Turning Bloodwood at low speed
Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL
>Anyone who has seen many of my bowls, know I love to use Bloodwood.
When I wrote a "Wood of the Week" article on Bloodwood, I commented that in my experience "For turning, a sharp gouge is recommended � frequent sharpening will be required. Light cuts are recommended, as the wood will splinter if you are too aggressive. The wood that comes off the gouge is in very small chips, or small �� Curls. I have found the Bloodwood takes a scraper very well on the inside of a bowl, where the wood being cut is supported by the wood behind it. However, anything but the lightest scraping on the outside of a bowl will result in excessive tearout."
Those comments were made based on the fact that I turn most of my bowls (at that time) at 750-1200 RPM.
The other night while sanding a bowl that has a Bloodwood foot, the lathe was turning at approx 200-300RPM. I saw a slight inconsistancy in a curve, and picked up a round scraper with the right radius on it. When I applied the scraper to the slowly turning Bloodwood, the wood came off in long luxurious ribbons, and when I stopped the lathe and looked at the wood, it had a wonderful smooth finish.
Anyone have similar experiences with other woods? Somehow, I always tended to turn the speed UP when dealing with dificult woods.
Another advantage to a VS Jet Mini lathe that goes lower than 500RPM (HEHEHE).
Mark
