I have dealt with some walnut that was just barely softer than the HHS gouge
I was taking to it. Old (I mean ooolllllddddd) and very dry, grain all
gnarly and gorgeous... and it would not (I mean wood KNOT!) cleanly cut with
any tool or technique I tried. I ended up scraping a bowl out if it, to
something more than my pre-determined desired thickness, then sanding the
broken and torn surface for hours. And when finally I wiped on a liberal
coat of oil, the grain popped and took my breath away... and sold it within
seconds on a table full of thinner, more conventional bowls.

Sometimes you have to listen carefully to the wood you are turning. You
have heard that your piece of walnut doesn't want to be cut cleanly by you,
at this time. Your options? Put it aside until you get more experience....
or slowly and carefully scrape a bowl from it. Either way, it sounds like a
wonderful learning experience and a great story in the making. Let us know
how it turns out

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI


wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm new to turning (so that may be the problem here...). I've been
practicing on some mahogany I had around and have gotten fairly
successful. Well, I picked up a block of walnut and haven't been so
lucky with it. I'm trying to hollow out a shallow bowl and my
fingernail gouge quickly catches and throws the bowl off the lathe.
This is bad. I'd really appreciate some help here. Here's what I've
observed:

1. The stock is being held by a nova chuck expanded into a recess in
the bottom of the bowl. It's held pretty tightly.

2. My 1/2" fingernail gouge is brand new, sharpened with a tormek
jig. Sure seems sharp to me. I've never used it before, so technique
could easily be the problem.

3. The walnut is very dry.

4. If I use a scraper, I can be pretty successful with the hollowing.

5. If I use the gouge, it catches brutally and throws the bowl.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks,
Joe