Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Do weed pots split?
George Van
>I have a beginner�s question.
I just finished looking at Wolf�s photos of his olive branch weed pots.
I want to try to turn a few with the bark still on but I do not know what keeps them from splitting around the pith. Is there a trick or will they split if the pith is included in the pot?
I have both 3-year dry and green branches available.
Any help would be appreciated, George
Re: Do weed pots split?
Wolf Kiessling
>George, Those olive weed pots were turned in a spindle orientation. By that I mean, the pith is in the center of the pot and runs all the way thru it, top to bottom. Matter of fact, most of it was bored out because that is where the flowers will be stuck. All of the weed pots that I turn are that way because I like to use wood that is too small to be turned into bowls.
Wolf
Re: Do weed pots split?
George Van
>Thanks Wolf,
I guess when the pith is removed for the hole you also removed a lot of the stress.
I will go to the woodshed after the Packer game and give it a try.
I will grab some cherry.
I wish we had olive trees on the property, I thought yours looked interesting with the contrasting grain!
George
My reply was on the dumb side
Wolf Kiessling
>I realized it shortly after I posted it but wanted to wait until half time before retracing it. When I replied, for some reason I had it in my mind that you were thinking the weed pots were turned in a bowl configuration. Of course, you werent't thinging that at all. You probably wondered if they split because so often logs split when drying. I have actually never had a weed pot split and that may very well be because so much of the pith has been removed. There is always some left in the bottom but it's probably not enough to get stressed. Maybe someone else will have a better reason but that's the best I can come up with.
Wolf
Let's see if the Packers can stay with that 10 - 6 lead and proceed with the playoffs. My other team, the Cowboys, got knocked out of 'em yesterday.
Re: Do missing pithes split?
Mark Mandell - Gone Round in New Jersey
>Hey George,
I've "heard" that hollowformers who trun the whole log section, drill out the pithe all the way through to prevent checking, and then glue in a plug when the the whole deal's dry.
If true, that should work for you if you have a hollow TS that you can run an installer's bit through.
Mark
drop the 2 for mail
Re: Do missing pithes split?
Dick Hines
>Drilling the pith out of the center of a vase is how I do it and ,I won't say never, have trouble with the bottom splitting.
Re: Do weed pots split?
George Van
>Being a �Cheese Head�, I was unavailable during the game also. Good game, good ending.
Now for the Eagles, they just came off the protected species list!
George
Re: Do missing pithes split?
George Van
>Question Mark, where do I go to look at an installers bit?
Re: Installer's Bits
Mark Mandell - Gone Round in New Jersey
>Yopu might find them in the electrical section of your local big box. If not, hunt up an electrical supply house.
If your pots will be less than 12" tall, there are long fluted and brad point bits available as well.
Mark
drop the 2 for mail
Thanks Mark
George Van
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