The Bowl From Hell

[James Baldwin]

Hi, I just finished this bowl finally. It's hickory. I turned it green back in April of last year. Put in a trash can full of saw dust and stored in in our greenhouse. Started back in on it in Nov. Had cracks in it ( I hadn't sealed the cross grain. Lesson learned ). In the possess of turning it came out of the chuck several times amongst other problems. Filled the cracks with epoxy and CA glue and proceeded.Got it hollowed out and was starting to clean it up with one of my scrapers when I had a catch. Shattered ( split) the wood handle on the scraper not enough support. I have make another tool rest to reach down into the bowls for more support. Another lesson learned. In the possess of sanding it developed cracks in the side walls. They are very thin. Thank God for CA glue. Lessons learned. Hickory is very hard when dry. Seal the cross grain and use more support down inside. Jim

[John Kananis]

Hi James, that looks like an end grain bowl. Did you turn that as a spindle using the whole log? Won't leaving the pith in cause the cracks? I don't know for sure so asking.

[Richard Coers]

If more support means a thicker bottom, you will just get bigger cracks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Beautiful wood, great challenge and lots of obstacles overcame! An incredible learning tool! Well done, Sir!

[Thomas Wilson80]

Hi James, that looks like an end grain bowl. Did you turn that as a spindle using the whole log? Won't leaving the pith in cause the cracks? I don't know for sure so asking.

It looks like an end-grain bowl to me. While it can be done and can look amazing (often done with Norfolk Island Pine to display the regular branching pattern), it is often not advisable as the pith will almost always crack with most species. Additionally, I think the walls will be much weaker than side-grain bowls. Most bowl turners recommend cutting the pith out of the log and then using the 2 side pieces for bowls. that being said, I think you did a nice job and it looks good.

Tom