SWMBO and I have just finished dismantling an old house (circa 1897)
salvaging whatever lumber we can. Setting aside most of the details, to get
to the story, herewith. I have cut a few sections from the end of a timber,
because I want to make some mementos of the house for myself and the former
owners/neighbors.
The grain is very tight - at least in my experience. This stuff is like
trying to turn some kind of high-tech plastic. It is hard and soft at the
same time. Both tough and brittle at the same time. One area has some
softness which suggests dry rot, while the majority of the wood is sound. I
can get a nice shaving, but only a very slim one. I have been using cutting
or shearing methods, plus scraping. I have used various gouges on the outside
of the project. In hollowing it out, I started with a 1 3/4" forstner bit to
get the depth I want, about 4 inches. I have been using a hook with some
success to expand the interior, and a home-made square-ended boring bar to
flatten out the bottom of the vessel.
This is some of the hardest work I have done on a lathe, because of the
nature of the wood. I would rather turn ebony or hard maple or oak, than this
stuff. There are some cracks of course, from the drying of the timber, and
they are part of the project. I guess this will not be some delicate
thin-walled object d'art, but it will be a pretty good reminder of the
project which has consumed this past summer for my wife and me.
I will post pics on Flickr whenever I decide the thing is done.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

In article . net,
tom koehler wrote:

SWMBO and I have just finished dismantling an old house (circa 1897)
salvaging whatever lumber we can. Setting aside most of the details, to get
to the story, herewith. I have cut a few sections from the end of a timber,
because I want to make some mementos of the house for myself and the former
owners/neighbors.
The grain is very tight - at least in my experience. This stuff is like
trying to turn some kind of high-tech plastic. It is hard and soft at the
same time. Both tough and brittle at the same time. One area has some
softness which suggests dry rot, while the majority of the wood is sound. I
can get a nice shaving, but only a very slim one. I have been using cutting
or shearing methods, plus scraping. I have used various gouges on the outside
of the project. In hollowing it out, I started with a 1 3/4" forstner bit to
get the depth I want, about 4 inches. I have been using a hook with some
success to expand the interior, and a home-made square-ended boring bar to
flatten out the bottom of the vessel.
This is some of the hardest work I have done on a lathe, because of the
nature of the wood. I would rather turn ebony or hard maple or oak, than this
stuff. There are some cracks of course, from the drying of the timber, and
they are part of the project. I guess this will not be some delicate
thin-walled object d'art, but it will be a pretty good reminder of the
project which has consumed this past summer for my wife and me.
I will post pics on Flickr whenever I decide the thing is done.
tom koehler

Tom, there are a number of turners that prefer old-growth Doug Fir for
some of the reasons you site. Check Bill Luce's work for one
http://www.billluce.com/

For drilling you might want to consider the following. Take a spade bit,
say a 1 inch, grind the top from the flat with a center point (or maybe
flat with end cutters and a center point), to something more like the
old time spoon bits (a gentle curve from center to edge. Put a cutting
edge on the new "curved" bit.

Now when you drill down, you stop at the final depth, and your bottom
center is ready for sanding. The only work you have to do there, is
making the transition from your turned area to the drilled area

I put a small o-ring on the drill shank to show me when to stop

This idea stolen from Dave Schweitzer
http://www.d-waytools.com/

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

On Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:18:08 -0600, Ralph E Lindberg wrote
(in message ):



Tom, there are a number of turners that prefer old-growth Doug Fir for
some of the reasons you site. Check Bill Luce's work for one
http://www.billluce.com/

yeah - I have envied his skills before. Very good stuff. The growth rings on
the fir I have are very fine and close together, compared to the examples
shown on his site. Difficult for me to work.

For drilling you might want to consider the following. Take a spade bit,
say a 1 inch, grind the top from the flat with a center point (or maybe
flat with end cutters and a center point), to something more like the
old time spoon bits (a gentle curve from center to edge. Put a cutting
edge on the new "curved" bit.

Now when you drill down, you stop at the final depth, and your bottom
center is ready for sanding. The only work you have to do there, is
making the transition from your turned area to the drilled area

I put a small o-ring on the drill shank to show me when to stop

This idea stolen from Dave Schweitzer
http://www.d-waytools.com/


Thanks for the tip.I will give it some consideration in the future.
tom





--
I will find a way or make one.

On Tue, 8 Nov 2011 10:45:18 -0600, tom koehler wrote
(in message . net):

SWMBO and I have just finished dismantling an old house (circa 1897)
salvaging whatever lumber we can. Setting aside most of the details, to get
to the story, herewith. I have cut a few sections from the end of a timber,
because I want to make some mementos of the house for myself and the former
owners/neighbors.

There are some cracks of course, from the drying of the timber, and
they are part of the project. I guess this will not be some delicate
thin-walled object d'art, but it will be a pretty good reminder of the
project which has consumed this past summer for my wife and me.
I will post pics on Flickr whenever I decide the thing is done.
tom koehler



The cracks were more significant than I'd thought. Some shake in the timber
provided cracks which were not apparent until the wood had been worked for
awhile, and internal stresses re-adjusted. Heh. A lot of cracks or splits
whoed up. I gave the partially done project a glue bath (warm water 'n glue
mix) and let it dry. Some of the cracks seemed to have glued up okay -
others, not so much. I continued hollowing this thing out until it just died
on me. Big chunk just sorta came out at around 500 rpm or a bit less. Looking
at it some more, and I just see a mass of cracks that were not apparent
before, glue notwithstanding. sigh. It was taking on a kinda nice shape, too.
sigh. Well, I have some more, and will try again, but different approach,
somehow.
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.

On 11/15/2011 11:02 AM, tom koehler wrote:
sigh. Well, I have some more, and will try again, but different approach,
somehow.
tom koehler

Perhaps cutting it into planks and making a segmented bowl? Each
segment would be pretty small, and since the joints overalap any give
crack would be stabilized by the non-checked wood next to it or
above/below it...

--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
"In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car."
- Lawrence Summers

On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:15:17 -0600, Kevin Miller wrote
(in message ications):

On 11/15/2011 11:02 AM, tom koehler wrote:
sigh. Well, I have some more, and will try again, but different approach,
somehow.
tom koehler

Perhaps cutting it into planks and making a segmented bowl? Each
segment would be pretty small, and since the joints overalap any give
crack would be stabilized by the non-checked wood next to it or
above/below it...



A good point, and something I truly did not even consider. Thanks.
The house did not have a foundation, and was simply set upon wooden posts
(likely cedar) set into the clay. I cut a couple of big sections from some of
this wood, and will treat it just like turning wet wood (which it is) when I
get to it.
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.