On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:21:24 -0400, "George" George@least wrote:

You have to plan ahead, no doubt. For instance, if working from green to
get something which demands a precision fit, you have to turn, dry, turn.
With the pith in, survival nods toward thin, which isn't really compatable
with TDT,

Sorry, but what does TDT stand for? I'm guessing that it needs to be
thinner in the bottom and top when hollowing into end grain, to keep
the pith as thin as possible?

so you make it thin in the bottom and what will become the top,
with thicker walls. Then you have to dry it down slowly to hold the end
grain at the same MC as the walls.

Does applying the finish in the same session do the trick, or do I
need to try something else, like the paper bag full of shavings
method?

Your initial hollow can be with whatever
gives you comfort. I like pointed gouges with long wings, you may prefer
less grab and use your mild fingernail or one of the ring/hook tools.
Scrapers work, too, but they're taking as big a bite as the point gouge on a
duller face, so use a small scraper if you're catching.

You also have to make your hold over/under size, because it will distort.
You may then take advantage of the fact that end grain will keep the top and
bottom pretty well parallel as you chuck inside, turn for your bottom hold,
and then procede with final dimensioning. For your narrow mouth hollow you
can make a shouldered taper to help with recentering. Of course your prior
planning left the original spur center mark underneath to help you?

I'm in luck there, at any rate! The original mark is still intact.

One thing I've found with the pith is that if it's contained within a slope,
it makes it through drying better than if it's within a flat area.

Do you mean roughing the blank slightly off-center to begin with, to
keep the pith oriented at an angle, or just making sure that the
exposed pith is on an angled feature of the piece? Come to think of
it, either may work- right?