Ruined bowls!

[Tassie Boy]

Well today i had planned to turn 2 bowls out of some eucalyptus burls i got at a market for about $2 each.

One was about 25cm diameter and the other about 10cm.
I had finished turning the outside of the smaller one and had almost finished hollowing it.... then i did a few final cuts on the inside and then i see daylight..:mad: :mad: :mad: DAHMKIT.....

I said to myself.... i wont do that again on the bigger burl..
the bigger one was a bit more unstable and had more cracks in it..
so anyway i finished the outside of the bigger burl and just started hollowing it... when... BANG... clunk..clunk...clunk!
I turned around and saw that half the burl was lying about 10m away on the other side of the shed!:mad: :mad: :mad: DAHMKIT..

It was lucky i wasn't standing in the way of it!

Here are some pics...:

Overall not a good day in the shed!!:mad:

[hughie]

[I said to myself.... i wont do that again on the bigger burl..
the bigger one was a bit more unstable and had more cracks in it..
so anyway i finished the outside of the bigger burl and just started hollowing it... when... BANG... clunk..clunk...clunk!
I turned around and saw that half the burl was lying about 10m away on the other side of the shed!:mad: :mad: :mad: DAHMKIT..


Hey Dylan,
Get some araldite epoxy resin glue from Bunnies/coles/woolies etc. You will find that the split burl has so many faults, resin veins, etc that you wont see it when its all done :)
I have done it a few times and it has worked for me. I have just plugged a hole in CL bowl with it.
Araldite is more than up to the task as it was developed for aircraft construction during WWII ie the Mosquito bomber.
The other one, Oh well, hmmm maybe put it down to experience :o

[Tassie Boy]

Hey Dylan,
Get some araldite epoxy resin glue from Bunnies/coles/woolies etc. You will find that the split burl has so many faults, resin veins, etc that you wont see it when its all done :)
I have done it a few times and it has worked for me. I have just plugged a hole in CL bowl with it.
Araldite is more than up to the task as it was developed for aircraft construction during WWII ie the Mosquito bomber.
The other one, Oh well, hmmm maybe put it down to experience :o

Will it be strong enough ..
i dont want it happening again:confused:
Cheers

[ss_11000]

hard luck mate, its difficult to work with burls.

[Cliff Rogers]

Yeah what a bugger.... write it off to experience & practice. :cool:

Burls with that much gum inclusion are better as carvings than turnings, less likely to hit you in the head. :D

I have a couple of pieces like that & I turned them into carved fruit platters, they look really good.

[hughie]

Will it be strong enough .. i dont want it happening again:confused:


The glue will hold.

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/mosquito.htm

http://www.warbirdalley.com/mossie.htm


Although the burl maybe fragile. Get it back together and have a look at it fill the smaller cracks with CA, keep the speed down as well. You may have to wrap gaffer tape or something simlar around the outside as you do the inside.
What ya got to lose,its stuffed now :D

[Purpleheart]

I'm guessing people are saying you can glue the "big" one back together.

For the small one with the hole in the bottom, chuck it back up and turn a nice big even hole in the bottom. Then get a different contrasting piece of wood, and turn it down to fit. Glue it in, and turn it down smooth with the rest of the bowl. Now you have a feature piece.........

[Purpleheart]

PS - I got sick of chasing bowls around the workshop. Why do you think I started building cues....(Just a joke). Keep at it mate !!!

[Tassie Boy]

The glue will hold.

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/mosquito.htm

http://www.warbirdalley.com/mossie.htm


Although the burl maybe fragile. Get it back together and have a look at it fill the smaller cracks with CA, keep the speed down as well. You may have to wrap gaffer tape or something simlar around the outside as you do the inside.
What ya got to lose,its stuffed now :D

Well if it can hold planes then it can hold bowls:D
I will give that go some time soon..
Thanks..

Purpleheart: mmmm.. mabye i should start cues too:D :D

[Purpleheart]

Tassie Boy,

There is nothing that makes you feel more dispondant that a project that you think has failed. We've all been there.

But don't throw it away or write it off.

I have any number of works that haven't turned (pardon the pun :) ) out the way I initially hoped, so they just get put on the "back burner".

One of my WIP cues has a problem, and I have just set it aside for a few weeks, till I am calm enough to re-evaluate the project.

Eventually you will build up the enthusiasm to "fix" the problem, and it will turn out better then you ever imagined. It just takes a bit more time and a bit more work.

Patience is the key word....

Cheers..........

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

As has been said, glue it back together and see what you've got. If any pieces are missing, think about staining some epoxy for use as a filler.

IMHO, the most useful hints that have been mentioned are: A: (by Hughie) wrap it in gaffer tape or similar! :D Even when doing the out side... leave a section uncovered for turning, finish it, stop the lathe to re-tape and uncover the next bit down for turning. B: (by Purpleheart) put it aside for a week or three and come back to it later as a fresh start.

The first time I entered a turning comp, one of my pieces was a salvaged burl that'd exploded several times while turning. :( It was the only piece to come home with a prize (first! :D ) but it had amassed enough points by itself that I was moved from "Novice" category to "Pro" in future comps. [sigh] Oddly enough, I hate that piece.

So don't toss it! Either see if you can salvage it, or look at is as a smaller blank that needs a bit of a clean-up.