I have some good news and some bad news about this new hobby. The good news is that, thanks to my mom's patronage, I've made a significant upgrade in equipment. Instead of the 40 year-old 12-inch Sears lathe mounted to a piece of plywood, I'm now working on a machine that has a lot more power and stability. What a completely unexpected and amazing gift! Thank you Mom. I will send you many bowls.
The bad news relates to all the wood I cut from that dead tree across the street. Almost all of it is cracked and ruined for turning. It was great wood, but I didn't seal it when I cut it, and it immediately started cracking. The literature that I had read suggested sealing wood blanks with special paint or with wax in order to slow the drying process. Because quick drying causes cracks, you must seal the wood to prevent the cracks.
The other option is to turn the fresh wood immediately, relieving a lot of the internal pressure within the wood, and allowing the finished bowl to deform instead of cracking. I was trying to execute this second option, and I wasn't fast enough.
Lesson learned.
Click through this set and check out the great pictures that Sally took in the garage this evening. I've been able to salvage a few small pieces of the elm, and I've learned a lot from turning them.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Watch those fingers, Matt.
Happy Labor Day, Gulde family.
-Fred
oh, matt-
the ONLY thing i could think about as i read of your latest wood turning endeavor was the awesome picture taken by your adoring wife.
that and how the picture sent visions of matt gulde arching his back over a well-lit chair wearing nothing but a ripped-shoulder sweatshirt, leggings, and leg warmers, getting doused with buckets of water, singing "Maniac" or maybe "Flashdance (What a Feeling)"
"..it can cut you like a knife/if the gift becomes the fire/on a wire between will and what will be..."
go dry off...and enjoy the wood turning
Post a Comment