Just one more cut

[Wayne Blanch]

I suppose this is a gloat because I can not believe how lucky I was!:biggrin2:

How many times have I said "Just a little off here" and lived to regret it. Tonight is yet another example of my stupidity.:((

Started turning largeish lump (About 350mm x 250mm) of mystery timber that I was given a couple of years ago and it was going along nicely. It had some spalting and was pretty loose grained and had spent some time feeding termites, so I decided that I would need to leave a fair amount of meat on it. Turned the outside and finished it, looked lovely and I was starting to think to myself "Self - This one is looking like it could be a goodun":2tsup:

Got it down to about 10mm - 12mm thick and decided "Thats about right". stopped the lathe and had a good look - "Yep that'll do" and went to get a cuppa before finishing it. Came back and thought "I'll just take a nick outa 'ere". Suddenly the bowl was no more:C and it seem do decide to try to take a nick outa my ear.

I have had a few items decide that the stress is just too great and spread themselves around the shed but I have never seen one like this un. It seemed to explode! :o The largest piece that I found was about a third of the bowl. The remaining bits are quite small, and I can not find a lot of it at all.

What amazes me is that even though I was only inches from ground Zero, and didn't have my mask on (After all it was only one more little cut!) all the shrapnel managed to miss me. Not a mark on me! :U

Anyway It is nice to be able to tell people who understand how lucky I was. I told SWMBO and she just said "Oh thats nice dear" and went back to watching the T.V.
Ain't Luv grand!:gaah:

[Sebastiaan56]

Hi Wayne,

Im an experienced turner but can relate. I hate that too. Im yet to buy some collet jaws for my chuck, every time I turn something over it either splits or does meteorite impressions in the shed. Peta Costello doesnt get it either,

Sebastiaan

[Sebastiaan56]

oops Read "inexperienced turner" I actually know jack, the stuff you describe is normal for me,

Sebastiaan

[rsser]

Need pics of the pieces Wayne.

Pity. Leastways you didn't explode as well.

[Wayne Blanch]

Need pics of the pieces Wayne.

Pity. Leastways you didn't explode as well.

Pics attached the first is one of the largest piece to try to show the grain, the second is of some of the remnants.

When you asked for photos I went and looked for some of the bits and these were the largest ones I could find. I have to admit that I haven't cleaned up the shed properly since it happened so there may be some other bits lurking behind things!

Re my exploding, well after I had recovered from the shock I did make some noises that may have been mistaken for an explosion.:B

[rsser]

Yeah, I sympathise.

So why'd it happen u reckon?

[joe greiner]

On some timber, warping begins immediately after you start hollowing, owing to relieving of built-in stress. If it's already thin, I'd bet the best "tool" for reshaping is sandpaper. Had a very nice bowl of yew going; came back the next day and thought I'd re-turn to circular or at least square up the rim - no such luck. I found about half the pieces, but the rest will have to await complete cleaning of the shed.

Joe

[Wayne Blanch]

Yeah, I sympathise.

So why'd it happen u reckon?

I think that Joe is probably right, but I really don't know what happened. I was taking the finest of cuts just trying to get rid of a tiny bit of tear out.

The sad thing is it would have come out with a bit more sanding but I try to sand as little as possible. If I had done as Joe suggested I probably would have ended up with a finished product instead of a sad story.:doh:

[GordRocks]

That's a shame. It looks like it was on its way to becoming a beautiful piece.

[Wayne Blanch]

Hi all, I had another bit of the mystery wood in my back shed today so I decided to give it another go.

I am not as happy with the form of this one as I was with the exploding one, but I didn't have too much choice the termites had done more damage on this one and that sort of forced the shape to a degree. Unfortunately the other bit had a better - more interesting grain too.
At least this time it didn't explode:D , but I have to admit I was extremely cautious about not thinning it down too much (spent some time ducking in anticipation of the detonation:hbomb:!) , and once I got it to where I wanted it I took Joe's advice and did a bit more (read as a lot more) sanding than what I normally like to do. (I guess I am lazy, I reckon it is easier to use a chisel than sandpaper.)

I would be interested if anyone could give me a clue to what sort of wood it is. It is pretty light, fairly soft and very prone to tear out on the end grain and had a rough bark.

The end result is about 290mm x 140mm deep and it was sanded to 800 grit, hit with EEE, one coat of shellawax cream and one coat of shellawax.

[Touchwood]

well, you could turn another bowl to match, cut the broken one artistically off (at an angle could look good) and marry it it the second bowl (cut in mirror image) and claim that's how you wanted it all the time.!! Ying and Yeng stuff!!

Gotta love those exploding, MIA pieces - that's what makes us all start ducking when we hear 'those' noises in the future!!:C

JD

[Tony Morton]

Hi Wayne
Two bob each way here in the second lot of pics first bowl looks a bit like paulownia but grain in second pic looks like jacaranda but colour seems wrong.

Cheers Tony

[DavidG]

Take what is left of the exploded bowl and trim it up to a half bowl

Buy a mirror tile and glue on the half bowl.

Stuff the inside with dry flower mounting stuff.

Add a flower arrangement.

Sell as a "special" work of art.....:U :2tsup:

[TTIT]

The sad thing is it would have come out with a bit more sanding but I try to sand as little as possible. If I had done as Joe suggested I probably would have ended up with a finished product instead of a sad story.:doh:Look on the bright side Wayne - at least it didn't wait until you had it full of beer!:2tsup:

[Wayne Blanch]

Look on the bright side Wayne - at least it didn't wait until you had it full of beer!:2tsup:
Now that would have been a cats-Ars-trophy!!!:D

[Wayne Blanch]

Hi Wayne
Two bob each way here in the second lot of pics first bowl looks a bit like paulownia but grain in second pic looks like jacaranda but colour seems wrong.

Cheers Tony
I spoke to the bloke who gave it to me today and he tells me that it is Jacaranda. I guess the colour is more from my poor photography than the wood.
See ya
Wayne

[cedar n silky]

Definately jacaranda! Turned a fair bit of it a while back. It looks nice Wayne.:2tsup:
Bummer the first one "blew up":hbomb:
I was cleaning up in the shed yesterday with the dust extractor, and got dustracted for a moment and sucked a big lump of turned champhor straight in! Kaboom!:B I'm not game to look at the fins inside. It's still running smoothly. I found what was left of the camphor. I must put some mesh over the end of the hose one day!!:D

[Nabeel]

Hi, This post is very informative, however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Nabeel,

Welcome to the Forum. Don't be shy about posting your questions. This wonderful forum works because of the all the questions asked (yes, even the questions that seem silly but aren't really) and the freely-shared information and answers.

If you don't want to post them in this thread, do start your own new thread.

I have PM'd you about your links.

Thanks
Wendy - RufflyRustic
Senior Moderator
Woodworking Australia's
WOODWORK FORUMS