3 Sides -bigger this time

[Roger Chandler]

This is the rough-out I did while at the DAMP wood society gathering last Thursday.....I had the wrong chuck jaws on my Nova SN2 and it flew off the lathe on me one time.....This one is bigger than the other 3 sided forms....bigger does not always equal better. This blank had a divot along one edge, where the bark had been, and it made the form where I could not turn away and leave a perfect triangle.

This one turned out to be 10-5/8" wide and about 7.25" tall with the pedestal. Tony D. suggested to me to just take off the pedestal and do a rounded bowl bottom...........that may be something I do with one, but I like forms that have feet, pedestals and lift to them, so I left it.

This one is not finished either..........I really worked hard trying to get all the end grain to cooperate, and even though I sanded through all the grits by hand......then through most of the grits with a power sander and disks.....it still left some end grain issues..........then I went back a third time and sanded through all the grits by hand .....it is much better, but still has a couple of areas that I am going to have to work on.

I used shellac as a seal coat and WOP ......2 coats.........this needs to cure, then re-sand....600 grit and then, refinish, and when that cures, I will buff it out lightly and likely put some renwax on it.

These 3 sided forms are neat to do, but I think this particular ambrosia maple I have been using leaves issues as it is fairly wet wood,and perhaps I am in too big a hurry to get to finish with it.......it seemed it was not too out of round when I put it back on the lathe late Saturday night, and when I got back to it today, the work I had done on Saturday night was pretty much the same.....not out of round any.

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[Tony De Masi]

Sure looks better than the last time I saw this piece Take your time with those grain issues Roger as they will definitely bring out all the qualities of what the wood has to offer.

[Roger Chandler]

Sure looks better than the last time I saw this piece Take your time with those grain issues Roger as they will definitely bring out all the qualities of what the wood has to offer.

Hey Tony......I think the last time you saw this it might have been in mid-air,or bouncing off the wall! I think a couple more rounds of some finish work will allow this one to at least be respectable!

Seems somebody told me last week you use walnut oil a good bit.......I know your platters and bowls were very nice........might have to get you to show me how you do it!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Very nice Roger but I liked the smaller one also. It's a unique and sweet form. Those areas you find hard to sand I call "Bruises". I get them now and then. I believe they can disturb the wood a good 1/16" deep making them almost impossible to remove without wrecking the form. Better to remove them while you still have a gouge in your hand. Keep on with this form. There are lots of variations in depth and pedestal height to explore.It's a winner.
faust

[Josh Bowman]

Roger, nice job. That one looks like a nice fruit bowl. Your going to knock your fingers off with those things if you aren't careful.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, nice job. That one looks like a nice fruit bowl. Your going to knock your fingers off with those things if you aren't careful.

Yikes! Those points do make me be a little more deliberate about how I approach sanding by hand, that is for sure...........Thanks Josh!

[Eric Gourieux]

Roger,
That's a really nice one. Now, you're making me want to try one.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,
That's a really nice one. Now, you're making me want to try one.

Go for it Eric!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice piece Roger.

[Mike Cruz]

Roger, I know how sanding a NE bowl is a bit tough with the lathe running. So, I'm sure it is the same with this three pointed bowl. I agree that with the end grain issues resolved, sanded down really fine, and walnut oil and buffed, that piece will really shine! Good for you for sticking with this piece even though it was beating you up a bit, and flew off the lathe. IIRC, you even had to recut the tenon. It would have been very easy to "toss" it, but you didn't. Gotta hand it to you for that.

[Doug Herzberg]

That's pretty nice, Roger. I agree it needs to be on a table with some fruit in it.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, I know how sanding a NE bowl is a bit tough with the lathe running. So, I'm sure it is the same with this three pointed bowl. I agree that with the end grain issues resolved, sanded down really fine, and walnut oil and buffed, that piece will really shine! Good for you for sticking with this piece even though it was beating you up a bit, and flew off the lathe. IIRC, you even had to recut the tenon. It would have been very easy to "toss" it, but you didn't. Gotta hand it to you for that.

Mike, if I had used the correct jaws starting out, that rough out would have gone a lot better......of course one realizes this after making the tenon for the 50mm jaws. I should have begun with the 100 mm power grip jaws which have serrated sides for better gripping. Live & learn! It would have allowed for a larger base as well. You are correct about it beating me up a bit......this is not the easiest form to do for sure!

[Baxter Smith]

Glad to see you beat that chunk of wood into submission Roger. I know it was taking wild swings at you to begin with!

[Roger Chandler]

Glad to see you beat that chunk of wood into submission Roger. I know it was taking wild swings at you to begin with!

Thanks Baxter! You know......one would think that I would have picked an easier form to do on my debut with the DAMP guys! Tony suggested I do this form........I don't think he knew what he was getting into, or more precisely what he was getting me into! On second thought, I am not sure I knew either!

This was the first time I did one this size, and that is a lot of mass for the smaller jaws.......of course having never done one this size, I did not know.......but NOW I do! Hopefully, at least if any of you guys want to try one of these, then you saw how to go about it, and if you go large like this one.....use the jaws that give you some real good grip!

[Roger Chandler]

I took this 3 sided form back to the lathe today and chucked it up to re-sand and refinish.......this time, I sanded it back with 120 grit, then did the 120 grit power sand.......up to 150 grit by hand then power sand, and did each grit in the same sequence all the way through 400 grit........then.......I took some micro-mesh and went to 3000 grit.........then shellac and then WOP..........that did the trick......this one is still drying as I post this, but it has a lot of curl and chatoyance, and is smooth as the proverbial babies' behind.

Maybe another pic when fully dried.