Thread: End grain turning

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

Originally Posted by bruceward51

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, at length!

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

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.

I also reinforce Bruce's advice do not use & roughing gouge or skew chisel in this situation, unless you are a master turner! 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. Like all rules there are exceptions however this is one rule best observed!

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

Originally Posted by 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

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

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.