camphour bowl wip!

[smiife]

Hi guys,
A while ago i picked up some CL (feb 14 ) so today
I thought it was time to cut it up and see
what mess i could make of it, firstly cut to bowl size
with my little helper, and then on the lathe......
started out ok , but then a few cracks, voids and a big punky
bit appeared:o anyway i carried on and did the bottom of
what could be a bowl, not sure if this is going to work out.....
any suggestions at this stage would gratefully received !!
Still quite wet, but i don, t mind turning wet wood and gotta
love a long weekend....still got tomorrow to finish off !!
Thought a few piccy, s would help.....
certainly made a mess but the shed smells nice now !

[chuck1]

Looking good smiife! Maybe just knock the punky bits out and keep going. And watch your fingers when sanding inside.
It's got some great grain in it!

[Pat]

An application of Earle's Wood Hardener or dilute PVA glue to help the punky bits.

Wet Camphor, is there any better?:roll:

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It's looking good! I've always loved turning CL, although the fumes can be overpowering at times. (Particularly after spending a day thicknessing/jointing several pallets worth of CL slabs in a small shop... :rolleyes:)

For the vast majority of my pieces I simply flood any punky sections/cracks with thin CA, then fill the voids with epoxy resin tinted to suit the timber. Good ol' coffee grounds 'n epoxy are a wonderful colour match for a good many timber species. You need to ensure the timber edges are clean enough for the epoxy to make a good bond, though.

I have also used dilute PVA, but NEVER, EVER in large areas or where the the blank is of large diameter... I really don't like risking large chunks coming adrift whilst I'm spinning. Personally I wouldn't try it with that blank.

As you say the CL is still quite wet I'd be inclined to finish rough-turning, then let it dry for a month or six. Mainly to improve how whatever you stabilise it with is soaked into the punk. A dry sponge will suck up more water than a wet one, as it were. ;)

[smiife]

Looking good smiife! Maybe just knock the punky bits out and keep going. And watch your fingers when sanding inside.
It's got some great grain in it!

Hi charlie,
Yeah,! Thats what I thought ,, keep going and see what happens :o



An application of Earle's Wood Hardener or dilute PVA glue to help the punky bits.

Wet Camphor, is there any better?:roll:

Hi pat,
No mate nothing better , might have to try the glue/hardener
Thanks ,,good Idea :2tsup:




It's looking good! I've always loved turning CL, although the fumes can be overpowering at times. (Particularly after spending a day thicknessing/jointing several pallets worth of CL slabs in a small shop... :rolleyes:)

For the vast majority of my pieces I simply flood any punky sections/cracks with thin CA, then fill the voids with epoxy resin tinted to suit the timber. Good ol' coffee grounds 'n epoxy are a wonderful colour match for a good many timber species. You need to ensure the timber edges are clean enough for the epoxy to make a good bond, though.

I have also used dilute PVA, but NEVER, EVER in large areas or where the the blank is of large diameter... I really don't like risking large chunks coming adrift whilst I'm spinning. Personally I wouldn't try it with that blank.

As you say the CL is still quite wet I'd be inclined to finish rough-turning, then let it dry for a month or six. Mainly to improve how whatever you stabilise it with is soaked into the punk. A dry sponge will suck up more water than a wet one, as it were. ;)

Hi skew,
Good thoughts there ,,,,thanks for your Ideas,
much appreciated :2tsup:

[dai sensei]

Don't use wood hardener, unless you can leave it for months, it may skin quickly but takes month to harden and will cause the timber to continue to move. The blanks I hardened and thought were set when I put them in a container are like spirals 1 year later. PVA never sets properly when really thick

Use thin CA to soak rotten bits then thick or medium CA (and leave for a week - no accelerator) or cast with resin to fill the larger holes. Alternatively for the larger holes fill with something, like coffee grinds/stone/glow powder whatever, with thin CA building it up in small layers (no accelerator).

[smiife]

Don't use wood hardener, unless you can leave it for months, it may skin quickly but takes month to harden and will cause the timber to continue to move. The blanks I hardened and thought were set when I put them in a container are like spirals 1 year later. PVA never sets properly when really thick

Use thin CA to soak rotten bits then thick or medium CA (and leave for a week - no accelerator) or cast with resin to fill the larger holes. Alternatively for the larger holes fill with something, like coffee grinds/stone/glow powder whatever, with thin CA building it up in small layers (no accelerator).


Hi neil,
Better order up big on the CA glue, and start drinking a
lot more coffee, who do I know who drinks a lot of coffee ?:U
The bowl is in a bag of shavings at the moment so I might
try your suggestion on the weekend, thanks for your thoughts:2tsup:

[dai sensei]

....The bowl is in a bag of shavings..

Is it wet still? If so just leave until it is dry and see what happens to the holes. I was assuming it was dry. DON'T cast resin on wet wood, ever. I wouldn't even fill the hole with filler & CA if the wood is wet. If you try filling the hole with CA and filler it may develop white bits as the CA reacts with the moisture

[smiife]

Is it wet still? If so just leave until it is dry and see what happens to the holes. I was assuming it was dry. DON'T cast resin on wet wood, ever. I wouldn't even fill the hole with filler & CA if the wood is wet. If you try filling the hole with CA and filler it may develop white bits as the CA reacts with the moisture

Hi neil,
Yeah, it is still wet , I picked it up feb 2014 , but only cut it
up on the weekend, , like you say I think I will leave It for
awhile , thanks for your advice ,:2tsup:

[smiife]

Hi guys ,
Couldn, t wait , thought i would see what it was like today !
Started out hogging the inside out and their were a few
strange noises , so wrapped it up with shrink wrap, that
soon came off so put some tape on with the plastic wrap
that worked for a while , ended up just using some thick/wide
masking tape just to make sure it stayed together :o
Still not finished yet but not looking too bad !
i sanded to 800 and 1 coat of DO, just have to wait and see
what happens next , thanks for looking

[Rod Gilbert]

Looking very good Smiify masking tape holds together well you have done a great job here a great looking piece.
Regards Rod.

[smiife]

Looking very good Smiify masking tape holds together well you have done a great job here a great looking piece.
Regards Rod.

Hi rod,
Thanks for your comments very much appreciated:2tsup:
Yes , the masking tape did work well and left no residue !

[Christos]

I can see this being quite a nice artistic piece. How thin are the walls?

[smiife]

I can see this being quite a nice artistic piece. How thin are the walls?

Hi christos,
Thanks for your comments, just went out to measure it
approx 4/5mm,( couldn, t find my calipers) , but where
the voids are It is already starting to move:o:o:o
Should be Interesting to see what happens next !

[Paul39]

Hi christos,
Thanks for your comments, just went out to measure it
approx 4/5mm,( couldn, t find my calipers) , but where
the voids are It is already starting to move:o:o:o
Should be Interesting to see what happens next !

Lovely piece, I hope it stays together. A little curling or twisting would not offend me.

[smiife]

Lovely piece, I hope it stays together. A little curling or twisting would not offend me.

Hi paul
Yeah...had a look this morning and it.s
Moved even more !
I don.t mind if it does ..gives it mote character ☺

[Sawdust Maker]

nice piece - will be interesting to see how much it moves

[Pratty]

Personnaly i would have got rather nervous getting to that stage with such large chunks missing but i am a very novice turner lol, do you not get kick back when turning or are you turning at a higher speed or slower speed , could be a valuble lesson learnt here for myself, thanks in advance. :2tsup:





Hi guys,
A while ago i picked up some CL (feb 14 ) so today
I thought it was time to cut it up and see
what mess i could make of it, firstly cut to bowl size
with my little helper, and then on the lathe......
started out ok , but then a few cracks, voids and a big punky
bit appeared:o anyway i carried on and did the bottom of
what could be a bowl, not sure if this is going to work out.....
any suggestions at this stage would gratefully received !!
Still quite wet, but i don, t mind turning wet wood and gotta
love a long weekend....still got tomorrow to finish off !!
Thought a few piccy, s would help.....
certainly made a mess but the shed smells nice now !

[smiife]

[QitE=Pratty;1877851]personnaly i would have got rather nervous getting to that stage with such large chunks missing but i am a very novice turner lol, do you not get kick back when turning or are you turning at a higher speed or slower speed , could be a valuble lesson learnt here for myself, thanks in advance. :2tsup:[/QUOTE]

Hi pratty,
Once I had turned the tenon and bottom of the bowl
I started turning the Inside and turned up the speed
I heard a different sound like a clicking noise , that is
why It, s important to listen to what is happening as
well as watching.!....I did wrap It in plastic wrap but
was not very sucessful, so I used masking tape which
worked quite well,
It Is still drying out and distorting quite a lot :o
Don, t be nervous about turning things like this
just be careful and enjoy yourself,,, at the end of
the day It, s only a piece of wood:doh: