Woodturning: Cutting Oak Bowl Blanks - How to Cut an Oak Crotch for the Best Figure?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2022
- Woodturning: Cutting Oak Bowl Blanks - How to Cut an Oak Crotch for the Best Figure?
In this video I am working with a red oak crotch and looking for the best way to cut it into bowl blanks with the best figure.
I also compare finishing options to see what brings out the crotch feather figure the best- wet sanding with water-based sanding sealer and finishing with water-based Polycrylic vs Shellac/Abrasive Sanding Pastes/Brad’s Tung Wax
@ThePapa1947 @RatedRWoodturning @BradsWorkbench - บันเทิง
Absolutely beautiful bowl. You found the best cut for the crotch figure. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Glenn!
OMG. This is therapy! I am not alone! Oak, yuk. Tear out. Misaligned chainsaw cuts, mismeasured tenon fitting. A day in my life! Wonderful! Thank you for the honesty and humility.
Gotta find the kindred spirits out there, yeah? And I figure imma show you guys the good, the bad, the ugly, and the embarrassing 🤣
Love the honesty in your talking through your decision making, or not. 👍
🤣the dogs n cat, mint ❤️
Thanks Michael, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😁
Brad’s tung wax all day. This is a great video!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Really nice job Lisa. I agree with your assessment on the finishes.
Thanks Victor!
Love the grain. Beautiful job Again Lisa.
Thanks Ron!
Beautiful grain in that bowl Lisa. Well done.
Thanks Jack!
The grain on the vase is incredible.
Thank you! I have some more chunks with really nice grain and am planning to make something a bit more functional 👍
I've been Always enjoy your work and videos!!! Keep them coming!!! Thank you ❤️
Thank you Larry, I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel! 😁
I've learnt a lot just listening to the talk through - bowl looks great too!
Thanks Jim, I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel 😁
Thank you for another entertaining video Lisa! I like watching girls with chainsaws and the bowl came out really well also. 😎
Thank Leo, I really appreciate you guys! 😊
OMG! So much cute at the end! Bailey and Rusty playing together is too stinkin' cute!!
Both pieces are gorgeous! I do love the Tung finish, but the bowl is beautiful, too! 😊
Thanks Andrea! They are both lovely 😊
Beautiful. I too love the look of the oil based products.
Thanks Kimberly!
Beautiful Lisa awesome work stay safe👍👍👍👍
Thanks, you too!
Nice work and I really like the Tung oil finish! Thanks!
Thank Michael!
Very beautiful pieces. Have a great weekend ✌️
Thank you!
A very nice looking piece. I really like the curves.
Thanks Michael. I’m pleased with the form - I think it works 😊
Beautiful work...again.💓
Thank you Jack!
Thanks for including your thought process as you were deciding how to cut the blank out of that oak. I have a walnut crotch that I have absolutely no idea how to cut into blank(s)...so your thinking was helpful!
Excellent, hopefully that gives you an idea what to expect. 😁
Thanks for sharing your experiment. Wonderful bowl, Lisa.
Thanks Louis!
This turned out to be lovely bowl Lisa I really like it - holy cow it was a roller coaster ride! I would have loved to see you turn the whole crotch piece without worrying about pith, and without cutting chunks off the original blank, but that's just me lol - fantastic work and lovely end result - and yes I prefer the natural oil finishes too!
What brilliant bowl I like how it shows the grain it's really awesome I think you are really clever I liked how did the cutting of the before hand I loved the vase as well
Thank you Amanda!
Nice work. Liked hearing your thoughts along the way.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😁
Red Oak was one of the first woods I tried turning. I tried to turn a bowl, until it split. Then I tried to make a platter out of it, but it cracked, so I figured I'd try to make a plate. I wish you could see the lovely coffe table saucer I ended up with.
I hear you Bill! That’s what we Woodturners do, isn’t it? Take logs and make them into toothpicks?! 🤣
Very nice Lisa. I like the colour of the Oil as well. The bowl is still a very nice piece though. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I really liked the water based Polycrylic on the spalted maple ant-eaten bowl I did a while back - it kept the color super light. But most times I like the oil finish because I like the amber color
Great project. Looks really good. Thanks for the Bailey clip, and as always thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bruce! Bailey is being a very good host 😊
Nicely done, Its a bear wrestling those pieces around to process.
Right!? I’ll try again with a different piece. This was a good experiment but I’d have been better off basically just shooting for one blank and cutting it thicker. Oh well, wood does grow on trees 😂
Gorgeous looking piece
Thanks Glenn!
Beautiful!!
Thank you!
Glad to hear you mention Phil’s name.
I like how Phil works. 👍
Really enjoy that we can hear your thought process as you work. Awesome results
Thank you!
Thanks you for sharing you video is great very nice bowl
Thank you!
love the figure in that wood ,is real pretty,good wook
Thanks Fran!
Occasionally it takes aa while for a chunk of wood to talk to you and when it does you wind up with a beautiful bowl like that with amazing character. Thanks for sharing!
Take care, Dave
Thank you David 😊
Beautiful bowl Lisa, it has lovely grain and color! I like you finish comparison too! Well done and thanks!
Cheers Al
Thank you Al!
Beautiful piece, but I do agree that oilbased finish is the better one for oak. I really enjoy that you share som much of the prosess, all the way from log to bowl, I learn a lot from watching your videos. Take care! Ove 🇳🇴
Thanks Ove, I appreciate it!
too damn funny. I was cranking up the volume on my pc here at work, and you sneezed... !!!! :) There never is a lot of waste since you can always make pens, bottle openers, and letter openers from the waste.
Agreed Phillip! And we have 4 woodburning stoves so…
I'll never be able to process my own wood, but I certainly appreciate learning the considerations along with you, Lisa. Very nice comparisons and results.
Thanks Jay! Just knowing where the figure is can be helpful in selecting pre-cut blanks, and I thought the water based finish made the red oak look more like white oak!
Very nice. Love learning from you!
Thanks Dianne, I’m glad you’re enjoying channel 😁
Nice job!
Thanks Troy!
Lisa - Thanks for sharing your thought processes, I always learn something from them. Nice piece! On the finishes, one shows off the grain more, but adds a yellowish warm color, while the other is clear and leaves the colors natural. Depends on what you are going for. Most, but not all woods look good with a yellowed finish over them.
Hi Art! Agreed - I was very pleased with the water based treatment in the spalted maple with all the ant holes. But in most cases I like the amber color
Lisa great video
Thanks Nicole!
Both finishes are fine. You did a great job. Beautiful work.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
That looks like some english oak i've been turning recently. A1 results.👍
Thanks Stuart! If I didn’t know better I’d have thought the bowl was white oak. I guess that’s the advantage to water based poly, not changing the color much. The varieties of red oak we have here in Michigan are Northern red oak, black oak, northern pin oak, pin oak and scarlet oak, and I believe some of them hybridize so it’s a mystery without leaves 😂
Good afternoon, Lisa.
Very nice. I appreciate you talking through the cutting of the blank. Sometimes I just end up making the cut, win, lose or draw. I like your decision and you crafted a wonderful bowl.
Thanks Ray! Overthinking is my speciality 😂
Love the graining
Thanks Joseph!
Neat video
Thanks!
Thank you for showing your whole process. I'm a beginner, but I'm also processing my own wood. Your videos are very helpful, and this bowl looks really nice. Thanks!
Thanks for watching Julia, and good luck! Wear your PPE and pay attention to what you’re doing which the chainsaw in your hands and it’ll all be good!
Great video and very well done. Seems like every piece has something to teach us. The live edge looks epic! Years ago I discovered the difference between oil and poly finishes. We have things we like... I am most definitely an oil guy for sure. Keep up the epic work Lisa and proud I found your spot here on the Tube.
Thanks Hula, I appreciate it! I am generally am oil girl but I did this water-based poly technique on a piece of super spalted maple full of ant holes and in that case I really liked it - the wood was pretty pale and it stayed that way. I used satin poly so it wasn’t too shiny-shiny. 😁
I'm always in a quandary how to cut a chunk of wood. I was hoping to get some pointers but I guess at the end of the day it's still a crap shoot. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Hi James! It is definitely a crap shoot. Sometime what I expect to be gorgeous is kinda ho-hum and the most plain and unassuming piece of wood turns out to be a stunner! 🤷♀️ Fortunately it’s all fun no matter what 👍
HI LISA. JUST LOVE YOUR EDITING. APPROACH ,WHAT YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE IN OR OUT TEACHES ME SO MUCH. THANK YOU.
Thanks Leslie, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the channel 😁
I think it turned out very nice! I also appreciate the timeliness of your video. Bought a chain saw last weekend and will process my first load of rough wood this weekend. An old pear we had to take down from the front yard. Thank you for showing the thinking around how to cut to get the best piece from the wood. Great work. I like your videos very much.
Thanks Michele, I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel! Make sure you’ve watched some videos on chainsaw safety, wear your PPE and have fun! I’ve not gotten any pear yet but it seems like the invasive Bradford Pears are being removed in most places so I might get some yet!
What I like best about your channel is that you think out loud. The process of decision making is at least as valuable as the mechanics of turning.
Thank you! When I was starting I wanted to know what to do and what not to do, and the reasons behind both. I think it’s important to show the successes and the failures 👍
At 16 a band saw comes in handy if available. But you figured it out. Always many ways to solve a problem.
Hi Edwin! I would love a 16” bandsaw but so far the bandsaw fairy has passed over my shop 😂. I have a 14” with an 8” resale capacity but someday I would like to upgrade to a better saw.
Very nice pieces Lisa! I have to agree with you the Tung Wax finish looks much better than the water based. It would be interesting to see this experiment with other types of wood as well. Loved the bit at the end with everyone having a good time! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks John! Bailey is being a very good host 😊
Beaucoup de travail Lisa Maus le résultat est jolie bravo 👍👏
Thank you Denis!
Yep oil finish is my preference. Nice job!
Thanks Scott!
I actually thought your circle draw was miraculous!
Yay! 😃
Def. tung wax. Super cool bowl.
Thanks. I like the wax too
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. Once you have “split the pith”, (btw, you did that correctly) you no longer need to worry about the pith wood. No need to trim the outer parts off and make your blank smaller. And keeping the feather on the bottom of the bowl does guarantee maximum visual of the feather in the turning. You can either do natural, like you did, or go for a shallower bowl with a smooth edge. Also, if using a tenon, one can leave pith where the tenon will be IF turning the blank immediately, either rough or finished. CA on the pith will prevent any weakness in that part of the tenon. Chain saw hints: keep the top of the bar tight against the wood on the right side of the cut to get a straighter cut, gripping low on the handle on the left side. Also, see if you can buy a “ripping” (or skip tooth) chain for your saw. They do not make them for my smaller saw, so the saw shop sharpens to the correct grind angle for me.
Thanks Valerie! This crotch was kinda strange as far as where the pith was. The area between them was smaller than most others because the one side was only an inch or two away from the middle of the U-shaped “necklace” and I ended up trimming the other side to the same dimension (sort of) to try and keep the figure centered. I’m gonna try another doing it end grain and cut in from both sides until I hit the feathering figure and see how that works. Thanks for the tips - what size chainsaw do you have?
@@LisaRamlow Two small gas Stihl saws, 16” & 16/18”. Electric for indoors. My cutting table is flatter than yours, with two cutting slots (narrow and wider). Last winter we cut a crotch that was 36” side to side. On that one I cut off the two piths outside the crotch, then we cut down through pith to pith. Usually I just slice top to bottom through the piths to get the feather. Just sliced a small two side branch crotch and got double feather!
We are very much in line with the desire to process our own wood. I like the bench you use for making the chainsaw cuts. I'm going to model one on it for myself. Great video, thank you!
Hi there! Here’s a link to the video where I built this, which has links to the guy I followed to make it - he has a materials/cut list in the description of his
Woodturning - Workshop Wednesday! Making A Chainsaw Milling Station for Turning Blanks
th-cam.com/video/ZGoPEkl3N2s/w-d-xo.html
Very nice job saving this piece. Oak is a very tough wood to work. I do like the oil better as well.
Thanks Chris! Not my favorite to turn but it sure can be pretty
I love making wavy top bowls. You go right on doing it. One caveat, is make sure the low side is toward you when you’re eating popcorn from it. I speak from experience 😊
Love your videos, and I picked up a nice tip about just holding a loose jaw against the tenon to check the dovetail and seating. Nice.
Thanks Lois! Good advice on the popcorn too 😁
You apparently arrived at the right decision at the end of a very twisty path, Lisa. The finished piece is delightful. Comparing the two examples you displayed side by side, the tung oil finish gets my vote.
Thanks Noah! Granted the little vase thing had more of the figure left than the bowl, but I still like that glow from the oil.
Thank you for sharing. I appreciate all your hard work. I have learned quite a bit from watching you turn.
Thanks Ken, that’s great to hear. I learn something new just about every project!
Beautiful wood. I love the way you show people how not to do things, very instructive.
Yeah sometimes it’s more helpful that way! I figured I’d experiment with some wood that’s plentiful to me and maybe save someone else experimenting some special piece 😁
I like the tip on using a spare chuck jaw to check the tenon. That's an idea I'll use. Coincidentally, I just had a white-oak taken down that I officially declared dead this spring. I see many bowls in my future. :)
I prefer white to red oak for sure. If the spare jaw is bigger than for the tenon you’re making you kinda have to angle it away from the bowl so it will clear everything but all I’m checking for is the proper angle and a flush fit against the bowl bottom. Because I caused a 130mm jaw on a 100mm tenon I had to angle it and therefore didn’t realize the center of the tenon was going to bottom out 🙄.
I got a bunch of logs to cut, and quite a few crotch pieces. Came here to get an idea.
Hope you found something useful 😁
Great job Lisa oil finish looks better on my TV. But a beautiful piece of oak
Thanks Tim, I prefer the oil finish as well 👍
Great piece Lisa . Only just spotted this video 😮. And you're starting to talk to your audience just like Phil Anderson, scary ! 😂😅😂
Seems better than talking to myself! 🤣
Using one of the chuck jaws was a novel idea, but this time not so much. Glad you are taking the creative risks in experimenting with how to cut and how to turn the crotch. It can have such beautiful grain that mimics marble but if oriented the wrong way it is all be turned away and you end up with just routine branch swirling.
Thanks! I lost some in making the tenon but found this an effective experiment, in that I have new information to take to the next crotch piece. I used a 130mm jaw as the test-fit for a tenon on 100mm jaws so I knew it wouldn’t lay flat hit in the middle and didn’t really pay attention to it - I was holding it more on an angle and just checking for a tight fit against the wood. Next time I’ll remember to see if the tenon is also convex in the middle 😂
Great video Lisa very informative. Unfortunately nobody removes a tenon quite like Phil😀
Thanks Mikk! I was just glad I didn’t send it spinning off the lathe 😂
Hi from Tasmania, Australia Lisa. enjoying your videos. I would love to see some photos of your tool rack that holds your chisels, drill heads and paper towels etc. It looks great 👍 cheers Narelle
Hi Narelle! Here’s a link to the video where I did the build for the tool rack. I love it - there is so much storage space in a small footprint! I ended up switching the wheels from 2” metal casters to 3” poly or rubber and it turns much more easily now
Workshop Wednesday: DIY Tool Cart - My New Spinny Tool Rack!
th-cam.com/video/9FoiI1hLTMQ/w-d-xo.html
@@LisaRamlow thank you very much.
Lisa, two nice projects...I prefer wax also...it just seems warmer. Also thanks for the tip about using an extra chuck jaw to check the fit on the tenon. I will be using it...🙃
Hi Pam! It works great - most times (at least with Nova chucks because the 50mm jaws are straight and not dovetailed) you just have to angle it so you can see the fit against the bowl bottom - the tailstock is in the way to allow an actual flat test fit - which is also why I didn’t pay attention to the fact that the bottom of the tenon was a bit rounded 😂
Beautiful results. The finish and wood grain looks great. I often struggle with deciding which way to cut the crotch to get the most benefit. Glad I am not alone. :) I have a cheap bench grinder that was given to me. I never thought I'd use it that much but it is really handy when you need to remove material off the bottom of a bowl so it will fit in the chuck or to clean up a pesky bowl bottom. Might consider getting one as it would be something of great use in your wood shop and the cheap ones are not too costly for the quick work they can do.
Hey Larry! I actually have 2 cheap 6” that are not being used - do you put a wire wheel on it or just use the abrasive wheel?
@@LisaRamlow Sorrry, I was talking a bench "sander" not sure why I typed "grinder". it gives you a round sanding disk and a belt sander that is great for sanding off the bowl bottoms to clean things up. Something like a WEN 6502T 4.3-Amp 4 x 36 in. Belt and 6 in. Disc Sander with Cast Iron Base just to give you an idea.
Turned out super nice LR. Seems like you mind was elsewhere during that but you still got there 😊
Thank you Chris! You see why I twirl around in circles a good part of the time now, don’t you 😂
I agree with your final thoughts on finish-the oil is better. Your chainsaw skills are improving as well! One suggestion: don't worry so much about cutting straight lines or where the pith is. If its off, oh well just turn it the best you can. You worry too much Lisa LOL!
Stuart
But Stuart, that’s my speciality! I’m a worrier. And a perfectionist. And an empath. And a jaw-clencher/grinder. I am working on that, but it’s a hard to change when you’ve been doing it your whole life! But I mostly have fun. Yes I have unrealistic expectations of my abilities and I realize they are unrealistic, but it still comes out my mouth. I am honestly pretty proud of myself and I enjoy the hell out of all of this. Y’all can just laugh and twirl around in circles right along with me 😁 I do list my channel as entertainment 😂
@@LisaRamlow having fun with the whole mess is most important and if you are (and think you are) then it will all work out just fine! 😁😁
Great job Lisa! Love the feathering in that oak. I prefer oil finish as it gives a warming effect to the piece. Even if you just use shellac as a sanding sealer before the acrylic poly finish, the shellac "warms" the wood up a bit.
Wes @ Piedra Designs
Thanks Wes! Unless I need to keep the color light for some reason I’ll stick with the oil finish 👍
I love this bowl! Thanks for showing how you cut that crotch. I’ve got a piece of Pepperwood crotch quite similar to your oak piece. Well done!
Thanks Danella!
Man Lisa this is amazing 😱 Love the figure vase and that color oufff 😍 your bowl is very well done but i would like it with oil better , that’s me thow 😜
Love it to see that he’s having fun with a friend 😍😜👍🏼❤️🇨🇦
Thanks for watching! I like the oil finally ah better too. Was a good and informative experiment! 😃
That oak looks great just not a fan of turning it myself. Beautifully done, thanks for sharing
Me neither Lindsey. But there’s so much available I can pick and choose some interesting pieces. And I’d rather be experiment on that and take that knowledge to the woods I DO like to turn 😁
I love the shape of the bowl, Lisa! Great job! It's hard to beat an oil finish. I only use a water-based finish for colored spalted wood so it leaves the colors as natural as possible and doesn't turn it a yellowish tint. I hated to see you waste all that beautiful crotch-figured wood during the making of the tenon. I think that's why Lyle uses a waste block. The closer you stay to the pith for the bottom of the bowl, the more of it will show up in your bowl. I keep waste blocks on hand for these types of pieces but use conventional tenons or recesses for normal bowls. I need to learn to let red oak age in the log form before roughing bowls. I have too many cracking problems roughing fresh wet bowls out of oak. Can't wait to see what you turn next. Keep 'em' coming.
Thanks Greg! I was really happy with the water based finish on the spalted maple ant hole bowl for just that reason. Otherwise info like the amber tint.
I’ve used Lyle’s glue block method before but I don’t have any dry wood thick enough to use at the moment. I wasn’t sure how solid the bottom was so I erred on the side of caution but next time I’ll do things a little different. In this case I think I’d have had better luck shooting for just one blank from the crotch since the piths were so funky. But it’s just wood, and this was a good piece to practice on 😁
@@LisaRamlow No doubt that we all say we would have done something differently after completing a project. Live and learn, I guess. Lyle has a video where he splits a crotch in part A & part B. He mainly creates one good piece with the pith still in it but turns that away. The key is turning just enough away to remove the pith since the best figure is right next to it. It sure helps when you have a symmetrical "Y" piece for sure. They are hard to find and I see most tree services throw them into the chipper. :(.
Very nice bowl Lisa. Red oak and straight grain is a pain but you handled that squirrely stuff very well. I've used a good bit of the oil based poly and much prefer it over acrylic. I like to listen to your thought process with this challenging piece and this was educational. I have the twin to your oak crotch but it is in walnut. It's waiting for me to gather more info and courage. Love the doggy play. Thanks for sharing. Be Safe
Thanks Mike! Good luck with the walnut, hard to go wrong there!
great job young lady ,,,,,i laid up with broken ribs you have fun love mark xxxxxxxx
Boo Mark! No broken ribs! Heal up fast!
Oak might not be the easiest of timbers to turn but the results are well worth while as you have just proved.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
For the GENERAL meter, replacement pins are available on Amazon. When one of my pins curled over, I tried using a file on it but that did not work well for me.
Thanks Graeme! I figured I could order replacements for that one - have to add it to the list for next time I order
A beautiful bowl, like you I prefer the depth and warmth of the oil finish. I've been using Phil's method of finishing the bottom of the bowl for some time and love it. You might like to look at the Aussie timbers She-Oak which is a Casuarina and Silky-Oak which is a Grevillea, remarkably similar grains.
Thanks John! Looking at the finished products, I’d have thought the bowl was white oak 😂
Hi Lisa...I'm a little late! Nice bowl! Phil would be pleased with two things. One is the natural edge. The other is using his tenon removal process! Not trying to be a know it all but...when trying to get rid of the tenon "nub", slow your lathe down. Phil drops to 400 rpm until it gets pretty small then moves the tool rest a little closer and higher before he switches to a swept back spindle gouge (I think it's a spindle gouge and a 3/8") then he slows the lathe down to 200 rpm for the final removal. You've obviously seen seen him do it but I noticed your lathe was spinning faster than Phil's and you didn't slow it down. I've seen every one of Phil's videos so I feel like an expert! (I only feel like an expert...I'm far from it!). But Phil is my favorite...you're close behind! Seriously, you think out loud (Phil does as well). It's a great teaching/learning tool! Say hey to Bailey for me!
Hi Max! Yeah I totally forgot to drop the speed down. I usually turn on the slower side of things in general but that would definitely help here. This was a tough piece because the bottom kept chunking out when I took the nub off, but it didn’t go too deep, so shewf! I used either a 1/2” or 3/8” spindle gouge here, tho I’d like to get a detail gouge ground to 30°
I’m just glad I didn’t fling the bowl off the lathe again! 😂
The problem with cutting a crotch in 1/2 is generally you lose all the figure by the time you hollow.
My opinion is that the circle ⭕️ method you mentioned first works so much better because you can take the regular wood off both sides and have figure on the inside and outside of the bowl.
Hey Gary! Yes, I thought this crotch was considerably bigger than the maple I’d done, but it really wasn’t. Next time I’m gonna try the circle and come in from both sides. It’s nice to compare how things look 👍
Just came across your video…a bit late in the game. TH-cam can be a good/bad vector for info exchange.
You present a valiant effort of dissecting crotch wood. At 1:40 your square approximates a blank 14” long and 22” deep. Cutting proceeds end-grain up. Turners in local club advised avoiding endgrain. No chips when cutting, just dust, heat dulls chain. Cross grain yields chips, long grain (rip) yields long ribbons. Alignment of 3 piths and steadying blank always a problem and your buck does a reasonable job.
Guessing your bar is 14”. If you consistently rip 14” long blanks, use a longer bar. Easier to direct and frees the bar tip. I’m no expert or braggart, just conveying what has been taught.
Your results are impressive…keep up the enjoyment!
Thanks Charles!
Got to embrace the warping and cracking with red oak. Its my favorite. Note: wd40, steel wool and some elbow grease will make your lathe bed like new.
It still hasn’t cracked so I’m pleased with that. After I was done with the video I cleaned the bed ways and the chuck jaws. Oak is some crazy stuff with all that tannin!
Another great video!
Do you have any instructions on how you take and/or edit the pictures of the final product that are shown at the end of the video?
Hey there! I use a cheap light box/tent what came with (4) LED ring lights with blue and yellow filters and several different colored backgrounds. I use a gradient background that I’ve had for years in the tent instead, and use my iPhone 11 most of the time to take the pics and I edit them with the native iOS camera software. Nothing too fancy - I think the light box setup was under $50 on Amazon
How often do you put out a video? I subscribed several months ago but I just don’t see as many videos from you. You do fantastic work and I have enjoyed every video.
Thanks Ronnie! I try to put one out every other Thursday, plus the occasional Workshop Wednesday when I can. I was just off for about a month due to a vacation and all kinds of issues with our travel trailer, but am hoping to keep the twice a month schedule 😊
Yay ! I like an oil finish over a sterile clear finish any day of the week ! BTW wet sanding with oils makes a pore filling slurry too - and there's more working time. Thanks for showing these oak pieces at the end. I did not think red oak would be so pretty (hardly ever cut any - once as a matter of fact). Oak and how its tannins mess up steel is legendary. Ugh ! Thanks for sharing. Take care. -Mike p.s. I'm still not convinced it is red oak - does it have the really strong, obvious straw like pores you can blow through ?
Hello my friend! Do you wet sand with oil? What do you use? I think I used mineral oil once and hated it - just made a mess and left the wood weird. But I would try again with some recommendations. Not really necessary on most of the woods I work with, but since oak is so plentiful here I figure a good finishing method is a great thing to have in my back pocket.
I am sure this is NOT white oak, which leaves one of the species in the red oak group here in Michigan. “Northern red oak, black oak, northern pin oak, pin oak and scarlet oak all belong to the red oak group”. And apparently they hybridize. We just split a small white oak from our drive for firewood. And I can tell the difference by the smell. What kind of red oak it is? Cuz I’m pretty sure it is oak- but It’s a mystery 🤷♀️
I’ve yet to find a nature identification app that is even close to right for bark or wood grain pattern, which is such a bummer! I’d love to be able to identify species by photo. The iNaturalist and eBird and Merlin apps are amazing! But we just have to guess 😂
I have some of the sides I cut on the outside of the pith and I’ll try to remember to look at the pores - the grain I actually turned was so squirrelly cuz of the crotch grain I didn’t notice one way or the other.
@@LisaRamlow
Well, hello to you too lovely friend !!
🔸Wet sand ? I used to but it is too messy. It does save the paper and keeps things cool. Best was using an open mesh paper. Mineral oil is perplexing - I will wash it off if I'm worried if it will bother the next coat. Since I don't use Acks on raw wood anymore I hardly use it. My favorite oil is walnut. Haven't touched BLO lately either. Repeating here ... I've been using sanding dust plus the shellac or topcoat to fill the pores. And pack it into small cracks.
🔸Wet or white oak ? I'm no expert even tho I play one on TH-cam. Lol ! I grew up in Delaware and all I ever saw there was obvious red and white oaks - apparently 2 varieties in that wee little state. My dad bought wet oak from the Amish mill and I'll never forget the sour smell of the fresh stuff !! And here in western PA I dunno. I've only recently been scrounging local logs so we'll see. Oh, and floors ... only ever seen red oak on wood floors. Guess you can tell the company I keep. hehe.
Anyhoo, do you know the Wood-Database site ? Wonderful for understanding woodworkers' wood. Here's a link to a page on oaks - be sure to start with his discussion called "DISTINGUISHING RED AND WHITE OAK" and then look at the different oaks he's catalogued ... www.wood-database.com/?s=oak
TL;DR He say pointy leaves are the reds and rounded leaves are the whites; or the pores are open in the reds but filled on the whites; and 1/4 sawn rays are much longer on the whites. Be sure to try the straw trick to ID a red - it works !!!
🔸Hope you see this reply ! p.s. I really enjoyed watching your 4 footed friends playing on the bed and doing laps through the house !!! TTFN 🖖
I understand that when drawing or copying an image it works better to draw it upside down but how do you draw a circle upside down... much less backwards. I came back to this vid to look at the jig you use to whittle away/size a piece of wood for turning so I can get ideas for my own jig. What changes would you make to it if you were to construct a new one? The only thing I would change is the "table" to the right by adding another 2 x 4 next to the existing one for better support. I enjoy watching/listening to your working and thinking processes as you turn a bowl.
I honestly don’t use the flat part much, and that’s probably part of it. I need the gap between the V-sides to be a bit narrower so I’m going to add a piece of 3/4” plywood to each side and that should hold the size pieces better, as I tend to have a lot of smaller pieces than some 👍
I quite agree with you, that the wax finish definitely seems to show off the feather figure, the better of the two. However, for those for whom such lively colour may be less important than the shape, the polycrylic might work well. How do they compare, with respect to the amount of fumes given off?
Hi Stephanie! Agreed-I really liked the Polycrylic on that spalted and ant hole bowl because that wood was really pale and it kept it that way. Neither finish had any fumes at all - the tung wax smells quite nice actually
Lovely bowl. How long between mounting in the chuck and taking it out was the piece before that rust happened?
Hey Rich! Overnight 😬
I have Always enjoyed your videos. Why is it that you don't like turning oak?? Because it stains your lathe or if it is to wet can't you just get it drier? Just asking I'm New at this. Take care and Thank you for your time.
Hi Larry! I guess it's not that I don't like turning it, more that it's not my favorite and I guess that may be the grain. Now don't get me wrong, oak is a beautiful wood but the grain structure is much more open than most others and I like the pieces to be super smooth. Which you can get with oak, usually by wet sanding with a slurry to fill the pores and make the surface more level, but it is more work. I have a big oak burl left and I'm itching to get back to the shop and tackle that! I'm honestly going to be turning more oak this coming year because I want to do some large hollow forms and there is a ton of it around me - even more since our oaks here are getting oak wilt 😕
My experience (quite limited) has been that water based sanding sealer lowers grain contrast.
Agreed - not my favorite way to go for this piece, and most pieces actually but it's always good to experiment
I got a few nice burl pieces im not sure how to take advantage and where to cut them
Check out this video and the one after
Woodturning: Turning a Cherry Burl Bowl - The “Just a Bowl” Bowl
th-cam.com/video/ME0qEz9R9Ik/w-d-xo.html
@@LisaRamlow nice, thanks! i cut my crotches in half like you did as well, i figured that was the only real way to do it without the pith.