# Bowl tear out



## Gixxerjoe04 (Dec 23, 2014)

So it seems a lot of bowls I try making out of maple and walnut always have bad tear out on the end grain. Result is it filling up with dust I assume and looking like crap leaving black smudges. How do I prevent or solve this? Saying it's frustrating is an understatement. I've tried taking a ton of light passes at high speed, sanding like crazy, sanding sealer, throwing it across the garage, nothing seems to work, any helps or tips appreciated.


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## cabomhn (Dec 23, 2014)

A little trick I've used several times which has helped my on some woods like walnut that was tearing out on me was to take some paste wax and smear it into the areas, letting it sit for a bit and then shear scraping the area in one smooth motion. This has normally given me the best results and has worked well to get a nice finish. Maybe some of the other guys will have some other methods.


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## Schroedc (Dec 23, 2014)

One thing I have done is to use some of the finish I plan to use on the final piece to seal the grain, let dry and then a final light pass or two to clean it up. Also- are you using carbides or a gouge or what for your finishing passes? I've had some woods that give me fits with a carbide or a scraper but with a sharp gouge with a fingernail grind they turn better. When it comes to bowls I'm still learning and we've got some phenomenal turners here, hopefully one of them will weigh in.


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## DKMD (Dec 23, 2014)

Lots of tricks... The wax or finish helps as mentioned above. Water or shellac can be used to stiffen the fibers before final cuts as well. 

On the inside of a bowl, I find that I get better surfaces with smaller gouges, so I'll often make a finish cut with a freshly sharpened 3/8 bowl gouge(1/4" in UK terms). I've also had good luck with a fluteless gouge... I got mine from Doug Thompson, but there may be others who make one. I think Reed Gray(aka robohippy) has a YouTube video about using the fluteless gouge.

On the outside of bowls, I've got a scraper made from an old eBay skew chisel that I use for refining the surface. I use it as a shear scraper at times, but I also ride the bevel on it which essentially makes it a skew. I get a better surface with that than I do with any bowl gouge, but that may be because I need to get better at using a bowl gouge.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Dec 23, 2014)

I'll have to give that a try, I only use carbide, hopefully will get some traditional tools eventually when I have the funds.


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## Steve Walker (Dec 23, 2014)

I keep a spray bottle of 50/50 dish soap and water at the lathe. Spray it on......cut it off.


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## MikeMD (Dec 26, 2014)

DKMD said:


> I get a better surface with that than I do with any bowl gouge, but that may be because I need to get better at using a bowl gouge.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You made my day, Keller, you really did.

Guys, Keller is an AMAZING turner with serious bowl gouge skills. If he gets a better cut with another tool, it is because the other tool creates a better cut. Consider his advice. But take his humblness/humbility/humblocity with a grain of salt...

I hate to say this, but the bottom line is sanding WILL take out tearout. It just takes a lot of it! Think about it...how far down is the tearout? 1/32" or more? That is a LOT of sanding, and definitely is frustrating and time consuming...But eventually, it will take care of it. A better cut with less or no tearout is more fun and quicker...no doubt.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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