03-04-2021, 12:50 PM (This post was last modified: 03-04-2021, 12:51 PM by MichaelMouse.)
(03-04-2021, 08:57 AM)DIY GUY Wrote: Ah, Yoopers! MichaelMouse does that make you a billygoat?
Thanks again for all the tips everyone. I've got a cheap gouge set that seems I'll likely have to replace pretty quick. Do you prefer HSS vs carbide tips?
I'm thinking to bolt my little lathe to a board and then I can bolt that board through my workbench when I'm turning. My 'shop' is my basement boiler room, so space is fairly limited.
Maybe I'll turn a small bowl to practice, but my main interest to start is turning chalices. So hopefully I'll manage with this mini lathe at least for a while.
In my case, a transplant. Origins at St Mary's hospital in Detroit.
Don't neglect that spalted wood. Can make some good-looking pieces even with the "pith" in.
This is yellow birch that I rolled on the ground for two summers to get even spalting. Last piece in the log at ~13". Rest sold FAST.
As far as limbs, I love the preacher's "angel wing" pieces. This one in beech, from the firewood stack.
I can look to see if I have some pictures of chalice ideas on an old drive. In any case, to preserve the base, I elevate so they can get air from both below and above. Controls splits.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
Nice pieces MM. Looking more closely at the wood I cut earlier this week, there are a fair number of cracks-mostly thin but long and deep. Are these worth filling, or better to get some more solid wood?
My cracked wood is from a Bradford Pear tree I cut down a while back and sectioned this week. I've also got a piece for 4x4 pine I could segment for practice (it is untreated, and seems pretty solid as far as not having cracks or defects).
I'm seeing wood in a whole new light. Spinning this kind of mass at high speeds makes me really cautious to avoid any catastrophe. When you don't respect power tools, they tend to be not very nice about reminding you.
(03-05-2021, 09:45 AM)DIY GUY Wrote: Nice pieces MM. Looking more closely at the wood I cut earlier this week, there are a fair number of cracks-mostly thin but long and deep. Are these worth filling, or better to get some more solid wood?
My cracked wood is from a Bradford Pear tree I cut down a while back and sectioned this week. I've also got a piece for 4x4 pine I could segment for practice (it is untreated, and seems pretty solid as far as not having cracks or defects).
I'm seeing wood in a whole new light. Spinning this kind of mass at high speeds makes me really cautious to avoid any catastrophe. When you don't respect power tools, they tend to be not very nice about reminding you.
Don't spin at high rpm. Never necessary, often done, as evidenced by the sandbag folks.
Stand clear of the disintegration zone
Keep your rest as close as you can
Cut the wood as it wishes to be cut (thanks Frank Pain)
As to cracks, becomes a calculation. If the piece has enough promise, I will let water-thin CA be drawn into thin cracks, repeating as surrounding wood is removed, and giving it time to cure so it doesn't fling onto my hands! If you have one large enough to demand fill, you can say it's an artistic device and disregard, or fill. I like to fill with the bark of the tree I'm cutting - natural - others like contrasting fills.
Don't wear muffs or play music when you're at the lathe. That "tick" you hear could be an impending disaster. Stop, look, act on it.
Yes, I am a coward. Don't care to take risks. As someone else said "life's too short to turn crappy wood."
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
As to the cracks, I always cut the ends off logs that have been down a while. Often the cracks don't penetrate that deeply. Depends on the type wood, how long it has been down and the conditions it has been stored in.
You are going to want to split them in half anyway, for most projects, and can often choose a more solid portion.
The log has been down and outside during Michigan winter weather. I guess I'll split the bigger ones and see how they look afterwards. The pieces are between 4.5-10" diameter, with the little ones having cracks from the center and the bigger ones have 3" cracks from the outside. I don't recall these crack being as obvious when I brought them inside at the beginning of the week. Is that normal for cracks to 'open up' in warmer storage conditions?
There is a wood supply store I found online that is not too far from me, so I may rummage to find interesting pieces in better condition than mine.
Here is the after and before of my log after 3 days in the basement.
How long are the logs? Cracks often don't penetrate too far into the log. Any log that has cracks gets trimmed until the cracks are gone, unless it is too spectacular to waste, and I can save it with heroic measures. Sometimes the cracks go a long way into the log, but not that often IME. Any fresh logs I get that are not going to be roughed out quickly are left as long as practical. Sealing the ends helps, but the drying process is very fast on the exposed ends, and the interior drys very slowly.
If the logs are long enough, I would try cutting off a few inches and see what they look like.
(03-05-2021, 01:05 PM)clovishound Wrote: How long are the logs? Cracks often don't penetrate too far into the log. Any log that has cracks gets trimmed until the cracks are gone, unless it is too spectacular to waste, and I can save it with heroic measures. Sometimes the cracks go a long way into the log, but not that often IME. Any fresh logs I get that are not going to be roughed out quickly are left as long as practical. Sealing the ends helps, but the drying process is very fast on the exposed ends, and the interior drys very slowly.
If the logs are long enough, I would try cutting off a few inches and see what they look like.
(03-05-2021, 01:36 PM)DIY GUY Wrote: They are only 10" long
Your picture shows heart checks - starting from the center - and radial checks, which start on the edge. What others mention as being self-limiting are end checks. They are distributed, not originating in heart or on exterior, and generally extend a couple inches max into the wood, where they have enough moisture to keep them from growing. Longer log pieces can be trimmed, which is why folks like myself keep blanks four inches or so beyond the max turn, to be trimmed when used.
What you show is radially split, and that's dangerous. Though being wet will close end checks visually, and may even minimize the heart, drier conditions will open them up again. The Wood Handbook at Forest Products Labs was mentioned. Get it for explanations.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
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