End grain turning

[Festoolrules]

Is there a trick to turning end grain? I tried making a rolling pin out of a glued up stack of waste discs from my hole saw.

But when on the lathe I got massive chip out when the end grain presented to the chisel tip - regardless of whether I used a skew, gouge or whatever. I tried scrapping, high angle skew and eventually just sanded with 40 grit but this took a long time and very dusty.

I'm not an experienced turner I generally just scrape and sand...any tips please.

[bruceward51]

End grain requires a very different tool technique. At the heart of turning is a simple rule You try to slice through fibers in end grain and peel off fibers in side grain. If you try to peel end grain you risk chip out.
As a traditional turner (in contrast to a new tangled carbide bloke) I would use a sharp bowl gouge and aim for the cutting edge to meet the grain at 45 degrees - so you are slicing the grain from the side.
There are probably some videos on YouTube - look for using a bowl gouge.
if you don’t have a bowl gouge then you could use a spindle gouge in the same way. There is also a technique of using a scraper at an angle (sheer scraping) but that removes so little material it is only useful for finishing.
Finally a safety warning - if you have end grain in a spindle (including large knots) you need the be very wary of using a roughing gouge or skew chisel. You have a much higher risk of a severe catch or dig-in with the possibility of the job departing the lathe at high speed, the tool being ejected into your body or in extreme cases the tool breaking and throwing knife-shapes pieces around. It is worth getting at least some basic tool training on tool technique. And there is a very good reason that bowl gouges are more robust than other wood turning tools.
Learning to handle end grain is very worthwhile. It opens up a whole lot more opportunities and some of the nicest features in wood are around knots and cranky grain.
Bruce

[NeilS]

I would use a sharp bowl gouge and aim for the cutting edge to meet the grain at 45 degrees - so you are slicing the grain from the side.

There are probably some videos on YouTube - look for using a bowl gouge.



Yes, as Bruce has said, you are in effect turning the outside of a stack of small diameter straight sided bowls on top of each other there. Rubbing or gliding a gouge bevel along the piece as you cut is what I would do. For that job I would go with Stuart Batty's 40/40 grind to ensure you are slicing the side grain fibers before you peel off the shavings. The gouge handle would be held almost level for that cut. There are a number of videos of Stuart explaining all of that (https://www.google.com/search?tbm=vid&sxsrf=ALeKk03KyJ4AiuPjZdTJ4wCOHWAZ-fgmGA:1607042444752&q=Stuart+Batty&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq9rbQi7PtAhUnzjgGHVfWDhAQ8ccDKAR6BAgEEBQ&biw=1280&bih=578&dpr=2.5), at length!

A gentle sheer scrape (at 45°) could be used to refine the surface before sanding.

[Mobyturns]

Further to the above advice, take light "supported" cuts with a very sharp bowl gouge right from the start! Aggressive cuts will cause chip-out that is hard to remove even with a "#40 grit gouge." :-

Neil's comment "you are in effect turning the outside of a stack of small diameter straight sided bowls" is 100% correct. Probably the best turners to watch making "supported cuts" while bowl making are Glen Lucas and Mike Mahoney - both professional bowl makers who have perfected their technique to a sublime level. :2tsup:

I also reinforce Bruce's advice do not use & roughing gouge or skew chisel in this situation, unless you are a master turner! :D Additional to Bruce's comments, both tools can also drive large slivers of timber along the tool shaft into your fingers / hand if your technique is not to good. :oo: Like all rules there are exceptions however this is one rule best observed!

Now a Q. Why use "end grain" on a rolling pin? :?

[Festoolrules]

End grain requires a very different tool technique. At the heart of turning is a simple rule You try to slice through fibers in end grain and peel off fibers in side grain. If you try to peel end grain you risk chip out.
As a traditional turner (in contrast to a new tangled carbide bloke) I would use a sharp bowl gouge and aim for the cutting edge to meet the grain at 45 degrees - so you are slicing the grain from the side.
There are probably some videos on YouTube - look for using a bowl gouge.
if you don’t have a bowl gouge then you could use a spindle gouge in the same way. There is also a technique of using a scraper at an angle (sheer scraping) but that removes so little material it is only useful for finishing.
Finally a safety warning - if you have end grain in a spindle (including large knots) you need the be very wary of using a roughing gouge or skew chisel. You have a much higher risk of a severe catch or dig-in with the possibility of the job departing the lathe at high speed, the tool being ejected into your body or in extreme cases the tool breaking and throwing knife-shapes pieces around. It is worth getting at least some basic tool training on tool technique. And there is a very good reason that bowl gouges are more robust than other wood turning tools.
Learning to handle end grain is very worthwhile. It opens up a whole lot more opportunities and some of the nicest features in wood are around knots and cranky grain.
Bruce

I have enrolled in a summer school wood turning course at Sturt School for Wood in Mittagong next Jan21.

[NeilS]

Richard Raffan usually teaches that Sturt woodturning school. If he is doing it again this summer, you're not going to get better tuition in Australia (or elsewhere) for now.