Thread: Little Burl dish.

Nice piece of wood but IMHO the black line spoils it

It gives something for the eye to hold on to instead of skating off the edge. Anyway. Its sold so I'd better find a way of finishing it.

It looks really good.

And the black line sets it apart from others.

AM, I have been using a power carving disk on my Angle Grinder to take of the spigots of bowls that are either to big (>500mm) or too irregular for my longsworth chuck . Place on an outside table, a sandbag, then the piece and grind off the spigot to even, then use a ROS to sand. You can even carve a slight dish into the bum for it to sit better.

I know that the above method might not be traditional method but it removes the danger of losing the piece due to chucking error.

It's an interesting piece. I have not turned any burls as yet.

Nice bowl TL. Edges like this keep the mind focused.
Ted

Originally Posted by Pat

AM, I have been using a power carving disk on my Angle Grinder to take of the spigots of bowls that are either to big (>500mm) or too irregular for my longsworth chuck . Place on an outside table, a sandbag, then the piece and grind off the spigot to even, then use a ROS to sand. You can even carve a slight dish into the bum for it to sit better.

I know that the above method might not be traditional method but it removes the danger of losing the piece due to chucking error.

This might be a little small for that approach.

Make sure you count your fingers before and after putting the final finish on. It looks like a very efficient knuckle remover.
Lovely piece of timber, great finish so far, and will look great when completed.

Alan...

Originally Posted by tea lady

It gives something for the eye to hold on to instead of skating off the edge. Anyway. Its sold so I'd better find a way of finishing it.

TL, the article in the Sydney Woodturners newsletter starting at page 6 may help to do the reverse chucking in the absence of a vacuum chuck. Especially the picture on page 10 would be the way to go.

Don't know why they call it a Straka chuck as the rest of the world calls it a donut chuck.


Peter.

It's a beauty Tea Lady.
I like the flared out curve on the rim.
Clean lines & a great piece of burl.
Jack Straka helped develop that setup according to an Alan Lacer article in the AAW periodical a few years ago.

They were doughnut chucks to most of us here before that article too.

If you are interested in the article by Lacer try the link below.
http://woodturninglearn.net/articles/StrakaChuck.pdf

Tea Lady,

I finish the bottom of that type of turning by making a sanding disk of timber 150mm or so round, face slightly convex. I mount a piece of 80 grit with double sided carpet tape, run the lathe at 800 and give the spigot a light swipe across the edge of the disk, rotate the piece, repeat, etc.

When I get it close to flat or slightly concave, I center the bottom over the center of the sanding disk and get a little concavity in the bottom. Then I mount finer sandpaper and repeat, 120, 180, 220, 320.

Then I stick a piece of 220 twice the size of the bottom of the bowl down on a flat surface and scoot the bottom of the bowl around in a circle, turn the bowl a quarter turn, repeat a few times.

When I get a 10 -15mm flat around the rim of the bottom I do the same on 320.

Then I hand rub Tung oil on the bottom to match the top. Almost everything is finished with Tung oil.

Beautiful piece. Isn't it wonderful when someone says "I want that" before it is even finished.

If I have a good tail center impression in the spigot, I will sometimes make a padded round about 3/4 the size of the bowl and using that as a friction chuck bring up the tail center into the impression and finish the bottom except for a little nub under the tail center.

The nub is removed by placing the bowl on a padded surface, chisel off the nub, sand by hand or with a sanding disk in a drill, and finish.

The risk there is if I have a catch and the bowl is flung out of the lathe ...........

That is a beautiful piece!

Well done, a lovely little burl, though I agree with Neil on the black. Never seen a chuck like that, what is it ? Phil

Hi TL.
Looks like a nice little bowl, could you not use the spigot
for a foot? How did you make the black line?

TL very nicely done. With finishing - do you have a center on the tenon? If you did have one when you started turning the blank you could reduce the area above the tenon as much as possible then use a friction chuck (face plate really) to hold the piece as you lightly turn away the tenon.

A friction chuck is essentially a face plate with a soft facing to protect your finished surface but with sufficient grip or friction to actually drive the piece. Requires tail stock support, low speeds and caution but is a viable alternative when no other solution is available. You will still have to remove a small nub by hand though. Just Google "friction chuck woodturning" but as usual there are crazies out there.