# Processing Bowl Blanks



## djg (Jul 2, 2022)

I've been cutting blanks for a friend out of some firewood rounds I recently sawn. Normally I just lay the round across an upside down pallet. Runners were too wide. I have plenty of scraps so I threw together a smaller stand. Tried it out on tow E. Elm rounds. Worked pretty well but I did cut through one of the sacrifical 2x4s. Oh well, I have plenty of scraps. Also got two buckets of noodles for the garden.


















May reason for posting on this trivial subject is I need advice on how to cut up an Apple crotch piece. The saw was cutting at an angle so I ran it to a local saw shop. When I returned home, It started to rain, so didn't take a picture of the Apple yet.

Reactions: Like 1 | Creative 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 2, 2022)

As a side note, add a little nitrogen when you put those noodles on your garden. Wood tends to absorb nitrogen from your soil or at least ties it up while composting. So adding a little nitrogen balances your soil back out

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 3


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## djg (Jul 2, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> As a side note, add a little nitrogen when you put those noodles on your garden. Wood tends to absorb nitrogen from your soil or at least ties it up while composting. So adding a little nitrogen balances your soil back out


I mainly use it in my flower beds and around my blackberry trellis. The only thing on hand that has N is 12-12-12 fertilizer. Other suggestions?


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 2, 2022)

Where I am horse manure is free and they beg you to haul it off. Chicken manure is 20 dollars a truckload. Your green grass clippings probably will do fine layered in on the flower bed.


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## Karl_TN (Jul 2, 2022)

Pick up an inexpensive chainsaw blade sharpener from Northern Tools in order to make sure each tooth is sharpened and cut to the same length. Cut the crotch across all 3 piths in the same cut. If wood is prone to cracking then cut off the piths on either side of the crotch, but this will make for a smaller turning blank.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 2, 2022)

djg said:


> I mainly use it in my flower beds and around my blackberry trellis. The only thing on hand that has N is 12-12-12 fertilizer. Other suggestions?


Grass clippings are 4-1-2 npk

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Useful 1


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## djg (Jul 2, 2022)

Karl_TN said:


> Pick up an inexpensive chainsaw blade sharpener from Northern Tools in order to make sure each tooth is sharpened and cut to the same length. Cut the crotch across all 3 piths in the same cut. If wood is prone to cracking then cut off the piths on either side of the crotch, but this will make for a smaller turning blank.


Thanks, I'll post a pick tomorrow.


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## djg (Jul 2, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> Grass clippings are 4-1-2 npk


Really? I thought grass clippings would rob the soil of N also when it decomposes?


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 2, 2022)

Not green grass. It still has lots of nutrients captive in it. Straw is equal to 12 pounds of n per ton. Or N 0.6

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## djg (Jul 3, 2022)

Too tired yesterday to post the new pics. This was the largest end of the Apple so I cut off a length. Might go back for more if it hasn't been burned yet.

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 1


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## Nature Man (Jul 3, 2022)

djg said:


> Too tired yesterday to post the new pics. This was the largest end of the Apple so I cut off a length. Might go back for more if it hasn't been burned yet.
> 
> View attachment 228650
> 
> View attachment 228651


Definitely go back and grab all you can store! Then make sure to seal the ends ASAP. Chuck

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## djg (Jul 3, 2022)

Nature Man said:


> Definitely go back and grab all you can store! Then make sure to seal the ends ASAP. Chuck


These two pieces have been setting on my driveway for a little over a week. BUT, I did seal the ends the same day I cut them into rounds. And they are under a patio umbrella, that I work under, most of the day. When I cut into bowl blanks, hopefully this week, I'll coat the ends in wax.

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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 3, 2022)

djg said:


> Too tired yesterday to post the new pics. This was the largest end of the Apple so I cut off a length. Might go back for more if it hasn't been burned yet.
> 
> View attachment 228650
> 
> View attachment 228651


The little stub won't change the balance by much. I would split the main double for a hopeful crotch feather then trim the secondary branch to try to make a blank with 2 feather areas on it.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## djg (Jul 3, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> The little stub won't change the balance by much. I would split the main double for a hopeful crotch feather then trim the secondary branch to try to make a blank with 2 feather areas on it.


Cut the main crotch in half and then cut each remaining log perpendicular to the first cut while removing the pith?


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## JerseyHighlander (Jul 3, 2022)

Burn it??!!! 

If you do a lot of cutting like this, you may want to look into a ripping chain. Different angle on the teeth, better results and the chain doesn't burn out so fast.

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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

JerseyHighlander said:


> Burn it??!!!
> 
> If you do a lot of cutting like this, you may want to look into a ripping chain. Different angle on the teeth, better results and the chain doesn't burn out so fast.


Oh you wouldn't believe all the wood that is burned at this log yard. Thankfully, the arborist has a thriving business. I fell in love with the place when I first started cutting firewood there. I've had to pass on 3' dia. rounds of Bk. Walnut I've posted before and dozens of crotch pieces. Only so much time in a day.



I do have ripping chains but I don't cut from the end (top of the round in the photos) where ripping chain would work better. Instead, I cut along the side of the round using a normal chain.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Nature Man (Jul 4, 2022)

djg said:


> Oh you wouldn't believe all the wood that is burned at this log yard. Thankfully, the arborist has a thriving business. I fell in love with the place when I first started cutting firewood there. I've had to pass on 3' dia. rounds of Bk. Walnut I've posted before and dozens of crotch pieces. Only so much time in a day.
> View attachment 228675
> I do have ripping chains but I don't cut from the end (top of the round in the photos) where ripping chain would work better. Instead, I cut along the side of the round using a normal chain.
> View attachment 228676


That log yard is a treasure trove for woodworkers! Wow! Is the wood free for the asking? Chuck

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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

The log yard is owned by a farmer and I've have gotten to know both him and the arborist. They only gave me and another guy in there permission to go in there because of liability. Plus they don't want every yahoo with a chainsaw running around in there. Low key.

The other guy just cuts for firewood business and sometimes I get the impression he thinks he owns the place. There for a while he was telling me what I could or could not have. It was OK with me because I don't like confrontation and getting kicked out and there was always pletty of wood.

But I have 3 Cherry logs that were prime for milling that I let set too long because of lack of the ability to load onto a small trailer. When I resolved the issue, I found the logs were all a firewood's length shorter and one was missing. Pi$$ed me off. Ended up with 5'-6" boards or so, but they were 100% clear.

Now the arborist segregates a pile for himself and the other guy and I just concentrate on what's further in the yard around the burn pile.


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 4, 2022)

djg said:


> Cut the main crotch in half and then cut each remaining log perpendicular to the first cut while removing the pith?





pith removal

the two feather areas for your bowl blank

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> View attachment 228678pith removalView attachment 228679the two feather areas for your bowl blank
> 
> View attachment 228677


Thanks, I was actually heading outside to work on it now, since it's next on the pile. Without your clarification now, I was about to split it down the center, 90 degrees to what you suggested for the first cut.


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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

Duplicate Post


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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> View attachment 228678pith removalView attachment 228679the two feather areas for your bowl blank
> 
> View attachment 228677


Not sure what you mean by your second cut drawings.
I made the first cut and was about to make a second cut PARALLEL to the first to remove that section of pith. I'm rethinking it now. Maybe you meant to make 2nd & 3rd cuts as indicated on the photo? Sorry for dragging this out.


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 4, 2022)

Removing the pith was what I was indicating with the two parallel lines. Then I would cut the lines you have marked on the piece here in the picture, giving you a small piece with a single crotch in it and a larger piece with two feathered areas . 

The third picture was a mistaken double post.

The arrows in pictures 2 and 3 indicate where your feathered areas should show up if you were to cut a round blank. That cut is up to you. I don't know your lathe size so adjust your blank size accordingly. I would keep my blank toward the smaller branch to capture the crotch figure from it on the sidewall of my bowl

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 4, 2022)

No problem on the time. I am building a goat (and duck) shed this weekend and post when I come in to cool off.

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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> Removing the pith was what I was indicating with the two parallel lines. Then I would cut the lines you have marked on the piece here in the picture, giving you a small piece with a single crotch in it and a larger piece with two feathered areas .
> 
> The third picture was a mistaken double post.
> 
> The arrows in pictures 2 and 3 indicate where your feathered areas should show up if you were to cut a round blank. That cut is up to you. I don't know your lathe size so adjust your blank size accordingly. I would keep my blank toward the smaller branch to capture the crotch figure from it on the sidewall of my bowl


Yes thank you, I understand now. My first crotch piece and it's for a friend. I do have a lathe, started to learn, got a couple of bad catches and then put it away for a while. I'm trying to get back into it. The big Apple crotch is for me; I can do around 14" (so they say).

Your reply is a little late though (kidding). While waiting for your reply, I started noodling a large Walnut log that I needed out of the way. It was a catch-all for stuff an I missed a metal piece when I cleaned it off. Got a kick back and the metal flew and cracked the oil tank on the saw. I'm in the process of repairing it now.

Reactions: Sincere 3


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## djg (Jul 4, 2022)

Poor image of the hole I punched in it after cleanup. First coat of JB Weld is on it curing and second coat tomorrow to level. Next day, pait. Should be back and running by mid day Wednesday.


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jul 4, 2022)

djg said:


> View attachment 228720
> 
> Poor image of the hole I punched in it after cleanup. First coat of JB Weld is on it curing and second coat tomorrow to level. Next day, pait. Should be back and running by mid day Wednesday.


Nice neat hole (as holes go)...

Reactions: Funny 1


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## djg (Jul 29, 2022)

Half way done processing some of my rounds into turning blanks. Last batch I gave to a friend was green end coated blanks. I thought I'd build a small 2' x 2' x 4'h box with top/bottom holes, heat source/thermostat and possibly a fan on the inside. The blanks are mainly 3"x3" pepper mill blanks and smaller. A few 4"x4" and larger. The question is, what temp would be good to use so these don't crack all to pieces? 85F?

The bowl blanks larger than 6"dia, I was going to let him turn green, etc.


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