Question of how to remove a lot of wood, any thoughts?

[curtis rosche]

i have a burl thats either cherry or maple, i have half the burl and part of the branch that it was on. i was going to turn it, but i was told no, i guess the teacher thought it was to soft or because the face had cracks all over. it is end grain. its to nice of a peice of wood to just throw away. so i started to try to hollow it out. i drilled some holes in the center and around the center and chipped it out. this took long because the wood it still quite hard, i used a 1inch speed bit. the diameter of the peice is about the length pf a keyboard. and about 12 inches high. what is the quickest way to hollow this out? i asked about using a router but was told that it wouldnt work well. i had an idea of using a hammerdrill set up so that it just hammers not turns, and use a sharpened chisel, but i dont know if that would work. another idea i had is to take a torch and "charr" or burn it out and scap away the burnt, like how thay used to make canoes. any thoughts on the easiest what to hollow this out?

i might post pictures later today if i get a chance

[Ray Gardiner]

i have a burl thats either cherry or maple, i have half the burl and part of the branch that it was on. i was going to turn it, but i was told no, i guess the teacher thought it was to soft or because the face had cracks all over. it is end grain. its to nice of a peice of wood to just throw away. so i started to try to hollow it out. i drilled some holes in the center and around the center and chipped it out. this took long because the wood it still quite hard, i used a 1inch speed bit. the diameter of the peice is about the length pf a keyboard. and about 12 inches high. what is the quickest way to hollow this out? i asked about using a router but was told that it wouldnt work well. i had an idea of using a hammerdrill set up so that it just hammers not turns, and use a sharpened chisel, but i dont know if that would work. another idea i had is to take a torch and "charr" or burn it out and scap away the burnt, like how thay used to make canoes. any thoughts on the easiest what to hollow this out?

i might post pictures later today if i get a chance

Hi Curtis,

Have you looked at the arbor-tech style disks that you attach to an angle-grinder, basically it's a carving disk that just fits on a standard 100mm angle grinder and allows you to remove lots of material pretty quickly. Always assuming that you didn't want to use the center material for something else of course. Be sure to wear a face mask if you go down that track, they throw chips everywhere. http://www.arbortech.com.au
They also have some power chisels, that might work for you.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Don't know how to cure your problem Curtis but if my teacher told me it was unsafe I sure would make firewood out of it. You don't have to turn every piece of wood you get. I would rather you be safe than sorry. The first time you catch one of those chunks in the face or chest you will understand why the teacher said what he did. Just my humble opinion.

[curtis rosche]

i couldnt make fire wood out of a spaulted burl, this is the one end of the log that i got the burls for the other 2 burl bowl i made.

[bob edwards]

If you haven't gone to far already can you cut it into several pieces? I would think ending up with several small projects would be more acceptable that loosing everything.

[curtis rosche]

nope, the peice isnt able to be made into smaller peices, you would loose to much

[Gordon Seto]

Curtis,

I would suggest you re-think your approach. Experience is taking up the challenge incrementally; taking a calculated risk to expand the boundary. Put your ego to be on the Guinness Book of records overnight aside first. Those who almost succeed but got hurt have to suffer the consequence for the rest of the life.
There are more accidents with band saw, more messy injuries with table saw; but even rare, lathes can kill. Age won't help, your reflex won't be fast enough when something goes wrong.

Some of the ideas you have are beyond the actual experience of most the turners over here.

[Matt Hutchinson]

I think some pictures will really help to clarify things. Hope you have a chance to post them.

Well, I just deleted a paragraph that had an idea for getting it turned. However, the safety, or danger, of this process is almost impossible to determine without seeing the chunk in person. Pics will help, but I am not sure if that's enough to make a judgement call on a piece that's already been banned.

I hate to say it, but I agree with some of the above statements. If you're not willing to slice it into pen blanks, then maybe it's not worth the risk. There have been times when I have moved forward with something and felt comfortable. But there have also been times when I just had to let go of it's beauty, and chuck it into the heap of shavings. It's important to know when to do which.

BTW, I would still like to see some pics.

Hutch

[Richard Madison]

Bowl coring system?

[curtis rosche]

i think im just going to hand make it. thatll give me something to do for the rest of the year and psrt of the summer if i dont get a lathe