Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
End grain woes
JL work
>I have gotten end grain "ragging" or whatever you want to call it on a couple of bowls. Keith Rowley recommends soaking the piece with "liberal applications of oil, applied with a rag" - and then scraping. Usually I sand with a drill (new wave pads) and take it up through the grits until I am reasonably happy. Sometimes it works and sometimes I get swirl patterns. Advice please.
Re: End grain woes
Mike Schwing from Md.
>I just finished talking with Richard Allen about this on an email. We were discussing what brings us our "Zen" in woodturning and I went off on the torn grain issue.
There are many solutions to torn grain. Best to first really figure out if yours is torn or bruised. Rubbing a bevel too hard on the interior of a bowl can cause bruised grain that never even seems to sand out. Torn grain can be treated by stiffening up the fibers or ironicially by lubricating them with an oil so they cut easily. I find that sanding sealer, shellac, or lacquer work better for me than oil because the oils can interfere with sanding and other finishes later on.
Really, torn grain can be nearly eliminated totally with cutting techniques. Shear cutting, shear scraping, and light cuts can go a long way towards ending torn grain, but it comes with experience. Watch David Ellsworth's signature gouge video - that is where I first learned how to clean up my torn grain problems.
Also - the direction of cut is important. Cutting against the grain is much more likely to tear grain out than cutting with it, and there are points in a bowl or hollow form where the grain direction will change - you have to adjust your cutting direction to keep pace. You don't want to cut right into end grain, but downhill of it if possible. Examine your work closely to see which way you should move your gouge.
Lastly, sanding is an effective technique to deal with end grain, it is just rarely the preferred technique as it takes time, messes up the place, and often ruins the profile you work so diligently to achieve.
Re: End grain woes
Bill Howatt
>Mike Schwing has given you good advice on cutting techniques to minimize the problem. I have found wet sanding to be a big help but only after you have done your best with the tool. I often use either mineral oil or Lee Valley tung oil sealer as the wet part. I apply it liberally to the piece and the paper and sand away. It forms a slurry and probably fills as well as removes. This technique can salvage a piece but it doesn't work giant miracles.
Bill
Re: End grain woes
Greg in Oshkosh
>My favorite is to make a 1:1 mix of wax and turpentine. apply this to the torn grain and sand with the lathe on using course paper(say 60 or 80 grit) The wax will be removed about the same time the torn grain is gone. Have not had any problems with finishes on top of this.
I do agree with the other posters that a clean cut is the best.
BTW all of these oil, wax, sealer etc treatments fill in the voids between the endgrain fibers allowing you to sand (or cut ) them cleanly. Use the one you are most happy using.
