Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Disaster waiting to happen

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Near Springville, AL
    Posts
    137

    Disaster waiting to happen

    Noticed something strange going on while starting to clean the inside. Fortunately I noticed it before it went flying all over.

    Disaster waiting to happen.JPG

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Escondido, CA
    Posts
    6,224
    I confess that I did not always know that these cracks mean "try a different piece of wood."
    Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Kapolei Hawaii
    Posts
    3,236
    Personally, I'd put my cage down and give it a try.......
    CA is your friend, as well as lower speed, cage down and full safety gear. Stay out of the line of fire.
    Or you could toss it. Why risk it if it's not a great piece of wood. No offense, but the wood doesn't look all that great.

  4. #4
    No question - firewood!

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA
    Posts
    1,311
    I would cut through the crack on the bandsaw and turn the larger half into a much smaller bowl.

    Steve

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,561
    Blog Entries
    1
    I feel your pain, Jim.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post
    I would cut through the crack on the bandsaw and turn the larger half into a much smaller bowl.

    Steve
    If you look closely there are other cracks, including one in the large half.

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Asheboro,NC
    Posts
    133
    My theory, " if you can't turn it- burn it"

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Near Springville, AL
    Posts
    137
    This wood was what I call yard maple. One of those fast growing silver maples that developers love to plant because they grow fast. They also have roots that run on top of the ground and in a 10 year old tree will be, from my experience, 15 to 25 feet from the trunk. Impossible to cut under and unsightly. It was alive when cut down and I got a number of large pieces. After running them through the band saw I sealed them. That was about 6 weeks ago. What really puzzles me is why it broke in almost a stair-step fashion. I still haven't quite got the hang of this turning thing so I turn whatever I can get. I will attempt to turn some of the other pieces and do so very carefully. C&C's appreciated.

  10. #10
    Jim, silver maple is an excellent wood to turn and often has figure and burls more often than hard maple. However, a piece that size would take several years to dry. If you are wet turning wood, you cannot leave a piece on the lathe for any length of time without covering it with a plastic bag. That may be why it cracked.

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Near Springville, AL
    Posts
    137
    Quote Originally Posted by John Keeton View Post
    Jim, silver maple is an excellent wood to turn and often has figure and burls more often than hard maple. However, a piece that size would take several years to dry. If you are wet turning wood, you cannot leave a piece on the lathe for any length of time without covering it with a plastic bag. That may be why it cracked.
    That may well be why it cracked since I left it on the lathe for about an hour during lunch. Lesson learned.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hipp View Post
    That may well be why it cracked since I left it on the lathe for about an hour during lunch. Lesson learned.
    I've learned to spritz wood occasionally with water while turning to keep it from drying out.

    JKJ

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Atikokan, Rainy River district, Ontario
    Posts
    3,540
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hipp View Post
    This wood was what I call yard maple. One of those fast growing silver maples that developers love to plant because they grow fast. They also have roots that run on top of the ground and in a 10 year old tree will be, from my experience, 15 to 25 feet from the trunk. Impossible to cut under and unsightly. It was alive when cut down and I got a number of large pieces. After running them through the band saw I sealed them. That was about 6 weeks ago. What really puzzles me is why it broke in almost a stair-step fashion. I still haven't quite got the hang of this turning thing so I turn whatever I can get. I will attempt to turn some of the other pieces and do so very carefully. C&C's appreciated.
    Fresh Silver Maple is, and I agree with John Keeton, a nice turning wood, the crack in the wood is almost certain caused by the fall of the tree, I would not expect such a severe split from drying for a short time, and certainly not in the jagged manner this one did.

    Though the already present split would open up with drying, it is why we should inspect a piece very thoroughly before starting to turn it, and be aware of any hints that something is wrong with it while turning.
    Have fun and take care

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    303
    Absolutely needs to come off the lathe... but it might be worth cutting a smaller salvageable piece out... it would kinda depend on what it looks like. From the picture, it doesn't look particularly exciting, so I'm guessing I'd burn this one.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •