Thread: Sanding green turned objects- what are the options?

Depends on the timber how green sanding goes, but I use wet & dry sand paper and a spray water bottle. Just make sure you dry down the lathe and relubricate afterwards. My lathe is covered in a teflon spray (dryglide) that also helps protect it.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Depends on the timber how green sanding goes, but I use wet & dry sand paper and a spray water bottle. Just make sure you dry down the lathe and relubricate afterwards. My lathe is covered in a teflon spray (dryglide) that also helps protect it.

I do wet sand when I turn them, which only adds to the fun. But now that they are dry they need another go. What do you use then?

Once they are dry, hand sanding is the way to go , unless you are lucky enough to have a very stable timber and your piece is remountable

Originally Posted by tea lady

So I had a lovely time green turning some bowls. I love them going oval as they dry. So now they are dry and no longer round what do i do to finish them? Hand sanding? Jim Carrol has these scotchbrite radial bristle discs. Anyone used them? What do other people do?

I grabbed some of the coarsest grit (yellow) to try them out and to be honest, you get similar results rubbing the surface with your finger . About the only use I found for them was taking off the 'fur' you get when texturing some softer timbers.

Originally Posted by TTIT

. About the only use I found for them was taking off the 'fur' you get when texturing some softer timbers.

I guess hand sanding it is then.

The other option is to put the finished item in Neil Scobie's special sanding box.

Originally Posted by brendan stemp

The other option is to put the finished item in Neil Scobie's special sanding box.

So tell us more.

Originally Posted by tea lady

So tell us more.

It was one of Neil's party tricks. He turned an item on the lathe and then put it in a box. In the box was an electric motor connected to.....nothing! It just made a noise, jiggled the box around and created the appearance that something was going on. When he turned the switch off and opened the lid he pulled out the item that was now sanded. Actually it was a replica he had prepared earlier and put into the box prior to the demo.

It fooled some but only for a very short time, but, interestingly, this time lengthened the further north he travelled

Originally Posted by brendan stemp

It was one of Neil's party tricks. He turned an item on the lathe and then put it in a box. In the box was an electric motor connected to.....nothing! It just made a noise, jiggled the box around and created the appearance that something was going on. When he turned the switch off and opened the lid he pulled out the item that was now sanded. Actually it was a replica he had prepared earlier and put into the box prior to the demo.

It fooled some but only for a very short time, but, interestingly, this time lengthened the further north he travelled

So even HE didn't have a real solution!

(Didn't fool anyone in Horshem did it? )

Tea Lady I am afraid hand sanding is the only way out. Please remember it can take up to 3 times to finish than what it took to turn.Try and invest in a hand scraper. I make mine out of old power hack saw blades. These are mostly HSS or bi-metal and they can be cut with a small angle grinder and shaped on the grinder, tear drop shape or round nose work well. Very handy in finishing natural edge foms. Regrds Roger C
PS You can make at least 7 or more from one blade and the engeneering firms may ask you a few dollars or just give it to you.

you will all be able to tell I am new at this but.........

why not finish the bowl while still green? Will it stop it from changing shape? Will it stop it from cracking or will it make it go all mouldy as the wetness tries to escape?

I am guessing the answers depend on the timber and how wet it is but have no real understanding of what it might do - even the theory

There seems to me lots of ways of drying green turned bowls and am trying to work out why you could not finish them and be done!

I have actually finished a few small pieces of (see pictures) and so far (1 to 3 weeks) they are holding. These were finished with EEE and u-beaut glow.

cheers

Mick

I've done some off the machine sanding by hand and once beyond the coarser grits
have experimented with steel wool.
If the wood is green & open grained it probably is not a great option because the steel
can react with the wood and possibly stain the piece.
For tighter grain and dense, dry material it might be useful but not great for blonde wood.
I'm experimenting with rottenstone and pumice .
First I tried a block of pumice. I use one to clean the barbeque grill with.
It cuts fast but falls apart...
dusty protection is needed.

I found pumice and rottenstone at Rockler.
Apply with a clean scrap of felt.
Water or oil can be used to lubricate and keep the dust down.
Pumice Stone and Rotten Stone - Rockler Woodworking Tools

The pumice precedes the rottenstone.
They are very fine grits in powdered form that produce a deep polish.
I used edible flaxseed oil with a lime essential oil just for the fragrance
just because that oil was on hand.
It's dirty work but not hard to clean up .
Keep lots of rags handy & work over newspaper.

With the rottenstone again due to it's darkness (blackness) it may not be appropriate for all timbers
especially the lighter ones.
Feels like powdered slate.
Pumice on the other hand is white and perhaps a good choice for the lighter woods.
Pumice feels like powdered sugar.

The other thing I can tell you is to keep your tai chi strong and maintain good posture when doing this kind of work.
I ended up quite sore after a few sessions of hand rubbing.

Originally Posted by mick59wests

you will all be able to tell I am new at this but.........

why not finish the bowl while still green? Will it stop it from changing shape? Will it stop it from cracking or will it make it go all mouldy as the wetness tries to escape?



cheers

Mick

I have finished things while still green as well. the piece I am contemplating did get sanded quite finely I think. (Can't remember now ) but now it need another go.

Was contemplating putting my Sanding pad set into a jacobs chuck in the lathe, then bringing the bowl up to the spinning sand paper rather than the sand paper to the spinning bowl.

Originally Posted by ticklingmedusa

I've done some off the machine sanding by hand and once beyond the coarser grits
have experimented with steel wool.

I thought steel wool was only recomended for shellac or varnished pieces, as it burnishes the wood fibers rather than cutting them so clogs the pores, not letting the finish penetrate.