Osage Orange

Had a piece of OO that I roughed round with a hatchet and sealed the ends, but being Osage Orange of course it cracked anyway. I'd had it for over 2 years, so today, frustrated with my bowl turning problems, I decided to use it to make coasters. I thought it would be a great way to work on my chuck jaw recesses. Each coaster received one. Then I'd turn it around and finish the tops. The tops are getting Formby's low gloss Tung oil finish while the bottom recieved a beautiful CA glue finish to (hopefully) prevent further cracking.
The piece was about 7 or 8 inches long so I should be able to make 10 or more. Made these 2 tonight. Too tired and too late to make more anyway.
And as I discovered when photographing I did not get the cracks clean enough, though I used compressed air. At least I didn't make the mistake of using ca glue on the tops.

It isn't wise to use a chuck recess in end grain as the expansion is likely to cause the wood to split and launch to piece. You were lucky!

You know, I think 2 coasters are plenty. There's just me and the wife....

Seriously, John, I was not aware of that. Thank you for the warning.

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobe

You know, I think 2 coasters are plenty. There's just me and the wife....
Seriously, John, I was not aware of that. Thank you for the warning.

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Wooden coasters are a nice idea.

A good way to hold something like that is with double-sided tape, the good kind you can get at WoodCraft or another turning supplier. A friend uses it to hold large bowls onto a faceplate for turning. Cheaper and stronger than a vacuum chuck for small surface areas. The problem is more getting it off than it coming off by itself. A little wedge pressure and time will cause it to release slowly.

The way wood shrinks as it dries almost insures cracks through the pith for most species.

JKJ

That's some strong tape.
I have several feet of double sided EDPM tape. It's about 3/16 thick uncompressed and about 6" wide. leftover from my koi ponding days.
Suppose it would work?

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobe

That's some strong tape.
I have several feet of double sided EDPM tape. It's about 3/16 thick uncompressed and about 6" wide. leftover from my koi ponding days.
Suppose it would work?

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Try it. Stand out of the way.

The tape from WoodCraft is expensive but makes an extremely strong bond. We use it to hold parts on the mill and metal lathe too. I was told to never use carpet tape. Not one word about koi pond tape.

JKJ

That's just a small niche where a rubber liner is used. It is used by roofing companies who furnish liner roof material for buildings with flat roofs, mostly businesses. Most koi ponds are made by simply digging the desired depth and shape and use 45mil rubber, although a growing number of those with deeper pockets are turning to blown in concrete and various spray on materials.
EDPM is a relatively inexspencive way for a wider number of koikeeperss to build larger ponds. Koi require very large amounts of water per fish to thrive rather than to simply survive. A large number of koi are sold to those who throw a small precast plastic pond in a hole and results are koi that hardly get any bigger than the day they were thrown in.

JKJ, have you tried freezing it? Works on bubble gum stuck to your pants.:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobe

JKJ, have you tried freezing it? Works on bubble gum stuck to your pants.:rolleyes:

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Do you mean freezing to help remove the tape? Might be difficult to put the milling machine in the freezer. For an 18" bowl on a faceplate I might have to throw out a side of beef.

The good tape does hold strongly but can be removed. My friend who turning large bowls would inject acetone into the tape from the side with a hypodermic syringe and needle. We discovered later that a steady force will very slowly release the bond. I start with a knife edge or steel spatula to start the separation then after a while push in a thin wooden wedge. This can be very slow to release (may take an hour) but always works. Leaves no residue.

Some people use hot melt glue to temporarily hold pieces then pop them off. Some glue bare wood to a waste block with white glue and paper in the joint. Some use a vacuum chuck. Another way is to hold shallowly in big jaws (or with a waste block), flatten one side and turn round, then make a jam chuck to hold the round to turn the other side. I use jam chucks a lot, usually made from a softer wood like cedar. Or just make the coasters out of a longer cylinder one at a time, turn over and hold to face the back. Or better, glue cork on the bottom of the coaster to hide the rough side and keep the coaster from skidding on the table.

JKJ

I see. I had in my mind's eye a bowl on my lathe with removing the faceplate and bowl and placing it in the freezer. Not very large machinery.
I may give the tape I have on hand and test both with and without freezing .. er...that is if it will hold it at all.

More later

Osage from an old fence post. Inlay with turquoise. That post was probably 40 year old and came with the radial splits. The hardest wood I've turned to date.

Attachment 368423

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Originally Posted by Bill Jobe

That's just a small niche where a rubber liner is used. It is used by roofing companies who furnish liner roof material for buildings with flat roofs, mostly businesses. Most koi ponds are made by simply digging the desired depth and shape and use 45mil rubber, although a growing number of those with deeper pockets are turning to blown in concrete and various spray on materials.
EDPM is a relatively inexspencive way for a wider number of koikeeperss to build larger ponds. Koi require very large amounts of water per fish to thrive rather than to simply survive. A large number of koi are sold to those who throw a small precast plastic pond in a hole and results are koi that hardly get any bigger than the day they were thrown in.

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Bill I have also seen where hot glue is used for small round pieces.