# Curious.....who has turned



## SDB777 (May 9, 2014)

Pine!




That's right, simple Pine. I have decided I want to learn to make a smoother transition from roughing to sanding. And I was thinking that by turning some green Pine, it would be a great way to experiment without spending any money(other then running the lathe-the timber was free for the taking).

The first piece I turned was awful! Wet sap yucky was just spraying all over! And the tearout, my oh my!!! I thought for a moment that I didn't know what I was doing, blamed everything from dull tools to rain outside! Dullness was a small factor, but more so the way I was using the tools....


Needless to say, I'll be turning a bunch more Pine! And maybe I'll do some experimenting with some dyes and vacuum for some 'finished' bowls?







Scott (anyone want to admit turning the stuff) B


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## Tclem (May 9, 2014)

Yep firs piece of wood I put on my lathe 1 1/2 year ago was pine. It was sappy soft blew up into a million pieces and that's about all to my story

Reactions: Funny 1


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## duncsuss (May 9, 2014)

It's okay for spindle work -- but I wouldn't try hollowing or face work (bowls) with it.

An 18" length of 2x4 ripped in half is great for practicing with a skew -- roughing, peeling, planing, and turning coves and beads.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## ghost1066 (May 9, 2014)

I turned it when I started but only spindle work it is terrible for the most part. On the other hand if I could get some NIP I would love to turn that.


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## SDB777 (May 10, 2014)

No NIP around here. We have seven(7) different species of Pine in Arkansas though, although I would be hard pressed to identify this species considering in was laying cut up in a ditch(no cones, no 'leaves', and just little pieces of bark-the tornado ripped the bark off).


Will be turning some more of it later today. Figuring if I can control the tearout while turning Pine, I can do less sanding when turning 'anything' else? Maybe?




Scott (I might share, got plenty) B


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## DKMD (May 10, 2014)

I don't let it in the shop... The sap is awful and sticks to everything. While I agree with the premise(If I can do it with pine...), there are so many other species available for practice... Especially in your line of work!


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## wyowoodwrker (May 10, 2014)

Well I guess I'm going to be the odd man out here. I turn quite a bit of pine bowls. In my area rustic is the name of the game and blue pine sells. Now I have not turned it green. But tear out is common not as bad when its dry.

Reactions: Like 1


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## barry richardson (May 10, 2014)

I have turned a couple of bowls and hollow forms from it. Sanding was what I found most difficult, gums up paper quick. Like Doc said, there are a lot easier wood to practice with; poplar, cottonwood, maple, willow, etc...


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## Mike Mills (May 10, 2014)

I turned a lot DRY pine for practice work. IMHO if you can get a good clean cut on pine you should be able to turn almost anything. I never tried green pine due to the mess others mention but I did turn green limbs of many varieties; the water is OK, the sap I can live without.
I have some pine fat lighter and still have not tried turning it but it has to be better than flat work with it.


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## SDB777 (May 11, 2014)

Starting think the bags of curlies coming off the lathe are going to overwhelm the trash guys?!?!?

Started out with a nice round yesterday, about 15"D by 9"T, and started shaving it off. At first the stuff was not too fun(right under the bark, complete wetness)! But the further I got inside the piece the better it became. I noticed right off that tool rest height with my 3/8" spindle was difficult to get right(I don't use this tool often enough to feel completely comfortable with it yet), and it certainly wasn't sharp(fixed that up quick).

Turned the outside, and practiced making tenon sizes. After I was about ankle deep in curlies, I actually used one of the tenons and flipped it around! Hollowing is not my 'strong area', and it certainly showed using the tearing, wet pine! Got the wall thickness down to about 3/16" and uniform in the upper part of the bowl, and worked the inside/bottom to about 1/2" thickness....at this point I was about 'calf deep in curlies'!

All-in-all, was fun...but messy. I did need to do a lot of sharpening for what I thought would be easier cutting? Maybe it's the cheap HSS tool steel? Or perhaps Pine has a way to dull a tool that I am not aware of yet? I'll probably make another mess today after going to lunch for Mothers' Day stuff.


BTW, the bowl....it's in the trash. While cutting the 'stick' for the tailstock, it came out of the little chuck and came apart....yup, I still need a chuck. I worked the original piece down to 8"D x 5"H.....2-30gallon trash bags full of curlies!!!! Sorry, no photo's, was covered in sappy, wetness stuff.....wasn't going to touch anything(my wife said so).





Scott (I even mowed the lawn) B


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## Tim Carter (May 11, 2014)

Turn it thin, dry it and soak it in BLO and it will turn translucent just like NIP. Sanding is a royal pain but several coats of poly go a long way toward making it bearable.


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## SDB777 (May 11, 2014)

Tim Carter said:


> *Turn it thin, dry it and soak it in BLO and it will turn translucent* just like NIP. Sanding is a royal pain but several coats of poly go a long way toward making it bearable.



How thin is thin?
Wouldn't happen to have any photo's of the 'translucent' would you?


Scott (thought I was close to thin) B


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## Sprung (May 11, 2014)

I wouldn't say I've got a lot of turning experience - next to none - and I've done a little practice on pine. It's easy to remove a lot of wood fast. But it definitely leaves a rough finish. I can definitely see it as being a wood to practice on, especially practice for dealing with tearout.


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## kweinert (May 12, 2014)

Sorry, not at home so I don't have an image of it by itself, but that piece on the right is BKP that was green turned in end grain. I had some cracks to fill with epoxy but it turned out pretty good. Yes, it was a wet, sticky mess when I started it.

I also recently finished this bowl:






which is also BKP, but it was dry. There are a couple of places, particularly in the blue (and you can sort of see it on the closest edge in this picture) where it didn't turn out as smooth as I would have liked. It's more in the manner of small chunks missing rather then what I normally consider tearout, but there is a bit of that. I don't have picture that show the translucence but it was definitely visible in this piece and it's not down below 1/4" in thickness at any point.

There are definitely woods that turn better, but it's not massively terrible. When it's green though the sap is a real PITA to deal with, I won't argue that with anyone.

Reactions: Like 1


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## NYWoodturner (May 12, 2014)

Damn Ken - You just made a pretty compelling argument for pine! Nice turns.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## SDB777 (May 12, 2014)

Hadn't thought about turning Pine with a RingMaster 723(yes I still have mine).
{RM claims no 'softwood', only dried hardwood w/out knots or grain structure}


So if I can get to 3/16th of an inch, I have accomplished 'thin'? That was while it was slinging sap/water. Was thinking about doing a 'rough out'(like I normally would do on _real piece_, then after it dries, tossing it into a vacuum chamber with some dyed Wood Hardener), then turning it down as thin as 'see-through'.




Scott (my puppy is wanting sugar) B


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