Thread: Platter - design questions

Hollowing out revealed a void. Could've been filled with repeated CA and dust filling but the shed was out of CA.

Used epoxy and coffee bean grinds at 50:50.

It's now a feature

Hollowing started with a 3/8" bowl gouge and then a smaller one (finer cut, less tear out) and then refining with a wide scraper with a 150mm rule for reference.

Then sanding with a powered 75mm disc at #120 before filling.

In case that's of the faintest interest to anyone.

Oh it is Ern, i'm now thinking about wax, hot oil and w&d, all very interesting. Thanks Phil

My daughter had to explain to me what a Brazilian wax meant.

Geez.

While waiting for the epoxy to harden I knocked up a bowl out of figured Euro Ash. Finish: n/c sanding sealer and Ubeaut waxstick. That's a quick finish that I prefer for lighter tone woods.

Have now sanded and wet-sanded with oil the inside of the Chestnut platter (#800). Done wet in order to grain fill. Not v. happy with the result; filled the grain but left lines - at a guess the FW Scandinavian Oil is too thick for that to work well on a lathe. Once it's dried I'll cut it back with 0000 steel wool and apply a last coat of oil.

Nice form Ern, like it. You're right though, you can see the lines in the finish.

Thanks.

Yeah, the lines in the pics were in the hard wax on the Ash however. They will come out with some fine cutting back.

Looking more closely at the unpictured lines on the Chestnut, now I reckon they came not from the wet sanding but from two medium grits of the infamous Norton 'Dry Ice' discs. This stuff has had rave reviews from some turners but I've not had good results with it. You're sposed to sand fast and light and maybe I haven't got the knack. I'm up to my ears in the stuff from a bulk buy. Might start using it up restoring edges on garden tools and lawn mower blades

Ern good to see your back to it how's the hands holding up.??

Thanks wheelin.

They complain so I just take it easy.

Lookin good Ern

and that ash bowl has some real character

Yeah, Euro ash (Fraxinus of whatever kind) is an under-rated turning timber. If Huon is like turning butter, Fraxinus is like turning a young cheddar

The downside is the wide growth rings if you've oriented the bowl or platter base to the log heart. Power sanding produces 'waves'. Have tried a thin/firm 75mm pad and that reduces but doesn't eliminate the effect.

Have just resanded the Chestnut inside, #240 to #800, and wet-sanded again but this time with Rustins DO. That worked better but still was a bit streaky so while still sticky I cut it back with 0000 steel wool.

Meantime the lathe started making a ticking noise after I'd held the spindle with the indexing pin and loosened the chuck pushing down on the allen key.

Pushed and pulled on the handwheel to do a rough check of bearing slop: could feel no movement. Not exactly scientific but I couldn't be bothered setting up the dial gauge.

Took the covers off and moved the headstock pulley assembly inwards a smidge; it had been fouling the indexing pin. Not an answer to the problem but a solution that may prove to be an answer.

Just a by-the-way comment about looking after your oil stocks (the liquid, not the shares) ...

There's been many posts about how to extend the life of an opened container. I've tried the marbles trick and found it tedious adding marbles and cleaning them up at the end. Haven't tried the concertina photo-chemical containers.

This is what I've settled on, following the principle that an oil with a solvent and driers is going to gel at a rate on par with the rate of exposure to air: for a given job decant enough oil into a glass jar, and then just draw on what's in the jar. Also wipe off the oil from container and cap threads (if they have them) to ensure a good seal.

If you just use oil from the container for say three coats, you'll be dribbling the stuff onto a rag or HD paper towel repeatedly and so maximising the exposure to air of what's in the bottle or can.

Just my two bob's worth.

(ah, damn, didn't know that Noel had passed away. That's very saddening.)

Reflection on choice of recess v. spigot ...

I remember Guilio Marcolongo saying at a demo at a WWW show something like 'down the track will you want to put this piece out for folks to see or put it away in cupboard?'.

In this case, I think I should've taken extra care and done a spigot on the base and rechucked, as it's a platter. My Longworth wasn't big enough and my big faceplate vacuum 'chuck' wasn't replumbed for the VL175 but would've served with tailstock support and subsequent clean-up.

All good fun; I count mental aggravation in that category

I did a run of big Camphor platters recently so I bought the monster 460mm+ bowl jaws for VM120.

Great gear, Vicmarc of course. Phil