HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>First, when hollowing a piece like this you should do the stem after the hollowing is done. Adds a lot of stabiliy to the cuts. When hollowing end grain, it helps if you drill a hole down the center first. This makes hollowing easier and acts as a gauge for how deep to cut. Cut from center out to the sides.

Wally

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Sam Dean

>I tried cutting from the center to the sides, but it never worked. There's so much play in the spindle of my lathe that I need to hollow from the edge towards the center. With a super sharp bowl or spindle gouge, I always get a good clean cut. Regardless, always do the stem last. O'Donnel's "Turning Green Wood" DVD has a good section on making very thin stemmed goblets.

Sam

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Doug Trembath

>John, it takes a subtle approach to get this type of goblet hollowed with a nice finish on the inside of the cup or bowl, and a couple of techniques will help, I think. First, you need a pretty sharp spindle gouge with a fingernail profile, properly ground. Secondly, when you are making the entire lathe rumble, you're trying, intentionally or not, to take too large of a cut, and the wood is jumping over the tool. Drill a center hole to establish the depth. Then try to take very easy cuts from the center out, using the gouge turned so the flute is pointing almost all the way to the left, and cut with the lower cutting edge of the wing, just behind the tip, causing small shavings to come out. You can make a larger cut after you figure out the angle and presentation, but master the technique first. To illustrate what orientation I'm talking about, lay your gouge flat on a table with the handle end toward you, and the flute pointing up. Then rotate it 90 degrees to the left, and the flute will be pointing as I suggested. Once you have it oriented like this, rotate it back just a few degrees, and use the bottom cutting edge with very little pressure. Here's where you will see small shavings come out. This is almost a scraping cut in the beginning, but as you rotate it a few degrees, you bring the cutting edge into play. Experiment carefully with handle and cutting edge positioning until you find the "Sweet spot" of the gouge in this orientation, then just play with it. Practice, practice, practice...

Don't hesitate to take a lesson, though. So much can be taught so much quicker than it can be found out, no matter how much you read. It helps to see it, then try it. A lesson will pay for itself in days, and the benefits will last you a lifetime, and maybe even keep you from getting hurt in the process...

Doug Trembath

Studio in the Woods

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Brad Vietje

>I agree with Wally (who wouldn't !?), but sometimes you have to cut just the bark area the "wrong" way, pushing the bark on, as opposed to pushing it off, so you don't send the bark flying. With fresh cut wood I can usually get the bark to stay on just fine -- with older wood, I often soak in a little CA all the way around, inside and out, before taking my final cuts.

Then this the stem as much as you like. My example is in Red Oak, about 8" tall. Bowl is stuffed with toilet paper and lightly supported by the tailstock while working on stem and base.

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

That is beautiful!!!!

Bill Howatt

>

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

JR

>Thanks for the advice. For now I'm going to avoid hollowing end grain and take Dougs advice on finding a course or lesson. I would definetly benefit from seeing the mechanics in action.

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Keith Tompkins

>Nice job, Brad!

Re: HOLLOWING END GRAIN

Keith Tompkins

>Nah, try it JR. Just to get a feel for it. then, when you take the lesson, it will make more sense.