Little Penta bowl

Re: Little Penta bowl

Ron Borowicz

Cool use of small pieces. Any idea what material the small blue spacers are?

blue - dyed veneer?

John K Jordan

>>>Any idea what material the small blue spacers are?

I was about to ask Frank what all the pieces were, but I suspect the blue is a dyed veneer. Looks good between the white and gold after turning.

I bought a bunch of veneer from Sauers last week at the NC symposium, both natural and dyed, recommended by Frank BTW. They said their veneer, even the thicker stuff, was dyed all the way through, perfect for turning. The colors seem stable too, at least I haven't found a solvent yet that caused bleeding.

https://sveneers.com/wood-veneers/

Today I turned the blank he gave me, I'll post a picture when finished. I really like the look of this - I'm about ready to cut some of my turning wood into pieces and glue them together!

Some time back I bought one of these book clamps after seeing it in use in Frank's shop. It is perfect for things like this and for the larger layers I've been using in the Beads of Courage bowls. About $60 on Amazon, heavy cast iron but with Prime shipping. I'm thinking of getting another one.

BTW, a couple of years ago he showed me some of his lumber before it gets glued up. He buys thick exotic wood planks 16' long then cuts them all into little pieces for gluing together. He added a room onto his shop just for these pieces - big drawer after drawer full of thousands of rainbow colors in different sizes and thickness, ready to select or just grab a stack and glue them up on a whim. When I visited last, that's exactly what he was doing - spreading Titebond and cranking on clamps!

JKJ

I used to make small bowls...........

JamieDonaldson

...like this and even smaller, from scraps. Called them pill bowls, no two alike so you don't mix up pills! Glue-up with Bessey style bar clamps is easy.

Re: I used to make small bowls...........

John K Jordan

Mike Stafford makes, or at least used to, a lot of small bowls - "ort" bowls. Apparently high in demand by people who work with thread. I am happy to have one of his in my collection.

You still make ort bowls, Mike?

JKJ

Re: I used to make small bowls...........

Mike Stafford

Yep, I make a lot of ort bowls. Since Gail has become more well known in the needlepoint world I have access to many more needlepoint women.

Just this year I started making layered bowls a la Jim McPhail using up scraps that I have saved for years from my jewelry box and tackle box making days.

Here is one of my layered ort bowls in oak and walnut. About 3" by 3".

By the way, on the advice of Charles Jones an English turner I started using cascamite a powdered resin glue for my layered bowl blanks. Charles said that he doesn't experience glue creep with the cascamite. So far I haven't experienced any creep either although I only started using this glue a couple of months ago.

powdered resin glue

John K Jordan

>>>I started using cascamite a powdered resin glue for my layered bowl blanks. Charles said that he doesn't experience glue creep with the cascamite.

That sounds like a good idea, thanks! I just looked and found some on Amazon (shipped directly from the UK).

Frank did tell me he had occasional issues with glue creep using Titebond. I remember using some kind of powdered resin glue when building a kitchen work table from hard maple. I had zero glue creep. (it's almost 40 years old now and in daily use.)

JKJ

They don't have to be small...

Mike Stafford

Being that I am naturally lazy I made some layered bowls using scraps in the size that I found them. This bowl is an example where I just stacked up similarly sized pieces of wood from the scrap pile and turned them into a bowl.

This bowl is much larger than most that I made at 4 ¼” tall and 8” in diameter. It is built from mahogany, walnut, Spanish cedar and veneers. I used PVA and after several months I think I am beginning to feel the creep.

Re: powdered resin glue

Mark Paulley

Hello, Can you explain glue creep?

Thanks!

Re: powdered resin glue

Mike Stafford

Glue creep is the phenomenon over time where you can feel the line between two glued pieces of wood. Glue line telegraphing (the technical name) or glue creep occurs on exposed wood joints as a thin, slightly raised bump along adjacent glued surfaces.

I am hoping that the cascamite works as advertised.

Question on Resorcinol Waterproof glue

Barry Irby

I have some Resorcinol Waterproof glue from US Plywood. Its probably 30+ years old but appears to be in perfect condition. It's a blond powder and a dark purplish liquid you mix. I can't remember why I bought it. Anybody know anything about it. Would it be a good glue to eliminate glue creep? Probably on dark woods only. How about for veneer? Bent laminations?

Shelf life is limited once opened

Ken Vaughan

I had a job building trusses once upon a time. Once opened, moisture from the air started to react with the glue. One year from manufacture was the recommended shelf life, with a few months grace period.

Test old glue before committing to production uses. Strength dropped off pretty fast regardless of appearance.

Re: Question on Resorcinol Waterproof glue

Mike Stafford

I messed with resorcinol glue many years ago. It is a nasty mess that seems to get everywhere and is very hard to get off your hands. I don't know anything abut its shelf life.

Until the development of epoxy glues resorcinol was the "go to" glue. It was the only glue approved for use in airplanes with wooden fuselages. It was also commonly used in boat construction.

This cascamite glue only requires a bit of water in the correct proportions. I bought a jug of distilled water and some measuring spoons to measure the relatively small amounts of glue I need for these glue ups. I spread it out with 1/16" tooth spreader. It cleans up with water if you don't allow it to dry on the tool.

Re: powdered resin glue

Mark Paulley

Mike, thanks! How do he segmented folks stop he creep?

I don't know the answer....

Mike Stafford

I don't know a lot of segmenters so I don't know if or how they stop the creep.

Re: powdered resin glue

Peter Hyde

I used Cascamite for many years during and after apprenticeship in UK. Best glue ever! So I was totally shocked by the glue choices when I crossed the pond. Managed to find a similar powdered resin here in Canada now made by Circa 1850 (Swing Paints) http://www.swingpaints.com/category/epoxies.

It does not creep or stain the wood. Wash off any squeeze out before it sets using warm water. Clean up tools and brushes with warm soapy water. If you let it set then a card scraper will remove the surplus easily. Sets to a brittle glass like substance that is boiling water proof. Only big drawback is shelf life. To check if glue is still good mix up a small amount and put a spot between index finger tip and thumb and rub together . It should feel smooth and creamy, if it feels gritty and hasn't mixed together properly then the glue is dead. I always check freshly bought cans this way and return any that are dead. Put a date on the can when you buy and check for usability up until 1 year has passed then toss it. Mixing ratio is around 5 parts powder to 1 part water and it should be condensed milk consistency.

Re: powdered resin glue

John K Jordan

>>>Only big drawback is shelf life.



Do you know what causes it to go bad? Moisture? Oxygen?

I've had success with things like finishes by replacing the air in the bottle/can with dry nitrogen. I keep a tank in the shop for this. I wonder if it would work with powdered resin glue.

JKJ

Re: powdered resin glue

Peter Hyde

I think it's because in reality it's a 2 part glue with a catalyst included in the powder so over time it just breaks down. In my woodworking time of nearly 60 years I have only experienced 2 1lb cans that were DOA and after some heated argument with the hardware store they were exchanged. Set up time with this glue varies greatly with temperature. I built a cedar strip canoe with it in a shop temperature of 85ºF and the glue was setting up in less than 20 minutes. A bonus that allowed me to just keep on placing strips and completed the hull in record time.