Melaleuca Fruit Bowl

[Grumpy John]

G'day All
I'm looking for opinions/help on finishing this Melaleuca fruit bowl. The bowl is ~300mm dia and ~120mm high. I'll definitely be taking about 40mm of the dia of the base, but I'm not sure how far I can go with the wall thickness because of the cracks and wormholes, also not sure what to do with the top. I've given the bowl a quick brush with a home-brew of min. turps/boiled linseed/clear poly just to bring out the colours. Another potential finish is sand blasting to give the bowl a "weathered" look.

All thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated

[Jim Carroll]

John it looks pretty solid get it down to 1/2" and see how it looks then.

Refine the shape inside and out to blend together.

[Calm]

I agree with jim you wont know how thin until you get there. maybe leave a "horisontal" rim/lip or something to give the top a bit of strength.

I looks as if the finish will be spekky

Cheers

[Grumpy John]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it's green, very green so it's gonna move like hell when it's finished.

[Ad de Crom]

John, the natural color of this bowl looks great, personaly I would like it to use a transparent colorless stain of lacquer for finishing.
For such a large bowl a wallthickness of 12mm is just fine.

Ad

[Cliff Rogers]

I'd tidy it up a bit & leave it chunky, about 20mm to 25mm wall thincknes with a 100mm foot.

[Sawdust Maker]

If it's green, I'd be inclined to leave it as is for about a year. Let it settle and clean it up then.
BTW Like the worm holes etc, they give it heaps of character

[TTIT]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it's green, very green so it's gonna move like hell when it's finished.Maybe not as much as you think! I just finished a bowl in Black Ti tree (melaleuca bracteata) that I roughed out 3 months ago and it didn't move much at all. On an 8" bowl I only had to take off about 4mm to get it true again.
As a footnote, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned - a little bit of tear-out that cleaned up with a shearscrape, sanded nicely and showed some nice colour. Little wonder a turner/collector mate in Townsville was keen to get hold of some!:2tsup:

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

What Cliff said. If it doesn't move much, fair enough. But if it does, you're covered and can remount it to make round again.

It'll be an Ooh-Ah bowl when it's finished. :2tsup:

[Ed Reiss]

John...if you ever thought about doing some carving on a bowl, this just might be the perfect candidate at the stage it's in now.

Really nice color & figure to that wood....like Skew said, it'll be a "Ooh-Ah"

[rsser]

Looks good John.

Wot Jim said.

I like the sloping top rim.

But keep a sharp eye on how it dries - my only attempt with green M. went so out of round as to be useless.

[Rum Pig]

What ever you do it should look fantastic I love the worm hole it give it character.

[Grumpy John]

Maybe not as much as you think! I just finished a bowl in Black Ti tree (melaleuca bracteata) that I roughed out 3 months ago and it didn't move much at all. On an 8" bowl I only had to take off about 4mm to get it true again.


Thanks for the heads up Vern


What Cliff said. If it doesn't move much, fair enough. But if it does, you're covered and can remount it to make round again.

It'll be an Ooh-Ah bowl when it's finished. :2tsup:

I've got it down to 20mm wallthickness nowl let's home it doesn't move too much. No two pieces of melaleuca I've turned have behaved in the same way, very unpredictable stuff I've found.



Looks good John.

Wot Jim said.

I like the sloping top rim.

But keep a sharp eye on how it dries - my only attempt with green M. went so out of round as to be useless.

I like the sloping rim also. I've seen your oval M. bowl, got one just like it :D.
Ern 'll probably need to make a trip out to your place to make use of you Cole Jaws so I can finish the foot. PM or email me when it's convenient.

Thanks everyone for the advice given so far, I'll post more pics later today.

[steck]

Nice looking piece there!
Can't wait to see it finished.
Looks like we have the same lathe - Jet 1642?

[Grumpy John]

....................
Looks like we have the same lathe - Jet 1642?


Yep.

[Grumpy John]

I've finished turning the inside of the bowl and started sanding. When I get down to the finer grit (320) I'm starting to get a lot of scratches.
I'm using a 50mm dia foam pad mounted in a pistol drill and changing the pads BEFORE they become clogged, also blowing away the dust with compressed air constantly. I'm also changing the direction of the lathe when I change the paper. I've tried spinning the lathe fast ~400 rpm down to ~75 rpm.
My thoughts are:
1. that the dust is getting trapped in the worm holes/cracks
and/or
2. the timber is too green to sand and I should wait till it is drier

Any thoughts/help greatly appreciated.

[rsser]

You can try a hairdryer if you think moisture is the problem. ... Feel the surface; if it feels cold and damp, it is ;-}

[Grumpy John]

You can try a hairdryer if you think moisture is the problem. ... Feel the surface; if it feels cold and damp, it is ;-}

Thanks Ern, I guess I should I use the coolest setting to avoid too much warping? BTW why aren't you out on the slopes, your trup to uNZud must hiv cost a pucket you should be out there enjoying ut.

[TTIT]

My guess would be grit and crud getting lifted from the holes. I use compressed air to blow the holes clear for each grit change on wormy/dirty pieces - don't know how you'd clean them out if you don't have a compressor though :shrug: . I doubt that a vacuum cleaner would be strong/thorough enough.

[Grumpy John]

.........also blowing away the dust with compressed air constantly.


........don't know how you'd clean them out if you don't have a compressor though :shrug: .

What more can I say:?

[TTIT]

Sorry John! Must be reading with one eye shut or something!:B

[Grumpy John]

That's o.k. Vern, thanks for the input anyway. Your post seems to confirm my thoughts, but how do I overcome the problem? :?

[Calm]

What more can I say:?

Geeeeeeeez your grumpy today:((:(( - get a job like the rest of us then you can abuse the customer :D:D:D:D:D:D That will give it time to dry.

BTW i llike the question to ern

Cheers

[Grumpy John]

Geeeeeeeez your grumpy today:((:(( - get a job like the rest of us then you can abuse the customer :D:D:D:D:D:D That will give it time to dry.

BTW i llike the question to ern

Cheers

Not grumpy (much), just annoyed at not being able to get rid of these scratches. Might have to give the sand blasted "weathered look" a try if these scratches continue to be a problem.

The job search isn't going too well. Managed to get some agency work the other day, 12 hours stacking shelves @ Myer's, just about killed me.

[Gra]

John have you tried wiping between grits with a tack cloth or a cloth with some turps in it. If i start to get that I will wipe the job over with some turps, it picks up the stuff I cant get off and evaporates quickly:2tsup: (I don't have a compressor in that shed)

[TTIT]

That's o.k. Vern, thanks for the input anyway. Your post seems to confirm my thoughts, but how do I overcome the problem? :?I had a similar problem once with grains of sand dribbling out of a hole in a piece of crotchwood at the most inconvenient time - usually about the 800grit stage :~ and the air couldn't get to it either. Good dose of CA kept them in place and allowed me to finish up.:U

[rsser]

FWIW the wood may also be soft (brilliant Sherlock!) and prone to scratching.

You could try to stabilise it with sanding sealer.

...

You are finish turning this green I take it.

Otherwise why bother.

Anycase, try hand sanding; ie. with bits of paper on a spinning piece. The paper's cheaper.

...

GJ, I trashed a knee skiing on Sat. That's why you're getting the benefit of my vast experience with wet Mel :rolleyes:

[Grumpy John]

FWIW the wood may also be soft (brilliant Sherlock!) and prone to scratching.

You could try to stabilise it with sanding sealer.

...

You are finish turning this green I take it.

Otherwise why bother.

Anycase, try hand sanding; ie. with bits of paper on a spinning piece. The paper's cheaper.

...

GJ, I trashed a knee skiing on Sat. That's why you're getting the benefit of my vast experience with wet Mel :rolleyes:

Hi Ern,
Sorry to hear about the knee, hope it's not too much of a bother on the flight back to Oz.

I'll respond to your points in order:
1. sent this message to Neil this morning:
Hi Neil,
I don't know if you've seen my Melaleuca Fruit Bowl thread, but I'm having trouble getting rid of scratches when using 320 grit paper? I was wondering if applying Sanding Sealer might help eliminate the scratches?
2. Finished with the inside and I don't think I'll be able to remount it when I've finished the outside and foot. I may be wrong (as if :rolleyes:) , but just in case....
3. do you mean like a flap disk i.e. cut a slot in a piece of dowell and thread a strip of sandpaper through the slot and then spin it using a pistol drill? I'll post a pic if you're not sure what I mean.

[Grumpy John]

I had a similar problem once with grains of sand dribbling out of a hole in a piece of crotchwood at the most inconvenient time - usually about the 800grit stage :~ and the air couldn't get to it either. Good dose of CA kept them in place and allowed me to finish up.:U

Good point Vern, did you use the runny CA 'cos all I have is the Selley Super Glue you get from the supermarket. If I use this should I poke it into the worm holes with a cotton bud or something similar?

Cheers
GJ

[TTIT]

Good point Vern, did you use the runny CA 'cos all I have is the Selley Super Glue you get from the supermarket. If I use this should I poke it into the worm holes with a cotton bud or something similar?

Cheers
GJ!! Selleys !! - bloody capitalists using the brand name stuff eh!!??:; The CA I use for fill jobs and such is the "7 tubes for 2$" stuff - doesn't have to be fancy and just pour it in (remove chuck with bowl still secured if you need to get the pour angle right). I only use the expensive thin CA when I'm filling with powders like brass and ebony.:B

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

You mean that the 7 for $2 isn't the expensive stuff? :oo: I'll 'ave to stop complaining about the price at the counter then...

But in this vase I think the cheap stuff is better than the thin CA for reasons other than just price. For starters, it doesn't penetrate the timber as deeply so you shouldn't [fingers Xed] end up with the "glue highlights" around the features.

Also, all you want to do is seal any grit in. It doesn't need to penetrate into the grit to do this, just seal the 'ole it's escaping from.

[Grumpy John]

OK I'Ve jsut finshd putttin 7 tusbe of cA on th bwl d fellng a littel light heded ad dissy. mst remberre to keepp sum nale pos]lsh removr hande for next tim i do ths

[rsser]

Sounds like you didn't step aside after filling, while sanding ... your eyes are fecked ;-}

[Grumpy John]

Sounds like you didn't step aside after filling, while sanding ... your eyes are fecked ;-}

Haven't started sanding yet, but I'll definately be standing to one side when I start the lathe. Been hit by flying CA before and I've learnt my lesson. The nail polish wouldn't have been much help as BOTH hands were stuck to the bowl for a while. Sometimes I remind myself of Homer Simpson. Doh! :D:D

[woodwork wally]

Hey John all that squeezin an gluin you need to check out the $2 shops coz some have ca in bottles for about $2.50 and its great for that sort of work also mate the hair dryer trick is not a bad thought :)or a fan heater for a while :)set back from the job a bit.
I think too that the wood may be tender and need to sit and harden for a couple of days in a mildly warm spot. I wouldnt sand blast it cos you will lose a lot of that lovely color :no: It has so much character and beauty that you really dont want to stuff it now :oo:. very sharp tool then hair dryer , then sanding sealer Light hand sand Then glow . hope you get it right mate:2tsup::D:D Regards for now WW.Wally




OK I'Ve jsut finshd putttin 7 tusbe of cA on th bwl d fellng a littel light heded ad dissy. mst remberre to keepp sum nale pos]lsh removr hande for next tim i do ths

[Cliff Rogers]

Did you try sanding with the compressed air going on it at the same time?

Direct the air under the leading edge of the sanding pad & don't put too much pressure on the pad.

This helps to stop the gunk build up on the sanding pad that dries with heat & leaves scratches.

I also think that it will be better if you can just be a bit patient & let it dry.

The Tassie Oak Burl platter that I did was still damp inside & the sanding process took me several days to finish.

[Grumpy John]

The CA's dried, the lightheadedness and dizziness have gone. I've given the inside of the bowl a wipe with sanding sealer and sanded the inside of the bowl down to 400 grit. Looking good with 2 coats of wood wipe oil, now I've only got the outside and bottom to do.

Thanks everyone for their help and advice.

Cliff, you're right I probably should have more patience but the wood just keeps calling to me and I can't help myself :no:.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

What? No pix of the foot? :oo::rolleyes::D

Looking good, John!

[rsser]

You wanna see GJ's foot Skew?

... hmm, there are other forums for this kind of thing.

[tea lady]

Cliff, you're right I probably should have more patience but the wood just keeps calling to me and I can't help myself :no:.

This is why one should always have 20 projects on the go at the same time.:cool: Gives more drying time, and you won't worry something to death.:rolleyes:

Looking good though.:2tsup:

[Grumpy John]

This is why one should always have 20 projects on the go at the same time.:cool: Gives more drying time, and you won't worry something to death.:rolleyes:

Looking good though.:2tsup:


I HAVE got 20 projects on the go, but being recently unemployed :C gives me soooo much free time.