Thread: Grain tear out

D'day Gordon

I don't want to offend, but, maybe it is not the sharpness of the tools but the expertise of the user. Apart from sharpness of tools the more important thing is technique, if it is neither of these then maybe you should look at the timber itself.

Are you scraping the timber or cutting it with sheer cuts? If it occurs during sheer cutting then again I suggest you look at the timber.

Does the grain also tear with sanding? If so, then once again look at the timber, or better still throw it away and use another piece.

Are your tools losing their edge very quickly? If so, are you using High speed steel tools or a cheap Chinese set? If cheap set get some good ones, if high speed steel, throw the timber away.

Finally, and once again no offence is intended. Sanding sealer will never fix poor technique or lousy wood. They both need to be replaced.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

[This message has been edited by ubeaut (edited 11 May 2001).]

G'day Gordon,

I am very much a newbie myself and have been turning a little bit of Camphor Laurel I have gotten from Graeme at Southern Woodturning. What I find works for me is to make the final cut extra extra carefully, I make sure my grip on everything is tight and the chisel is not chattering accross the bowl. I usually also give my chisel a pass over the grinder before my last cuts as well for extra sharpness. Because of my newbieness I usually start sanding at 120grit which does a good job of removing any tearout left behind.

A top sanding tool I got the other day (again from Graeme at Southern Woodturning) is Vic Wood's hand held orbital sander thingy (I think it is listed here on ubeaut somewhere). I can get right in with it and not burn my fingies, gives a fantastic raw finish.

Hope this helps.

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

Originally posted by Glenn M:
G'day Gordon,

I am very much a newbie myself and have been turning a little bit of Camphor Laurel I have gotten from Graeme at Southern Woodturning. What I find works for me is to make the final cut extra extra carefully, I make sure my grip on everything is tight and the chisel is not chattering accross the bowl. I usually also give my chisel a pass over the grinder before my last cuts as well for extra sharpness. Because of my newbieness I usually start sanding at 120grit which does a good job of removing any tearout left behind.

A top sanding tool I got the other day (again from Graeme at Southern Woodturning) is Vic Wood's hand held orbital sander thingy (I think it is listed here on ubeaut somewhere). I can get right in with it and not burn my fingies, gives a fantastic raw finish.

Hope this helps.

Sorry I didn't make myself clear.
I do shear cut with HSS tools. I also have a powered orbital sander which I copied from a friend. I have turned other timbers with no problem and probably the C.L. is junk, but I am a Scots-Australian and don't like throwing anything away! If there are no cures, I may have to!
Gordon

Should smell nice as it burns

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

Good on ya Gordon. Sounds like it might be a problem with the particular pieces of wood. Glen has probably hit the nail right on the head with one of the better solutions, and that is using the Rotary Sander. This is probably one of the best purpose built tools for woodturners to come along in years.

It is nothing like using a sanding pad in a drill or a random orbital. This one is driven by the rotation of the timber in the lathe and will give you virtually a line free finish with no evidence of sanding at all. It should quickly eradicate the tearout so long as it is not too deep. Sanding to 320 grit with the Rotary Sander is like sanding up to 800 with conventional sanding.

The sanding disks outlast those on a drill powered sander by about 10 to 1 and you can now also get lambswool pads to fit it that will help with waxing etc. It retails for around $60 and is the best value for money tool on the market today.

This has been an unpaid, unsponsored, unnecessary, add for the greatest, woodturners sanding device in the world.

Cheers - Neil

PS Click on the highlighted link above or here for info on the Rotary Sander.