Couple questions.
Dave Smith, Longview, WA
>Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the update. Did you do any other weighing of the bowl? I am wondering what the weight loss curve is for such a large bowl. Where was it dried? In the shop, barn or outhouse? I will need to search my messages to see what the drying time is for large bowls done by others. I seem to remember that 3 weeks is an average time.
The cracks you mentioned, where they all the way through the wall?
Did you leave a 1 1/2" wall thickness because you wanted a thick finish wall or because of concerns of no wall thickness on the finished bowl? Thicker walls developer most stress when drying and take longer to dry. It does not hurt to leave th bowl in the alcohol for a longer period. While typing that sentence I realized I put a piece int alcohol last night. Oh well, several days will not hurt and on a piece as large and thick as the magnolia It is probably prudent to soak a couple days.
When you finish turn the bowl will you take a measurement for me? After you true the tenon and reverse the bowl, turn the top of the rim until it is flat. Then, with a pencil and the lathe running, draw the largest and smallest continuous circles you can. The distance between the concentric circles(CC) will indicate the thickest wall possible for the finished bowl. Of course the final thickness depends on the desired shape and, in my case, catches along the way. I have found that Concentric Circles are a better indicator of bowl distortion than trying to measure diameters across an uneven rim. The high points of the rim give a false indication of the diameter difference at 90 degrees, because they have a larger diameter than the low points. Sometimes the CCs will indicate that the bowl needs to be repositioned in the chuck. I started checking the CC when measurements of roughed out bowls implied I could not get a very thick wall on the finished piece but the finished piece had a much thiccker wall size. It is nice to know the expected wall thickness before starting to shape the out side of a bowl.
I sure hope the holly makes it through the drying process.
Dave Smith
Form follows catches in Longview, WA.
