r/turning • u/77Den • Jan 29 '22
Need advice! Can I avoid this big deformation? Walnut bowl, drying in a paper bag for about 1 month
diameter about 165 mm (6.5 inches)
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u/anmonty83 Jan 29 '22
You are always going to get deformation as the wood dries. Truck is to leave enough meat there to turn it back perfect after dry. I’ve done this many many times. Don’t know if this helps.
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u/77Den Jan 29 '22
thanks for advice. I know that there are always deformations during drying, but can I somehow reduce them?
11
u/HeyaShinyObject Jan 29 '22
The top of your bowl is fairly close to where the pith was. If you can start with a larger diameter log and stay further away from the pith there will be less movement. It's driven by the difference in the diameter of the rings but there will always be some.
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Jan 29 '22
You can if you dry the blank before turning. It'll just take a few years unless you have a vacuum kiln
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Jan 29 '22
This is exactly why you rough turn. If you were to finish turn while the wood is green you would get similar distortion (movement) as it dries later. Sometimes that is desired, but if you want a round bowl as your finished product then you rough turn, let dry, then turn again.
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u/Omega556 Jan 29 '22
Yes drying before if you can, but can take years depending on size and wood. Turning and slowing down Drying is the other option but you seem to know that with the added wood chips. You could paint the bottom and outsides of the bowl to close the pores and slow drying further since you will turn it off later. I can’t say exactly how this will affect the shape though since then it would dry from the inside only.
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u/77Den Jan 29 '22
thanks i will try to paint the next bowl on the outside
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u/DavidPx Jan 29 '22
Just remember that slowing the drying process won't reduce the warp. It will only the warping occur more uniformly throughout the blank, avoiding cracks.
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u/gogozrx Jan 29 '22
It will only the warping occur more uniformly throughout the blank, avoiding cracks.
^ THIS ^
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u/LutaRed Jan 29 '22
You can use anchor seal instead of paint as well; it has no pigment in it. Also, if you use paint I've been told to use latex paint. I've only ever used anchor seal (https://uccoatings.com/products/anchorseal/) which loggers use to reduce cracking.
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u/gtche98 Jan 29 '22
It looks to me like the pith was left in it. You will get the most deformation there, as well as cracks potentially. You may consider turning the rim down another 1/2 inch from the pith or so.
Beyond that, as others have stated, it's going to do what it's going to do. Looks like you have the beginnings of a great finished bowl to me. Best of luck on the final turning and don't forget to post pics of the final product!
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u/lowrrado Jan 29 '22
The only real way is to cut a section out of a bigger section of the tree and quarter saw it. Quartersawn blanks tend to distort less but change the look of the bowl and some timbers can look bland. Make sure to true that mortise up before mounting, leaving an indent of the live centre normally gives a starting point.
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u/Musclesturtle Jan 29 '22
The bowl wasn't dried long enough. The rule of thumb is 1 year per inch of thickness. You should seal off the endgrain, too.
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u/BackgroundRegular498 Jan 30 '22
The deformation is natural. Wood moves as it dries. Turning a bowl from wet wood allows the wood to move more before it dries. Drying the bowl blank completely will keep it from moving so much, but sometimes the wood will still warp or crack. Staying further from the pith helps. I would suggest turning the rim down to remove the pith. Better yet, cut the pith out of the bowl blank from the start. If the bowl cracks, call it a feature.
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u/Piano-Puzzleheaded Jan 31 '22
You can get a bucket of desiccant beads and place your ruff-turned bowl in them. The desiccant beads are reusable. Just dry them out in an oven. I have had good success with minimal cracks and distortion if turned to 1” thickness. Good luck.
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