Darn, darn, darn Blue Pine

[Doug Herzberg]

What I actually said was my own version of George Carlin's 7 dirty words, but that's not for here.

I've tried this form once before (copied from Raffan's book). I didn't look at the picture this time, so I'm probably way off. I gave the first one away and THEN found out Mrs. H. really wanted it for herself.

I wanted to see if the blue pine I got this week was suitable for turning green to finish. I've had problems with pine splitting in the past. About halfway through hollowing, I took my eye off the ball and that's all she wrote.
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The black spot is where it struck and shattered an ABS DC gate, but no other damage or injury. I've been upgrading my gates to metal anyway.

This blank had a mate, so I get one more try. I think this time I'll core the center of the vase with a Forstner bit.

[Roger Chandler]

Good luck on your second, Doug.........turning pine from green to finish is a crap shoot at best!

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks, Roger. Turns out the second blank won't be tall enough.

I don't have a lot of experience with this. Is it better to twice turn pine or just avoid it altogether?

[Joe Bradshaw]

Doug, I would try soaking the piece in dishwashing detergent after rough turning it. I have had some sucess with this method.

[Mike Cruz]

Pine? Avoid it in my opinion...

Sorry this one blew up on you, but glad you didn't take the brunt of it!

[Roger Chandler]

Is it better to twice turn pine or just avoid it altogether?

Doug........I try to stick with hardwoods........that being said, you can turn pine.......makes for some pretty turnings if you get the limb areas in the piece, and use a good penetrating finish like Danish oil........soak till almost translucent. It will crack if not put through some drying process..........I agree with Joe on trying the dish liquid soak........the turners who use this method say it really cuts down on the cracking..........so my advice is to rough turn, put immediately in dish liquid soak for a few days........take out and let dry with it wrapped at least in a bag or covered with anchorseal and then wait at least a few weeks...........then turn to final thickness and true up the form.

About as good as you can do, I think..........again, good luck!

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks for all the advice. I've messed with the LDD before, but I don't think I did it right. Right now I have some rough bowls coated in anchor seal in the fridge kiln. They started to mold, so I increased the temp & ventilation.

I also decided to go ahead with the second blank, fixing the height by decreasing the diameter. I just finished the outside and rolled the rim this time to see how that would look. Big problem, though - I've been called away and have to leave it on the lathe. Solid chunk with a 1/8" rolled rim already formed. If that doesn't split by the time I get back, I'll feel a lot better about the whole thing. I did sand to 180 and put a coat of WTF on it. I can sand down the grain with 240 when I get back.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Doug - looking forward to seeing the second version! If you have to leave the wet wood on the lathe - then cover it with a plastic grocery bag! I do this all the time - it creates a small micro-climate and prevents the wood from drying out!

[Ron Crosby]

I love the smell of pine.

[Doug Herzberg]

Steve, I didn't get your tip until after I got back. Nothing bad happened though. I finished turning by 3:00 p.m. and tied a grocery bag over it because I had to go to another appointment. This is how it looked then:
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I learned a little about this wood in the process. When the blue staining is wet, either from sap coming out as you turn or from wet finish, it goes dark, almost black. It returns to blue as it dries. In theses photos, the stain is wet from both sap and WTF.

I've cleaned up the area where the Forstner bit bottomed out and sanded and I'm now building up the coats of WTF, but it still looks pretty much the same. No cracks yet. Roger, I don't want to use an oil on this because it yellows the pine and turns the blue stain an ugly green. Take a look at the anchor sealed blanks in my original post on this wood if you want to see an example.

I'm not sure what I think about the rolled rim. I may have to wait to see it off the lathe. C&C appreciated.

[Mike Cruz]

I like it, Doug! Not a favorite wood to work with, but I like the shape. I'm good with the rolled rim, too.

[Eric Gourieux]

Doug,
Cool wood and cool form. I like the rolled rim, too. It looks thin. How thin is it? I received your turning blank in the mail today and it looks great! Thanks a lot. I'll get something turned out of it this week. I'm thinking about a hollow form. I'll have to consider some of your experiences and suggestions when I turn it.

[Doug Herzberg]

Hey Eric,

Glad it got there okay. The vase isn't all that thin, except right where the rim rolls over, where it is about 3/16." The original had 1/4" walls and I did a pretty good job of keeping the thickness consistent, right up to the catch. The one benefit of the tragedy is I got to see how well I did that. I'm not sure I was as consistent on the second one, but the thickness is about the same. Its still on the lathe, with enough WTF for a gloss finish, even on the end grain, and it still hasn't cracked or even moved very much. The broken one, with only one coat of WTF is starting to check in the solid part, so the drying process definitely needs to be controlled.

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The bowl blanks in the fridge were okay yesterday. They're at 85 degrees F with two 1/4" vent holes in the fridge open and fully coated with anchor seal. There's a lot of moisture coming out. Don't know if you're planning to turn end grain if you do a hollow form. I have done an end grain vase with another Ponderosa, but it had been down about a year when I started. I got it down to about 1/8 inch and had to fix several cracks (with help from some kind Creekers). It is still holding together with no new cracks. There's an old post with photos. Hope that's some help.

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice job Doug! I like the rolled rim, nice shape and the blue stain looks pretty cool!

[robert baccus]

Cool trying something new. Nice shape and wood. Having split many bowls just going to lunch I keep a water sprayer on the lathe. it dries faster there than anywhere spinning. Keep it wet and let it dry under your terms and conditions and like the man said bag it!!! You can wax it, bag it, soap it-whatever but only if it survives the lathework.