 PM
Lookin good Ern

and that ash bowl has some real character :2tsup:

rsser
28th October 2013, 06:54 PM
Yeah, Euro ash (Fraxinus of whatever kind) is an under-rated turning timber. If Huon is like turning butter, Fraxinus is like turning a young cheddar :)

The downside is the wide growth rings if you've oriented the bowl or platter base to the log heart. Power sanding produces 'waves'. Have tried a thin/firm 75mm pad and that reduces but doesn't eliminate the effect.

rsser
28th October 2013, 09:54 PM
Have just resanded the Chestnut inside, #240 to #800, and wet-sanded again but this time with Rustins DO. That worked better but still was a bit streaky so while still sticky I cut it back with 0000 steel wool.

Meantime the lathe started making a ticking noise after I'd held the spindle with the indexing pin and loosened the chuck pushing down on the allen key.

Pushed and pulled on the handwheel to do a rough check of bearing slop: could feel no movement. Not exactly scientific but I couldn't be bothered setting up the dial gauge.

Took the covers off and moved the headstock pulley assembly inwards a smidge; it had been fouling the indexing pin. Not an answer to the problem but a solution that may prove to be an answer.

rsser
29th October 2013, 01:34 PM
Just a by-the-way comment about looking after your oil stocks (the liquid, not the shares) ...

There's been many posts about how to extend the life of an opened container. I've tried the marbles trick and found it tedious adding marbles and cleaning them up at the end. Haven't tried the concertina photo-chemical containers.

This is what I've settled on, following the principle that an oil with a solvent and driers is going to gel at a rate on par with the rate of exposure to air: for a given job decant enough oil into a glass jar, and then just draw on what's in the jar. Also wipe off the oil from container and cap threads (if they have them) to ensure a good seal.

If you just use oil from the container for say three coats, you'll be dribbling the stuff onto a rag or HD paper towel repeatedly and so maximising the exposure to air of what's in the bottle or can.

Just my two bob's worth.

(ah, damn, didn't know that Noel had passed away. That's very saddening.)

rsser
31st October 2013, 02:06 PM
Reflection on choice of recess v. spigot ...

I remember Guilio Marcolongo saying at a demo at a WWW show something like 'down the track will you want to put this piece out for folks to see or put it away in cupboard?'.

In this case, I think I should've taken extra care and done a spigot on the base and rechucked, as it's a platter. My Longworth wasn't big enough and my big faceplate vacuum 'chuck' wasn't replumbed for the VL175 but would've served with tailstock support and subsequent clean-up.

All good fun; I count mental aggravation in that category :rolleyes:

pommyphil
31st October 2013, 03:32 PM
I did a run of big Camphor platters recently so I bought the monster 460mm+ bowl jaws for VM120.

Great gear, Vicmarc of course. Phil

rsser
31st October 2013, 03:57 PM
Finished face in the pic.

It'll do me. Next time I'll wet sand after the last grit with Organoil HBO or Rustin's DO. Then two coats of FW Scandinavian Oil.

Don't think there'll be another next time but as they say, never say never.

bench1holio
31st October 2013, 06:24 PM
nice looking piece ern. :2tsup: