Sherfey,
Black walnut has a tencency to tear out more than most other woods, at
least the western black walnut that I am used to. The harder and more
dense (usually) the wood is the less tear out there is. When turning
flat grain, for part of the rotation you are cutting down hill, similar
to sharpening a pencil with a knife. For part of the rotation you are
cutting up hill, like sharpening a pencil from the point up towards the
main part of the pencil. The uphill part tends to tear more. Keep your
tools sharp! Roughing cuts can be more sloppy. Finish cuts, sharpen
first, then take much lighter cuts. Sometimes getting the wood damp
first before the finish cuts helps. Walnut seems to sell in spurts for
me, some times I can't give it away, and some times I can't keep it in
stock. Wear a dust mask!
Hope that helps some.
robo hippy



















Dave in Fairfax wrote:
Sherfey's wrote:
I just started turning and I am hooked now. I have an endless
supply of
black walnut that was given to me and all I have to do is go out to
the
woods and cut it to lengths and bring it home. I took a sample
peice that
has been sitting for about 6 mos. and cut it upthis way..........I
cut
through the length of the log dead center so I have two halves
looking at it
from the end. Next I cut it the same way but to the thickness I
wanted (
about 6 inches ). Then I cut out a round blank on a bandsaw. When
I start
to turn the blank, I get spots where the wood is nice and smooth
and I get
spots where it is fuzzy. Both of these spots oppose each other.
Is this a
grain issue or am I doing something wrong?

Nice drive-by, allow me to state: YOU SUCK!
You did the cutting just right, the "fuzzy" parts are where the
end grain shows up. Thinks of a board spinnig on your finger...
The ends would be the fuzzy parts. You may want to make sure that
you are sharpening your tools a bit better and bubbing your bevel,
walnut polishes up on the lathe to a gorgeous color. It's also
highly toxic, wear your mask/respirator. Bill Gumbine has a great
video that shows how to take a log and make abowl out of it. Well
worth the money.

Dave in Fairfax
--
Dave Leader
reply-to doesn't work
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