On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 05:46:31 GMT, Rick Frazier wrote:

Arch:

Mostly, I start with a commercial Danish oil and add more BLO (Boiled
Linseed Oil), Polyurethane, and a fair bit of thinner to arrive at my
soaking solution. It DOES eventually gel, but with various adjustments
along the way, I can usually get a couple of years out of a batch before I
need to throw it out and start anew. (It's painful to do so, because it is
really difficult these days because everything is considered toxic waste.
Getting the remaining ten or fifteen gallons of soup dried so it can be
disposed of is a chore in itself.)

The "coarse grit gouge" is kind of a local joke here in Hawaii, and for me
is mostly a response to blowing up bowls during that "last cut". I really
got tired of ducking chunks of bowl when I got a bit of chatter (usually
reaching too deep into a vessel for the shank diameter of tool or a thinning
edge) or just "lost it" because I was turning a bit too fast for the
diameter and thickness I was working on. It was also a response to problems
with the tools I was using. Sometimes, I would get a little torn grain
(usually on the inside of a bowl) from improper tool technique, or pushing
on too long without sharpening. Cleaning this up sometimes is extremely
difficult, and if I left extra wood, I found it was quicker and easier to
just sand it away later, especially once I found the LDD worked to help make
sanding easier. Sometimes I just run out of time on a turning session, and
when I get back to the bowl, it's easier to just plunk it into the LDD
solution, and on to drying and grinding than it would be to risk breaking it
by trying to turn it thinner to begin with. Most days, I turn to a
considerably thinner wall than 1/2 or 5/8" because I have the time and the
wood is cooperating. If I'm short on time, or I seem to be pressing my
luck, I leave it thicker because I know I can just grind it out later, and
it really doesn't take all that long (especially compared to cutting a new
bowl from a raw log section).

However, the biggest reason I use LDD is to make sanding faster and keep the
paper from loading. I've really had minimal problems with shrink
checking/cracking with Norfolk pine over the past few years... There have
been a few other woods that I've worked that were definitely in the category
of needing help, but having other techniques in the old tool bag besides LDD
are helpful too.

A purist would say I'm hacking my way to the final shape, not finessing it
into being (only) with metal tools. A few would even say it's wrong to use
abrasives more coarse than 150 grit on anything turned, and that if it is
needed, you're not really a turner at all. Of course, they have their right
to their opinion, just as I have a right to grind out a bowl if I feel a
desire to. What I really think counts is what it looks like when it's done,
not necessarily how you get there. As a result, we all have different
methods, and like many other people, I'm always looking for a new method
that may make it possible to turn out work with less time without
compromising quality of the finished object.

Just hearing of others successes and failures gives me ideas to try in my
own work, and I hope that the process I use may give others ideas that they
might be able to consider. Everyone works differently, and what works for
you may not work for me, and so forth. I think forums like this allow us to
all share in a manner that can help each other, whether we know it or not...

Thanks
--Rick

sort of like whether or not you use biscuits on paint cherry, Rick...
whatever works for you and gives you the desired results is the "correct" way to
do it..

In Bill Grumbine's bowl turning video, he refers to his "80 grit gouge" a few
times... Personally, I find that stiff backed 120 grit w/d paper makes a great
skew and gives my that certain shape or curve that my toools/skill level won't
provide.. YMMV


mac

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