HELP!!! Cedar cracking on the lathe

Re: HELP!!! Cedar cracking on the lathe

TDaniel

>Red Cedar does crack quickly. I rough turn it and put it in a paper box for a few weeks and then finish turn it. It doesn't warp badly....just cracks. I fill the cracks with fine sawdust and soot and then wet that with thin CA. Sand with Watco Danish Oil.

TD

Re: HELP!!! Cedar cracking on the lathe

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Thank Terry. I will go ahead and leave it rough thickness and pull it off the lathe then. I would rather wait and keep this beatiful wood than do the wrong thing.

I did rub in some of the sawdust when I CA'd the cracks. So that should help prevent future marring.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

Chuck.

Re: HELP!!! A different way to do it.........

Russ Fairfield

>I have made a few bowls from Eastern Cedar, Western Red Cedar burls, and Redwood. They all have a cracking problem as they dry. In addition, the Western woods want to separate along the grain boundaries as they dry.

My solution has been to turn the wood as soon as possible after harvesting, and keep it wet while turning to final thickness and giving it a rough power sanding with 60 and 100 grits. If a spray bottle of water isn't up to the job, I remove it from the lathe and soak it in a tub of water. It is important to not let the rim start to dry.

Then I submurge it in a tub of an oil finish, weight it down with bricks, fashion a cover for the tub, and wait until either the finish has replaced the water in the wood or the finish starts to gel. This is 3 to 4 weeks for a 3/8" thickness, but I leave it an extra week or two to make sure the thicker bottom has absorbed the finish.

Then I take it out, let it drip dry, and set it aside for the finish to fully cure. That is another 4 to 6 weeks. It could be longer in the winter when the nighttime shop temperatures are below 65. Then I put it on the lathe and wet sand with the same finish up to about 400 grit.

The soaking finish is 2 gallons of Mineral Spirits, 1 gallon Boiled Linseed Oil, and 1 quart of a spar varnish. I use the McCloskey's gloss spar varnish in the red can.

Before anyone says that I should try LDD (liquid dish detergent solution), I already have. It works at preventing the cracking and separation, but it reacts with the wood and has a negative effect on appearance and gloss. The finished wood looks like it has been rubbed with mud, and the grain picture is nowhere to be seen.

The bowl in the photo is a 15" Western Red Cedar burl that was turned and finished as described.

Re: Thanks and *PICS*

Chuck Ludwigsen

>WOW, Russ. That is an amazing bowl. Very nice. Thanks for the advice. I have 3 more pieces of this cedar to turn - 1 will be endgrain hollowform. I may try the different techniques on different pieces. I just hope this one holds up.

Here is the piece I roughed last night. Click for larger image.

Chuck.

Re: HELP!!! A different way to do it.........

RevDoug

>Nice bowl Russ. Wouldn't boiling do basically the same thing as soaking in the oil? I do like the soaking method, just find it a bit expensive. But then again, if I was selling bowls as quickly and for as much as you do, expense wouldn't be a factor, just added into the cost of the bowl.

Thanks for showing this one and sharing your knowledge.

Turn 'em round,

RevDoug

Re: HELP!!! A different way to do it.........

Bill Hale / The Wood Spinner

>Chuck

If you leave the lathe, even just for a few min., You can spray on some water and wrap a plastic bag over it. I just pull the bag over it and give it a spin to close the open end of the bag around the shaft. Put the tool rest in place to keep it closed. With this method if something distracts you and you don't get back for a while it will be ok.

Good turning and be safe

Bill