Another enjoyable challenge

[Tom Brouillette]

One of my favorite parts of this hobby (addiction?) is to challenge myself to do something I've never done before, or might have not thought possible. Case in point is these two red maple blanks that were obviously not cut from the ideal "crotch" location. I roughed them out anyway about 18 months ago and shelved them. This weekend I finally decided to give one a go. I wanted to try it without CA glue, or any mechanical means of holding the piece together. Sharp tools, safety glasses, a face shield, and some extremely patient turning, and I was done with the 1st. I knocked out the second in the same fashion. I'm pretty proud of how they turned out.010.JPG011.JPG012.JPG013.JPG

[John Keeton]

Well, they did turn out nice, and you escaped injury, so I suppose one should be pleased. While the effort was successful, some might question whether it was worth the risk. There are a lot of body parts that aren't protected by a face mask, including the carotid arteries in certain positions. I am just not a big enough risk taker to turn a piece of wood that has a separation across 75-80% of it's diameter. But, the world is a better place because there are folks that will!

[William Bachtel]

I agree with John, that piece of wood is an accident waiting to happen. If a piece of it hits you anywhere, its going to be bad. Just want you to be aware.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

This is the typical “I’ve done this a thousand times” where the person is then carried out on a stretcher !!

Is it worth it ??, NO, in my opinion.

[Brian Brown]

Tom,

When you say no mechanical means of holding the piece together, do you just mean permanent methods like glue, butterflies etc. or do you also mean glued on supports, tape or stretch banding, and other means of temporary support? I have turned cracked pieces before, but would have never done it without some mechanical means of added strength and safety. This is one result.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-me&highlight=

I glue small pieces of wood across the cracks, and wrap the outside rim with glass filament tape "just in case" the parts decide to take separate vacations. As the bowl is finished, the glued pieces are turned off, and the tape removed, leaving a "how'd you do that" kind of piece. Without the temporary strength assists, I wouldn't ever try to turn something so questionable. Even with the cool factor of the finished piece, as a wise man once said, "life is too short to turn crappy wood". My feeling is that life is too short, why shorten it more. I am hoping you had some unseen and temporary safety measures.

As to the finished piece, I like it, and the crack adds to the overall artistry and interest.

[Tom Brouillette]

I appreciate everybody's concern for my safety. I mean that sincerely. I should have led off my post with the fact that I was (as always) out of the line of fire, and had my lathe turning at a low speed. Evel Knievel I am not.

Brian, to answer your question, I was talking about "means of temporary support."

[Roger Chandler]

Things still happen "out of the line of fire!" Not all pieces will explode, or come off the lathe in a predictable way! Nice work, but you did take an unnecessary risk...........we all have at one time or another, and got by with it, and at times it jumps up to bite us! I have been hit taking all the correct safety precautions, and sent to the house for the day. An obvious piece like this is just an accident waiting to happen....the safe thing if you must do a piece such as this is a safety wrap of strapping tape to hold it together..........a pain, but you might just live to turn another day, or perhaps be able to keep your teeth and such. A faceshield is a must, but not bullet proof.

I have made my mistakes, and have no room to criticize, so do not take it that way, but just trying to help you avoid getting comfortable with very unsafe practices.

[James Williams 007]

Wow those are nice! I love the one on the right with the crack that almost goes through!

[brian zawatsky]

Seeing those bowls reminds me of an article I read about an accomplished female turner whose name I cannot recall (I think she is Japanese?) who had her face literally smashed by a piece that came apart on the lathe while spinning at a moderate speed.

The article made my toes curl.

I took the tip of my left index finger off on a jointer a number of years ago, and ever since I have been very careful and conscious about any potentially dangerous operation that I am attempting to perform. There's not enough tea in China to get me to turn the chunks of wood that you turned, my friend. JMO.

[Dennis Ford]

I like the pieces. Had you posted "before" pictures and asked about safety of turning the wood, I would have recommended that you do NOT do it. I get the idea that you considered the safety issues and decided that you had skills to do this safely; you did a fine job and they turned out really nice.

[Grant Wilkinson]

That was Lynne Yamaguchi, Brian. Here is her site

http://lynneyamaguchi.com/

[John Sanford]

I get why everybody is jumping on the safety aspect, although it is a bit insulting to assume he wasn't aware of the risks, given that he addressed them right up front. What I don't get is why little credit is given to WHY the OP did it.

He did it BECAUSE it was a challenge. While, if I were under the delusion I could pull it off, I would have armored myself up a bit more than just a faceshield and safety glasses (one advantage to riding ATGATT is I've got armor), I salute you Tom. The skill and patience to execute those bowls is commendable.

Just don't use 'em for soup. I'm just sayin'....

[John Keeton]

John, some of us are risk takers and others aren't. As I said in my post, the world is a better place for that.

Most everyone commended Tom on the finished product, but as to commending him on the "why", none of us is aware of the skill level and attentiveness of Tom, not knowing him personally. Just looking at the wood used, there is nothing out of the ordinary with it that would normally push one to "save" it.

Most would then assume Tom did it to see if he could end up with it staying together. He said as much in his post. For me, a turning "challenge" is accomplishing a technique I have not tried previously and yet unsure I can get an appealing and successful result. A "risk" is trying something where there is a known danger. At my age, I tend to cherish my health far more than I did as a young person, so perhaps a lot of us are just getting old and risk averse.

One must also realize that hundreds of thousands of folks view this forum, including young folks and those just thinking about taking up turning. I would prefer those folks understand the real risks involved in attempting something like this.

[Tom Brouillette]

Man, did I open up a bag of cats here. If it will improve my safety reputation (or at least diminish my daredevil reputation), the bowl in the first two pictures was, while risky, not as dangerous as it would appear. The bottom was solid through the tenon, and the big crack didn't appear until I was cutting the tenon off. This was with a jam chuck at a very low speed. My first thought was "this look like it was impossible to make." That is why I posted the pictures.