PDA

View Full Version : crepe myrtle bowl from an L plater



mick59wests
1st January 2013, 06:31 PM
Hi all,

after asking my previous questions and getting fantastic responses, I thought I would post the finished bowl I was working on.
It is crepe myrtle approx 16cm wide and 11cm tall.

It is finished with EEE, Glow and u-beaut Traditional Wax. It is the first time I have tried adding wax to anything I have turned but am not totally sure of the benefits of doing this - I just felt like 'having a go' - at this stage that is mostly what I am doing anyway.

I was told you could turn crepe myrtle very thin and the sides are around 4mm. Unfortunately I had gotten down to this and still had tool marks (seen in the close up photo) but was too worried about breaking the bowl to go any thinner - I put it down to me going beyond my limits. However I will never know my limits until I go beyond them :)

I am still thinking of removing the spigot (bandsaw and sanding) but will probably wait and see how well the bowl survives first.

I am very interested in Feedback / opinions. I consider myself thick skinned so am happy if people let loose :D . Although on any close inspection, the turning is a bit 'how you going' I like the shape and finish.

This was turned from a tree cut down around 8 months ago so I am still worried about cracking. The base is much thicker than the sides, so this makes me worry even more. I currently have it filled and wrapped in newspaper in a plastic bag (which I plan to check regularly). During the week or so it took me to turn, after each session, I wrapped it in newspaper. I did have a tiny bit of cracking (did the superglue treatment) but am certainly worried I still have major cracking to come. Any thoughts on this would be (as always) most appreciated.

thanks (in advance)
Mick

RETIRED
1st January 2013, 08:56 PM
Not bad for a first effort. Finish and design come with technique which comes with practise, practise, practise and then some more practise.

powderpost
1st January 2013, 09:22 PM
A good effort. :2tsup: Make another ten, similar in design, you will get "the feel" of what is happening by then. Be aware also that newspaper may leave the news printed in reverse on the bowl. I would preferably store it in a box of shavings.
Well done..
Jim

artme
1st January 2013, 10:13 PM
That's OK Like the others say, practice is the best way to perfection!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

mick59wests
2nd January 2013, 01:58 PM
A good effort. :2tsup: Make another ten, similar in design, you will get "the feel" of what is happening by then. Be aware also that newspaper may leave the news printed in reverse on the bowl. I would preferably store it in a box of shavings.
Well done..
Jim

Jim,
thanks for the advice - I have now enclosed the bowl in woodchips and will still keep an eye on it.
cheers
Mick

wheelinround
2nd January 2013, 04:24 PM
Like the shape and style of bowl grain looks good to. Yes testing limits is hard I have gone to 5mm thin maybe less on small stuff and survived and yet gone through a few small items also its :C Yet to do it with a bigger vessle.

When it is stable you could reverse mount on a jam chuck and cut off by hand rather than turn then sand but being that thin I doubt even using the BS would be a good idea. Sanding might be the way to go.

dr4g0nfly
3rd January 2013, 01:21 AM
Mick,

if I may a couple of suggestions.

1. You presumably tried to make the largest shape you can out of your bit of wood, yes we all do it (don't we!). Always leave a bit for waste, it will allow you to shape your foot better, and

2. A trick I use with green timber is around the waste wood I tighten a Jubilee Clip (you call them Pipe Clamps or some-such). It holds the timber tightly and prevents any cracks from creeping from the thick timber up through the thinner wall sections. You do need to tighten the clamps every couple of days as the wood dries - if not - in becoming slack the cracks can (and do) creep).

I've quick snapped a couple of pics to help explain, the first is a stack of some of my drying vases with clamp s in place, and the second shows how the base has cracked on a cherry one but it is retained by the clamp and not reached up into the vase body.

mick59wests
3rd January 2013, 09:13 AM
Mick,

if I may a couple of suggestions.

1. You presumably tried to make the largest shape you can out of your bit of wood, yes we all do it (don't we!). Always leave a bit for waste, it will allow you to shape your foot better, and

2. A trick I use with green timber is around the waste wood I tighten a Jubilee Clip (you call them Pipe Clamps or some-such). It holds the timber tightly and prevents any cracks from creeping from the thick timber up through the thinner wall sections. You do need to tighten the clamps every couple of days as the wood dries - if not - in becoming slack the cracks can (and do) creep).

I've quick snapped a couple of pics to help explain, the first is a stack of some of my drying vases with clamp s in place, and the second shows how the base has cracked on a cherry one but it is retained by the clamp and not reached up into the vase body.

Dragonfly - very much appreciated. I especially like the tip on the clamps but also appreciate that getting the largest shape from the wood is not necessarily the best result.
cheers
Mick