I've been turning bowls for almost a year now and have run across this
problem several times. I usually turn wood I collect from the yard or
woods nearby. I've made several bowls that had checks in them, some
have even broken on the lathe. I just roughed out a 10" bowl in
beautifully spalted silver maple and found a check that runs from the
lip all the way to the bottom nearly to the center. The bowl is wet
now and as it dries I'm afraid the check will grow and ruin the bowl.
Is the bowl doomed or is there a way to save it? FYI... I slow dry my
bowls in a paper bag filled with shavings, usually from the bowl just
turned.

"Woody in TN" wrote in message
...
I've been turning bowls for almost a year now and have run across this
problem several times. I usually turn wood I collect from the yard or
woods nearby. I've made several bowls that had checks in them, some
have even broken on the lathe. I just roughed out a 10" bowl in
beautifully spalted silver maple and found a check that runs from the
lip all the way to the bottom nearly to the center. The bowl is wet
now and as it dries I'm afraid the check will grow and ruin the bowl.
Is the bowl doomed or is there a way to save it? FYI... I slow dry my
bowls in a paper bag filled with shavings, usually from the bowl just
turned.

Soft maple is a bad actor in this respect. Since, as you know, the long
grain portions of the bowl will drop either side of annual ring centerline,
and contract at 90 degrees to that as well, the crack is going to open more
on the rim and outside and close on the inside of the bowl. Makes it
possible, but not probable that it will close well enough to save the piece.

It's a low percentage play, but if it's a particularly nice piece, and the
shape permits, make a big wide double or triple layer glued plywood circular
cutout, modestly tapered, and drive it down to make a circular clamp around
the outside. Set the rim on a sturdy surface, add a couple four clamps to
keep the ring tightly wedged down toward the rim, and wick some CA into the
crack.

Protect under a newsprint tent for a couple of weeks and you'll find out
pretty much what you're going to get. If you're not in a heated place where
the relative humidity is below about 65-70%, you can forego the tent.

Good luck.

I hate it when that happens.

First--when I dry my bowls, I try to encourage the interior to dry first and
to discourage the exterior. To that end, I put them in a plastic shopping
bag, loosely tucked (not sealed) into the bowl top, but with as much of the
interior exposed as possible. I figure that if the INSIDE dries and shrinks
while the outside is still a bit wet and pliable, cracks will be avoided.
That sort of works. As the wood loses moisture, I eventually remove the
plastic bag and let it fully dry.

When the lip is cracked, I shudder, because there is a lot of stress there.

But when I have cracks, I hit them with CA glue, right at this stage, trying
to get the pieces to adhere. As I remove wood, I add more glue, on the
theory that I might just have turned away the only part that is glued. And
finally, in this situation I'd turn a thicker rim than usual because no
matter what you do it will be weak.

Finally, if I do end up with a crack, and it's a weak bowl, I stop before
making the very last cut inside and out and patch it with epoxy glue. If
there is a void there, I will put a masking tape dam on the inside or
outside. I've added some oil artists colors to the glue to try to make it
look like the tree filled in the crack, not me, and it helps. It's a messy
process, and I get dribbles all over, which turn off very nicely on the
final cut.

I really haven't lost too many, and I've turned some really wet wood.

Good Luck,

Old Guy




"Woody in TN" wrote in message
...
I've been turning bowls for almost a year now and have run across this
problem several times. I usually turn wood I collect from the yard or
woods nearby. I've made several bowls that had checks in them, some
have even broken on the lathe. I just roughed out a 10" bowl in
beautifully spalted silver maple and found a check that runs from the
lip all the way to the bottom nearly to the center. The bowl is wet
now and as it dries I'm afraid the check will grow and ruin the bowl.
Is the bowl doomed or is there a way to save it? FYI... I slow dry my
bowls in a paper bag filled with shavings, usually from the bowl just
turned.

As someone else said, "if it don't hold soup, it's art." With one like
you describe, before I let it dry, I will use the thin CA glue at the
base of the crack, and some of the thicker stuff on top of that. This
is to help keep the crack from getting much worse. This helps, but
doesn't always prevent the crack from expanding. I then let the piece
dry. After it is dry and finished with moving, I start with more of
the thin first, followed by the thick (my theory here is that the thin
will wick the thicker glue all the way down into the crack). I use
black walnut sanding dust on top of that. Note, even with accelerator,
the thick glue when applied heavily needs an hour or three to set up.
It is messy to be turning and hit a wet spot. Some use coffee grounds,
or there are the inlace products as filler. I have learned over the
years to be more selective on what I turn. If there is a big crack in
the wood, I will turn around it, turn it out, or turn it into fire
wood. Sometimes it just isn't worth all the extra time to fix. On 'art'
pieces, sometimes the cracks are a highlite. On utility pieces, they
are a negative. At shows, when placed next to pieces that aren't
cracked, the whole pieces sell first, and the cracked pieces sell last.
robo hippy
George wrote:
"Woody in TN" wrote in message
...
I've been turning bowls for almost a year now and have run across this
problem several times. I usually turn wood I collect from the yard or
woods nearby. I've made several bowls that had checks in them, some
have even broken on the lathe. I just roughed out a 10" bowl in
beautifully spalted silver maple and found a check that runs from the
lip all the way to the bottom nearly to the center. The bowl is wet
now and as it dries I'm afraid the check will grow and ruin the bowl.
Is the bowl doomed or is there a way to save it? FYI... I slow dry my
bowls in a paper bag filled with shavings, usually from the bowl just
turned.

Soft maple is a bad actor in this respect. Since, as you know, the long
grain portions of the bowl will drop either side of annual ring centerline,
and contract at 90 degrees to that as well, the crack is going to open more
on the rim and outside and close on the inside of the bowl. Makes it
possible, but not probable that it will close well enough to save the piece.

It's a low percentage play, but if it's a particularly nice piece, and the
shape permits, make a big wide double or triple layer glued plywood circular
cutout, modestly tapered, and drive it down to make a circular clamp around
the outside. Set the rim on a sturdy surface, add a couple four clamps to
keep the ring tightly wedged down toward the rim, and wick some CA into the
crack.

Protect under a newsprint tent for a couple of weeks and you'll find out
pretty much what you're going to get. If you're not in a heated place where
the relative humidity is below about 65-70%, you can forego the tent.

Good luck.