Spalted maple platter with "feather" grain pattern

[Robert Marshall]

Since getting my new Grizzly G0766 lathe, I've been digging into my pile of maple and cherry log sections, most of which were too big for my old Jet 1236. This one came from a crotch section, and seemed to have missed its "turn-by" date by many months. Some parts of it had gone from spalted to crumbling.

Top of platter, showing the "feather."
Screenshot 2017-02-22 at 6.56.40 PM.jpg

Upside-down, showing the base. Wood was too far gone to use a mortise or tenon; had to stick to the face plate.
Screenshot 2017-02-22 at 6.57.57 PM.jpg

Two things happened during the course of turning:

1. It became apparent that the outside of the half-round (bark-side), which I had planned to be the bottom of the bowl, was just too far gone for that purpose. Very punky.
2. The "feather" grain where the crotch branched was likely to be carved away with the bowl hollowing, had I stuck with the bowl plan.

So, a change in plan: instead of a bowl, I turned a platter, atop a small footed base. Kind of a cake platter, I guess.

But to get there, I still had lots of punky wood to deal with. The kind of wood that tears out if you even look at it hard. I decided to give Minwax Wood Hardener a try, my first such experience. I applied it liberally to the rough-turned form, hoping that once it set up, I could re-turn the piece, and get a decent surface without major tear-out. The product comes out of the can very, very thin; in some cases, it will soak all the way through the piece you are trying to harden.

I used a lot of it, applying with a sponge-on-a-stick. Probably more than half of the pint can it came in. The next day, I put the piece back on the lathe, and with some exceptions, pretty well avoided tear-out, with wood that had been hopeless before. Good product for that use.

I'm just started on finishing it, with WOP. I have several more coats to apply.

[John K Jordan]

Since getting my new Grizzly G0766 lathe, I've been digging into my pile of maple and cherry log sections, most of which were too big for my old Jet 1236. This one came from a crotch section, and seemed to have missed its "turn-by" date by many months. Some parts of it had gone from spalted to crumbling.

But to get there, I still had lots of punky wood to deal with. The kind of wood that tears out if you even look at it hard. I decided to give Minwax Wood Hardener a try...

That looks great! What is the size?

I laughed out loud at "...seemed to have missed its "turn-by" date by many months..."

Nice to hear the experience with the wood hardener. I bought some but never used it (probably well past its "soak-in" date by now!) I generally use very thin CA glue for stabilizing but a piece like yours might take a lot of glue. And the fumes are epic. It does give a perfect surface though, even on rotten wood that will crumble under the fingernail.

JKJ

[Robert Marshall]

The platter is about 13" in diameter, and about 3 to 4 inches high. Just right for that birthday cake.

I thought about trying epoxy, thinned with acetone. May yet try that, as there are some other crumbly pieces back in the deep recesses of the turning room. I kept some maple in garbage bags for too long, I think.

The Minwax has the advantage of coming pre-mixed. Not too hot on handling acetone.

[robert baccus]

I've been using the epoxy thing for 20 years--it leaves a piece of wood as firm as new wood and with no discoloration. Also a fraction of the cost of that other stuff. Just use enough of the solution--dump it and the piece in a black yard bag and shake every hour until it is all soaked in. Overnite will harden everything up.

[John K Jordan]

The platter is about 13" in diameter, and about 3 to 4 inches high. Just right for that birthday cake.

I'm very interested in what you find out about the epoxy and other ways to stabilize. I've been saving some nice spalted chunks that are beautiful but pretty soft. A friend of mine uses thin epoxy - I'll have to ask him what he has discovered about applying and turning. I don't worry too much about using acetone with plenty of ventilation and gloves. For things that make fumes I also keep a full-face respirator and pop on a couple of special filters for volatiles as needed.

respirator_full_face.jpg
Filters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That size is about the size my Lovely Bride wants me to make for her cakes! We have one made from stainless steel with a glass cover and she wants to use the glass with a wood base. I'll have to show her yours. And then I'll have to find some bigger wood!

I like the shape of the base, it looks close to those I've been putting on my smaller dished platters - inspired by Frank Penta's squarish plates, I make these from 8/4 boards, about 9" across. At this size (and shape) they are more suited for cookies and things. (I hope this doesn't look like I'm trying to hijack your thread - I've posted this picture before) I've had people (woodturners with "rules") criticize this foot design but what do they know? I think the important thing is the wood is dry and stable. The critics might be thinking about potential problems with a thick base of green wood.

penta_plates_comp_small.jpg

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

I've been using the epoxy thing for 20 years--it leaves a piece of wood as firm as new wood and with no discoloration. Also a fraction of the cost of that other stuff. Just use enough of the solution--dump it and the piece in a black yard bag and shake every hour until it is all soaked in. Overnite will harden everything up.

Robert, is your experience with a certain type of epoxy and/or a certain thinning recipe? Do you thin with acetone?

Also, can you give an idea of the amount of epoxy needed for, say, a 12" bowl or platter?

I assume this is with a rough-turned piece in dry wood.

JKJ

[Robert Marshall]

I've been using the epoxy thing for 20 years--it leaves a piece of wood as firm as new wood and with no discoloration. Also a fraction of the cost of that other stuff. Just use enough of the solution--dump it and the piece in a black yard bag and shake every hour until it is all soaked in. Overnite will harden everything up.

I'm interested in learning more about ways to harden/stabilize punky wood. With regard to epoxy:

1. Any particular epoxy to use? I have on hand a kit made for finishing things like bar countertops, a pour-on finish, usually.

2. How do you thin it? Acetone? Proportions, epoxy mixture to acetone?

3. "Yard bag": black plastic type? Doesn't it stick to the piece of wood, once the epoxy sets up?

Thanks.

Robert

[William C Rogers]

Great looking platter. I am also interested in the "how to" epoxy acetone method. I also have some outdated wood, but it needs some additional support.

[robert baccus]

Sorry about the delays--medical thing. I thin the epoxy or poly resin with acetone until it drips off a stiring stick freely. Average bowl about 1/2 pint of mix--into the bag and play shake & bake every time you walk by it. If you use too little and you cut through it just repeat the procedure. The thinned mix will penetrate the soft stuff nicely and not the hard wood. It soaks into the fibers and does not fill the pores resulting in a natural wood look and feel. Strong as new wood and cuts and sands like that. Looks like hell next morning until you cut the surface resin off but then magic. PS poly resin (think fiberglass resin) is cheaper than epoxy resins but both work well/ On old wooden boat trick from the 50's.

[Brice Rogers]

Nice looking platter.

I notice on the bottom the screw holes from the face plate. Are you planning on turning them off or leaving them?

[John K Jordan]

...
But to get there, I still had lots of punky wood to deal with. The kind of wood that tears out if you even look at it hard. I decided to give Minwax Wood Hardener a try, my first such experience. I applied it liberally to the rough-turned form, hoping that once it set up, I could re-turn the piece, and get a decent surface without major tear-out. The product comes out of the can very, very thin; in some cases, it will soak all the way through the piece you are trying to harden.

I'm working on a bowl now that is so punky I get massive tearout even with all my turning tricks. You can dislodge fibers with your fingernail. I tried an entire can of Minwax hardener, apply let dry, repeat - it did help but not as much as I hoped. (I think the instructions said something like remove any soft, punky wood first. Duh.)

I tried multiple coats of shellac sanding sealer then lacquer sanding sealer which have worked wonders in the past. Still not satisfied. (I turned away a little more after each experiment.) I soaked it with two bottles of thin CA glue. That worked better, as it usually does. I was moderately satisfied with the surface although it did have some remaining surface voids from tearout.

In the end I resorted to a trick my good friend John Lucas taught me - wet sanding with CA glue (by hand). Put thin CA on sandpaper and the sanding dust will fill in small surface defects and with luck, they will be invisible. After the CA sanding, I used hand scrapers and a Grex random orbital sander at low speed. This is working very well and I might actually not be too ashamed of the bowl.

As always, be careful with the CA. Fingers stuck to sandpaper are no more fun than fingers stuck to anything else. :-)

JKJ

[Robert Marshall]

Thanks, Robert Baccus, for the additional info on using epoxy or fiberglass resin. I'm going to look into this further. I'm still not sure what sort of bag you have used; you referred to a yard bag, which makes me think of a paper bag used for collecting yard waste. Or are you talking about something plastic?

Brice Rogers asked about the face plate screw holes on the bottom, whether I planned to turn them off. Probably not, because I'm not sure how deep the wood hardener has worked its magic. I'd hate to open up the punky-wood can of worms again!

[robert baccus]

Sorry about that--acetone eats up many plastics and you must find a vinyl bag to be safe. I have black plastic yard bags handy for this.