My big one.

[letzzzgo]

Hello Ern

Thought I'd let you know how I'm going with that green piece of elm you gave me (heavy bugger!). I managed to block it down using a band saw to around 400mm diameter. I attached a face plate and set the woodfast to the slowest speed (250 rpm). I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what might happen (never turned anything as big as this before). She perfomed beautifully, smooth as! I used a Sorby 1/2" bowl gouge to turn the outside diameter concentric, without any difficulties (refer diagrams). I hope in the next day or two to rough turn it to shape before letting it slowly dry out under the house.
Unfortunately, things are happening a little slower than one would like. This is because I am in the middle of painting the inside of the house - what a bummer! I need more shed time ... :~

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[Pat]

John, it looks ready to be cored for a matched set of bowls.

[Sawdust Maker]

geez
why paint when you can turn? :D

[Grumpy John]

John, it looks ready to be cored for a matched set of bowls.

John you are welcome to borrow my Woodcut Corer if you need one. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[tea lady]

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151423Ooooooh! That IS a big one. :2tsup:

[Sturdee]

Looking good John, I'll be watching your progress with interest.

Peter.

[rsser]

Good workout John.

[letzzzgo]

John, it looks ready to be cored for a matched set of bowls.


Pat, good idea but I don't have appropriate coring tool for that.


John you are welcome to borrow my Woodcut Corer if you need one. Send me a PM if you're interested.


Thanks, John. If you lived a bit closer, I may have taken you up on your kind offer. Besides, I need a bit of practice green turning the inside of the bowl. :)


Looking good John, I'll be watching your progress with interest.

Peter.

Thanks, Peter. Any chance we'll be seeing that nice piece of black wattle that you got from Ern in a future post?

[rsser]

Just an aside, when you finish turning the rough-out, ubeaut's Shithot Waxtik (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/waxtik.htm) on its own is a ripper finish for Elm. Fills the pores and provides a nice lustre.

[letzzzgo]

Ooooooh! That IS a big one. :2tsup:

It sure is, TL, and very heavyyyyyyyy ..... :wink:

[Sturdee]

Thanks, Peter. Any chance we'll be seeing that nice piece of black wattle that you got from Ern in a future post?

Yes, but I have a few more urgent projects to do.

Like finishing of the collection of sanding aids/tools that I'm making, make 2 sets of miniature turning tools, some more specialized scrapers, a longworth chuck now that I have a small faceplate for it, more handles and a few tool rests.

The immediate roundtoit list never seems to get smaller before I can play .:C


Peter.

[letzzzgo]

Just an aside, when you finish turning the rough-out, ubeaut's Shithot Waxtik (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/waxtik.htm) on its own is a ripper finish for Elm. Fills the pores and provides a nice lustre.


Ern, I have yet to try Shithot Waxtic on any timber, I'll keep it in mind for when I get around to completing the bowl. At the moment I've coated the outside with end grain sealer to slow down the drying process.

[letzzzgo]

Well I've managed to slip down into the work shop this morning to complete the roughing out stage of the elm bowl. Unfortunately my bowl has shrunk a little. (T.L. it happens to all of us at some time!!!) Original turned size measured 390mm x 220mm, & now ... 365mm x 155mm, this due to a split in the timber that needed to be removed (check out image) together with a significant amount of pith.
After turning an appropriate size tenon on the base, I attached a set of bulldog jaws to my scroll chuck & clamped the (smaller) elm blank. I then attacked the inside of the bowl with my gouge. It was a lot of fun. I wasn't quite sure how elm behaves while drying out, so I left around 40mm wall thickness to finish off the bowl down the track.
The bowl has been sealed with end sealer & placed in a poly bag with shavings. Now where's that paint brush ... coming love!!! :roll:

Cheers
John

[rsser]

Coming along nicely John. There's some good figure there.

Pity about the split.

It may have been there as a felling shock but may also have developed while the piece was mounted. Did you wrap it in plastic between sessions?

Good luck.

[dai sensei]

Certainly looking good so far John :2tsup:

I would however left a centre post on the inside so it could have been remounted between centres to reset the tennon if necessary. Something one of the guys at the local club taught me. Works well if you have one of those football bowls and you want to pick the best orientation when finish turning.

Look forward to the finished product.

[letzzzgo]

Coming along nicely John. There's some good figure there.

Pity about the split.

It may have been there as a felling shock but may also have developed while the piece was mounted. Did you wrap it in plastic between sessions?

Good luck.


Ern, the split was already there as I noticed it when I band sawed the piece. All part of woodturning I guess, and yes the figure is pretty good! Thanks for the tip with the plastic, although I did apply end sealer between sessions.

Cheers, John

[letzzzgo]

Certainly looking good so far John :2tsup:

I would however left a centre post on the inside so it could have been remounted between centres to reset the tennon if necessary. Something one of the guys at the local club taught me. Works well if you have one of those football bowls and you want to pick the best orientation when finish turning.

Look forward to the finished product.

Hi dai sensei
Thanks for the advice regarding centre post ... good idea, I'll keep it in mind for next time. I did however leave a tenon inside the bowl for later remounting (check out pic 2). I'm not sure if this is the norm, but it is worth a try!

Cheers
John

[artme]

Looking good John and thanks for the WIP.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

I love the look of that grain!!!:):):)

[rsser]

Ern, I have yet to try Shithot Waxtic on any timber, I'll keep it in mind for when I get around to completing the bowl.

IMO the Waxtic is Neil's rearguard action to support men who don't eat quiche, to quote a phrase.

Well worth a try or three.

[artme]

IMO the Waxtic is Neil's rearguard action to support men who don't eat quiche, to quote a phrase.

Well worth a try or three.

:rofl::rofl:

[letzzzgo]

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my 1st big bowl. Will let you see the finished product after elm has been seasoned. Thanks to Ern and Mr Anon for Elm, I enjoyed the green turning experience. I'm now off to buy some Shithot Waxtik!! :2tsup:

Cheers, John

[rsser]

First time I used it was on bare Elm. Great finish and p*ss easy.

Have just been finishing a Camphor Laurel bowl. Despite 3 coats of Danish Oil there were still some open pores so I hit it with the Stig, sorry, the Stik. Finish was a bit uneven so it got a 2nd coat. Still wasn't happy so I cut it back with EEE and then whacked on a coat of Ubeaut Trad Wax. Good result. Next time with CL I'll go straight to the Stik and see if that works better.

The thing about it is that it's a hard wax. You spin the piece and 'crayon' it on, then press hard with a soft rag. You need a good bit of friction to melt and spread it.