# What would you do with this?



## GeorgeS (Apr 8, 2016)

So the way I see it I can keep going through the middle and see how this turns out. If need be I can fill this hole in the rim or leave it be. There is a pretty good crack developing behind it. I was waiting to buy a Center Saver kit to work on this bowl when I realized there is a huge void in there. I can't really tell how large it is yet. It appears to be about half of the inside volume. The wall and bottom thickness look ok so far. Or I can cut it back to below the hole and make it a shallow bowl. I'm leaning towards just keeping on cutting away at the inside for now and see what happens. Any advice besides standing out of the way in case it comes apart? I can't really get a whole lot of speed turning it either because it's so far out of balance on the inside.


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## Schroedc (Apr 8, 2016)

Maybe plug the hole with a wooden plug of some contrasting material and epoxy? Once that's done it'll probably have more structural integrity and be less likely to come apart as well.


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## Kevin (Apr 8, 2016)

I would turn the outside to finish and sand, then wrap thickly with duct tape and finish the inside. I've never done that though so .......


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## Jim Beam (Apr 8, 2016)

If that were mine I'd cut back to below the crack. It's only going to get bigger....


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## duncsuss (Apr 8, 2016)

That looks too risky for me. If it were my blank, I'd change the plan and aim to get 2 or 3 smaller pieces -- bowls or cups -- out of it. And depending on how thick the rim wall is at this point, you might be able to get a few pen blanks (some cross-grain, some on the slant, some with the grain) for short-barrel pens (such as Gatsby/Sierra/Mesa and the bolt-action kits.)


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## Blueglass (Apr 8, 2016)

Epoxy? maybe with a filler of some sort?


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## David Hill (Apr 8, 2016)

I ain't skeert.
I see stuff like that a lot--don't like throwing it away.
You can epoxy with or without inlay the crack/void now, let it cure then turn it, and leave the hole as is--would make a neat _avant garde _yarn bowl & likely would sell quickly.


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## Blueglass (Apr 8, 2016)

That is a great idea the yarn bowl.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## GeorgeS (Apr 8, 2016)

Yarn bowl is a great idea! So after I walked away from it I was thinking of trying to cut a slot across the crack and trying to insert a "stitch" to keep it from getting bigger. What do people usually use to cut them?

@duncsuss I know where your coming from but I just can't cut it up. I have to figure out a way to save it. Look at this grain! I finish sanded the outside after the last pictures.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 3


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## duncsuss (Apr 8, 2016)

I understand your reluctance to break it into smaller pieces. I think two or three smaller beautiful items are as attractive as one large beautiful item -- but it's your wood (and it's stunning)

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## DKMD (Apr 8, 2016)

You can use a plate joiner/biscuit joiner to cut slots for 'stitches'. I've done that several times with good success. I'd either use walnut for the splines or something with a lot of contrast(maple).

Edit: I'm not as worried about the radial crack as I am the ring shake looking area below the knot hole on the first pic... Both areas would get splines or bow ties in my shop.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 1


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## GeorgeS (Apr 9, 2016)

@DKMD Thank you sir! I will dust off the biscuit joiner and give that a shot. I am planning to address both areas, thanks for pointing that out though.

Do you do you bow ties before its round? How would you accomplish that on a rounded surface?


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## DKMD (Apr 9, 2016)

GeorgeS said:


> @DKMD Thank you sir! I will dust off the biscuit joiner and give that a shot. I am planning to address both areas, thanks for pointing that out though.
> 
> Do you do you bow ties before its round? How would you accomplish that on a rounded surface?



I do the bow ties before I hollow the inside but after turning and sanding the outside. I use hot glue to hold the router template on the outside of the piece while it's still on the lathe. The biscuit joiner is a little less fussy since there's no template to mess with.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## Schroedc (Apr 9, 2016)

DKMD said:


> I do the bow ties before I hollow the inside but after turning and sanding the outside. I use hot glue to hold the router template on the outside of the piece while it's still on the lathe. The biscuit joiner is a little less fussy since there's no template to mess with.



Wow, Never thought of using the biscuit jointer that way... Now I want to find a cracked blank just to try it out


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## GeorgeS (Apr 9, 2016)

@Schroedc I'll let you know how it turns out!

@DKMD Do you have a template that bends? I've only ever seen the plexiglass one and I'm trying to figure out how you do that on a surface that is t flat? Especially since you have to cut out an exact piece to fit back into it. Maybe my noodle just isn't wrapping around this one.


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## DKMD (Apr 9, 2016)

GeorgeS said:


> @DKMD Do you have a template that bends? I've only ever seen the plexiglass one and I'm trying to figure out how you do that on a surface that is t flat? Especially since you have to cut out an exact piece to fit back into it. Maybe my noodle just isn't wrapping around this one.



You've got two different options. The biscuit joiner is pretty straight forward... Just cut a slot then mill something to fit the kerf.

The other option is bow ties using a plexiglass template. I got my template and bow ties from @Dane Fuller. There's no need for the template to bend... Just a couple dabs of hot glue where the template touches the curved outer surface of the turning. Dane sold me several species of bow tie patches that fit into the holes. You do have to clean up the corners of the recess since the router bit leaves a rounded corner... Some folks like to use a chisel, but I prefer to use a scalpel or exacto knife.

I guess you could try to cut your own patches, but it's easier for me to just purchase them precut. There's s place in Hawaii that sells templates and patches also, but Dane is less expensive and has a better selection. Plus, he's on WB!


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## GeorgeS (Apr 9, 2016)

@DKMD Thank you. I'm going to use the biscuit jointer on this one and I will have to experiment on something else later with the bow ties. What is messing with my head is the whole curved surface of the bowl vs the flat template. Im guessing it works out because your using the smaller bow tie on a larger bowl so there isn't a huge gap between the template and the bowl.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Steve Walker (Apr 11, 2016)

@GeorgeS...... Go to the classroom, page 7 thread is "bow tie patch step by step", authored by the good Doctor himself.

I have absolutely no idea how to link you to it, and not real sure that I care to know, cause I'll just forget how to do it before I need to do it again.


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## GeorgeS (Apr 11, 2016)

@Steve Walker Thank you sir!


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## rocky1 (Apr 11, 2016)

Steve Walker said:


> @GeorgeS...... Go to the classroom, page 7 thread is "bow tie patch step by step", authored by the good Doctor himself.
> 
> I have absolutely no idea how to link you to it, and not real sure that I care to know, cause I'll just forget how to do it before I need to do it again.



It's really not to tough Steve...

Move your cursor to the address bar and right click, that should highlight the address, and provide a pop up menu where you click "Copy".

If for some reason that fails, hold the left mouse button down and slide across the address to highlight it, then right click in the address bar to pull the menu up and copy.

If you get to feelin real froggy and want to go all out, and select a specific post in a thread to link, for instance your post above. Simply go over to the little #18 bottom right corner of your post and click on it. That will typically move that post to the top of the page, and change the address in the address bar to provide you a link directly to that post.


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## Horatio (Apr 12, 2016)

David Hill said:


> I ain't skeert.
> I see stuff like that a lot--don't like throwing it away.
> You can epoxy with or without inlay the crack/void now, let it cure then turn it, and leave the hole as is--would make a neat _avant garde _yarn bowl & likely would sell quickly.



Because mesquite is wont to do that sort of thing.

I'm generally too chicken to try any exotic fixes to these issues or lacking in the appropriate materials to pull it off so when I run across similar issues I try to get by with leaving a "feature" or make it a different shape when I started.

And yeah, I like the yarn bowl idea. My wife sent me a picture of one yesterday, reminding me I was going to try and make some.


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## GeorgeS (Apr 26, 2016)

Ok so I'm back on this after a brief break. I can tell you if I don't destroy this bowl while turning it I am going to be tickled to death with myself! This bowl has been a challenge for my limited turning skills. I got the stitches in thank you @DKMD for the tip on the biscuit jointer! Worked like a charm!! The inside of this has been really tricky for me with this big ole void. It's off balance as well for sure so I can't get a whole lot of speed and it's slow going for sure.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 2


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## Wilson's Woodworking (Apr 27, 2016)

I think I would still put some wide painters tape around the edge of that bowl just to help hold it together. If you put inch and a half painters tape around the outside edge of the rim at least if something did come loose it might not fly across the room like a missile. Looking great so far! 
Man you have to have a set of brass balls to run something like that.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## GeorgeS (Apr 27, 2016)

@Wilson's Woodworking Thank you! I never stand in front of a piece of wood that size. I'm always off to either side. I am also the only person in the shop so if it does come loose it won't get a hold of anyone. Just loose a few (BAHAHAHAH) hours of work! Did I say this is really slow going? I spent about 2 hours on it last night and I'm about 6" down into the bowl. That void is almost fully exposed now and it's about a 1/3 of the bottom of the bowl. I have also made quite a few trips to the sharpener! Walnut takes an edge off a tool pretty dang quick.


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## Wilson's Woodworking (Apr 27, 2016)

GeorgeS said:


> @Wilson's Woodworking I spent about 2 hours on it last night and I'm about 6" down into the bowl. .


Holly Cow how big is that thing!?!? I went back thrugh the post and don't see a size anywhere. I had it at about 4" deep in my mind. Just goes to show you how small my mind is.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## GeorgeS (Apr 27, 2016)

@Wilson's Woodworking That's funny! It started off around 18" or so. I haven't measured it since I put it up there but if I had to guess I would say its abbot 15" now by about 9" deep.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## GeorgeS (May 10, 2016)

Flat work is almost done. Back on the lathe between finish dry times. Spent about an hour and a half back on this last night. I found out exactly how strong those stitches are when I was a dumb ass and tried to move the tool rest while the lathe was still running. I lost about a 1/4" off the lip. Thank goodness I keep the beds nice and clean as well as waxed! The bowl pushed it out of the way. Anyway here's a couple shots as I worked last night. I have a little more in the bottom to take out then finish sand and walnut oil.

Reactions: Like 3


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