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artful bodger
20th November 2016, 08:10 PM
Turned up a couple of Australian cedar bowls today. Although both bits had quite nice figure, both bits also had defects that needed attention.
Dimension wise both bowls ended up being 287mm in diameter. One is 73mm high and the other 66mm.
While turning the outside shape of the first one, there was a hole in the heartwood and another hole nearby. A quick blow with compressed air indicated both holes were joined.
Decided to mix up some 5 minute epoxy with the finer shavings/dust that was on the bed of the lathe and then force the mixture in one hole till it emerged from the other, indicating the hole was completely filled.
As you prolly know 5 minute epoxy takes generally longer than 5 minutes to really harden so I removed that blank and started on the next one.
Turning the outside shape of bowl 2 it was apparent there was going to be 2 "contained" cracks in this one. It was hard to tell if they were going to go right through to the inside once the inside was hollowed. If they weren't, that would be fine. Cracks on the outside don't really matter that much.
Enough yaffling for now here are some pics
400154This is the first one photographed with the defect unseen.
400156And with the defect, the bit in the middle about an inch down from the rim. The epoxy and sawdust did a pretty good job of hiding it and one would hope a potential gallery would not knock back the piece because of it.
The second bowl upon turning the inside unfortunately proved that the cracks went all the way through. As the outside shape had already been turned I decided on some wood filler. Took a scrap piece with a bit of oil on it down to the hardware shop to help choose the best coloured filler. Filled the cracks and things looked okay, till the bowl was oiled. The repair job here is obvious, sticks out like a sore toe.
400157 About one o'clock and down from the rim, it's pretty obvious.
400158Or 6 o'clock in this one.
Wondering if one can get a brown coloured "Artline" type permanent marker to darken the filler.
I guess in a perfect world no turning blanks would have defects in them.
Both bowls also show the odd sign of a pesky borer but not enough to warrant a repair job.
Strangely enough, neither blank had any sign of defect before turning.
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday though. Doubt "Pastor Flaggon" missed me in church this morning.
400159400160400161Cheers.

powderpost
20th November 2016, 08:35 PM
Some nice grain patterns there. Defects, natural features, call them what you will, they annoy me. That is one of the reasons I go down the cut and glue track. Even so those bowls/platters look good to me, nice and simple. :2tsup:

Jim

pommyphil
21st November 2016, 07:51 AM
Lovely wood, lovely bowls, I would have made the bases wider for practical reasons ( the banana test) but the shape would not be as pretty.

Phil.

pommyphil
21st November 2016, 01:33 PM
Jaws400235

Christos
23rd November 2016, 11:55 AM
They have very nice figure in them. I would also be doing the same thing to ensure that these pieces are saved. I have never used wood filler, only used epoxy and tinted it with some colour to either highlight or sort of blend in. I have also used coffee grounds to get a paste consistency to fill the holes. One thing thou is to make it a little proud as it sometimes sinks lower into the surface.