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Thread: Big walnut and maple salad bowl

  1. #1
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    Big walnut and maple salad bowl

    Hello Everyone,
    Here are some picture of a big Walnut and Ambrosia Maple salad bowl I've turned a couple of weeks ago, but finally got around to finishing this past weekend. The bowl measures 14 1/2"OD x 4 1/2" high, and sports a 4" dia base.

    Finishing this bowl turned out to be quite a bit more work that I had anticipated. The first time I sanded it, I was not pleased with the surface. So I wet sanded with mineral oil, thinking that this would help. Actually it made matters worse. It wasn't until I applied the finish that I saw how the end grain in one section of the walnut base had risen up. To my mind, it looked awful. Even though SWMBO says she couldn't notice, I could. And therefore I wouldn't let it out of the door.

    Thinking that this was a problem related to my sanding method, I posted a question on Wood Central asking for opinions on dual action air sanders vs electric right angle sanders. I got some great input about these tools and after some thought, I have decided to purchase an air powered sander.

    However, Russ Fairfield was one of the first people to respond to my post. He indicated that the problem lay not with my sanding tools. But with the way I was wet sanding. It seems that mineral oil may not be the best choice when wet sanding end grain in open grained woods like walnut. The slurry will fill the pores, but not make the fibers "stand at attention". If the wood fibers are not stiffened, they won't cut cleanly. Russ recommended wet sanding with a 50/50 mix of varnish and thinner (I used mineral spirits). The varnish should be the type with alkyd resins in it. The resins will impregnate the wood and stiffen it up nicely.

    Well, after reading Russ' reply, I went to my local woodworking store and purchased a can of McClucky's Spar Varnish (in the red can). Over the next day or so I wet sanded the entire bowl to 1500 grit. This was a bit of a task since I had to use my vacuum chuck to hold the bowl on the lathe while I sanded. But in the end, it was well worth it. The surface was mirror smooth with no defects. Kudos to Russ!

    After allowing the bowl to dry off, I applied a coat of Woodcraft's Urethane Oil finish. Afterwords the bowl was buffed with the Beall System, minus the white diamond. Even though I pretty much sealed the pores with the varnish/mineral spirits mix, I was still cautious about the effect of the white diamond compound would have on the walnut. Sometimes the white compound gets trapped in the pores of the walnut and ruins the effect.

    And just for your amusement, here is a pic of a 4" dia sphere I turned from some spalted red oak Mark Kauder sent me last year. He actually sent me a 10" dia bowl blank, but it cracked after sitting for too long. But cutting out the crack at my bandsaw, I was able to get (3) small blanks from it. I was pretty amazed at the color and figure this wood presented. I would have never expected this from Red Oak.

    Thanks for viewing.

    See ya around,
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Dominic Greco

  2. #2
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    Dom-
    Thanks for the report/how-to! I saw your original question on WC and am glad you did the follow-up.

    This one will be printed out for reference.

    Oh yeah BTW- the bowl looks great! Is it sold yet?


    I've been wanting to try turning a sphere and your's looks great, as usual.

    Thanks for sharing the pics and finishing technique!
    Mark


    "Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock."
    Will Rogers

  3. #3
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    Smile

    Dom,

    Great looking bowl as usual. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  4. #4
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    That's a lotta salad!

    You'll need lots of lettuce to fill that one. Looks great Dom.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  5. #5
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    Really beautiful work, Dominic. I really hope to see these things up close and personal one of these days! The varnish mix was a good solution for the endgrain situation...the slurry cures "hard" in the pores that way whereas the mineral spirits (or oil) just "goes away".
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #6
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    Not yet

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Hulette
    Dom-
    Oh yeah BTW- the bowl looks great! Is it sold yet?
    Not yet. I plan on featuring it at a "show" I'm hosting at work in November. Hopefully it will get sold then. People here seem to favor the confetti lights, peppermills, and potpourri bowls I turn.

    I recently completed a Walnut and Hickory bowl that is slightly smaller, but the same shape. They look almost identical. If I turn one more that is slightly smaller than that bowl, I'm hoping they can be sold as a "nesting" set.

    And thanks for the compliments . I'm glad someone else can benefit from this technique. It sure made the difference with this bowl.

    BTW, the technique for turning spheres is soooo easy. I'm sure you could master it after a very short time. Besides being a great use for small scraps, its a heck of a lot of fun.

    See ya,
    Dominic

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker
    I really hope to see these things up close and personal one of these days!
    If I can get my work schedule to go back to what passes for "normal", I will try to make it to the next BWT meeting. I think that is next week. Right?

    Hopefully, I can bring some of my work for show and tell.

    Thanks for the compliments,
    Dominic
    Dominic Greco

  8. #8

    Beauty!

    Great Bowl Dominic................as always, your work is beautiful and inspiring. I appreciate the explanation and the tips on dealing with the end grain. I have had a few problems such as yours dealing with Walnut End Grain when turning. It never occurred to me to use something to get the end grain to "Stand" so it would cut smoothly. I will have to try that technique on my next Walnut Turning. Thanks for the advice and sharing your work with us. I always enjoy your awesome work!

  9. #9
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    Dominic,

    Very nice looking bowl. I see it's segmented on the top section, how did you do this? Is the whole bowl done like a segmented bowl? I also saw that you sold your old Jet lathe, what are you turning on now?

    Pete

  10. #10
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    So Dom

    When are you retiring & becoming a full time professional turner?

    Beautiful job as usual. Question on technique. Do you turn the bottom walnut blank & square up the face - then use segment strips of the wood glued on from there? If so how do you get the glue ups to hold if the bottom is already rough turned?

    BTW - Glad your old lathe went to a good home - you were making me nervous when it didn't sell right away. I wouldn't have been able to explain that one to LOML.
    God Bless America!

    Tom Sweeney BP

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dominic Greco
    If I can get my work schedule to go back to what passes for "normal", I will try to make it to the next BWT meeting. I think that is next week. Right?
    My PDA says it's 20 October for the next meeting. As long as that's not some kind of school holiday for BCCC, of course...

    The boys and girls will be very happy to see your outstanding work on the show and tell table!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Stahl
    Dominic,
    Very nice looking bowl. I see it's segmented on the top section, how did you do this? Is the whole bowl done like a segmented bowl? I also saw that you sold your old Jet lathe, what are you turning on now?
    Pete
    Peter,
    Thanks for the compliments!

    In a nutshell, heres the technique I use:
    I start off with a roughed out and very dry walnut bowl blank. I turn it true on the lathe without taking too much of the material away and use a sanding stick to flatten the top.

    A sanding stick (Ken and Wally taught me this one) is a nice flat piece of 1 x 1 x 14 hardwood that has been surfaced and planed so that it is nice and true. I then glue 100 grit sand paper to 2 adjacent faces, and 80 grit to the other 2. Hold this against a the top of the bowl while it is slowly spinning on the lathe, and you get a nice flat surface.

    After that, I just measure the top up, and make up the segments just as you would with a segmented bowl. You can see who that is done by reading Ken's article here on SMC.

    I'm turning on a new 1 1/2HP Jet Jwl-1642EVS now. I sent the review into Keith for him to post in the articles section. He should be doing that soon.

    Thanks
    Dominic Greco

  13. #13
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    Tom,
    Check out the reply I posted to Pete on my technique. that should answer your questions.

    And I'll retire from this job as soon as people start paying $1000.00 a bowl for my work.

    Col. George should be showing off some of his work soon. If not, we have to start razzing him!

    See ya,
    Dominic Greco

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