"Sniperborg" wrote in message
...

Hi
After a previous post about sealing the outside of my bowl with pva
glue ( no anchorseal in the uk ) i'm still getting about a quarter with
small to very bad splits.
I have roughed out the bowl leaving the wall between 1/2 to 1 inch
thick. Then painting the outside with pva glue and bring indoors to
dry. I've tried neat glue and also one third water mix for better
penetration, with mixed results on all. The wood i've been using has
been on a wood pile for a few months, open to the elements and has been
birch, ash and oak.
Can any one tell me what i'm doing wrong or is 1 in 4 split rough bowls
to be expected

Winter rules might be the culprit. Colder outside air holds less total
moisture, which means low relative humidity when heated in the house. I
leave my uncoated stuff in the open at 65% or greater RH with maybe one in
fifty a loss.

Put your pieces in a cool indoor place with newspaper tents over them to
keep the local RH high. Check after a few days and see what's happening.
Paper bags work, too.

That said, are you sure you didn't turn with cracks in the work to begin
with? Lots of times the cracks in firewood will close at high RH.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=803658e3.jpg
Shows stress cracks in the heart of hard maple. They're not always as
obvious, though. Wipe with mineral spirits and see if you have some.
They'll draw the spirits in by capillary action and be fairly obvious.