Hello Barry,
Here are a few things to try:
1. Apply sanding sealer or the finish that you will be using. This will
cause the fibers to expand; they will be in a better position to be sheared
rather than "plucked". Let the sealer/finish dry overnight and the fibers
will stiffen and stick together; again, more likely to be sheared crisply.
Sometimes paste wax is enough to make the difference.
2. Try a freshly sharpened bowl gouge and cut the fibers cleanly rather than
scrape. Cherry is only medium hard. The harder the wood, the better results
that you will get from a scraper.
3. There are even 2 part epoxy finishes, Polycryl and even thin CA adhesive
as are used on spalted wood but those should not be necessary for just
normal dry cherry.
I would much rather spend a few seconds sharpening and taking a fine, finish
cut with a bowl gouge than many minutes sanding!
--
Marshall Gorrow
Hogansburg, NY USA
http://mgorrow.tripod.com/
"Barry N. Turner" wrote in message
.. .
I turned a small cherry bowl (3" deep x 9" in diameter) yesterday on my
Jet
Mini lathe. The cherry blank was green, but has been air-drying in my
shop
for about a year. When I began to turn it, I got short curls not long
shavings, if that gives some idea of the relative moisture content. The
turning went fairly well (or seemed to). The bowl has a fairly nice
shape.
(Or, at least I think so.)
When I began to sand the interior of the bowl, I noticed that I had some
tear-out on end grain. I immediately went back to the scraper. I put a
fresh edge on a domed scraper and went to work. Well, it didn't work so
well. I still have tear-out.
I have a Sorby shear scraping tool. I tried it. It helped, but I still
have way too much tear-out. I went all the way back to 80 grit sandpaper
with little results. The tear-out seems to defy removal, (at least by
me).
I am pretty much a newby when it comes to turning bowls. From my reading,
I
thought one of these methods would make short work of my tear-out. I have
considered wetting the interior of the bowl and trying the shear scraper
on
the wet wood. The shape of the bowl in this area of tear-out eliminates
any
possibility of power sanding. How do I get rid of the tear out? Any
suggestions will be greatly appreciated.