Not my best idea - update OOPS

[Lons]

I cut down a large yew for someone maybe 25 years ago and kept a number of sizeable chunks. Feeling bored a couple of days ago I decided on impulse to turn a rough piece into some sort of squarish natural edge bowl, no clear plan just let it flow and see what happened. I didn't bother to cut off corners as usually have no problem with a sharp gouge.

A bit heavy and unbalanced for my lathe and I could only turn at very slow speed I soon realised that it spewed off sharp bits like an erupting volcano. I'm always well shielded but one shard took skin off my thumb through a glove. A few swear words are effective pain relief until I gave in and went for aa more conventional shape.
It's still on the lathe had one coat of Danish oil but I don't like it much and will have another go once or if I've built up some enthusiasm.

I don't know why I tried as I have plenty of nice forgiving blanks to choose from that don't fight back and bite you in the backside. I can only put it down to age and senility.

 

[duke]

I like it Lons.

 

[CHJ]

@Lons, I'd suggest that next time you trade 10 minutes more on the bandsaw before you even think about starting and do something more satisfying with the hour of agro. fighting that end grain bowl gouge impact experience.

But I guess you have already come to that decision yourself anyway.

Re:- The Bowl, unless you fully intend to give the impression of a chunky walled piece, I would suggest that in future you undercut the rim slightly on the inner and outer walls rather than chamfer the outer.
This then disguises the actual wall thickness, sometimes necessarily left thicker as a precaution against suspect wood structure defects.

 

[AndyP]

yew is beautiful isn’t it?
I’ve put some large unbalanced chunks on my lathe in the past. It is certainly an experiance. I do have a ripping chain for the chain saw which does help sometimes to round off chunks like that.

 

[Cabinetman]

Well you’re a braver? man than me Lons. That lathe must be rock solid for you to even think of attempting that.

 

[Mike G]

I saw the first photo and felt a little faint........

 

[Accipiter]

Photo #2 tells a fair bit about the piece...

Braver than I am - not that my lathe is capable for such a lump of timber. You have my respect .

I love Yew... I've a number of boards of it, waney edge/t&t, from 3" (possibly 4"?!) through to 1" from having worked at a timber merchant from 1987 to 1992. So... had them for 30~35 years! Need to sort through them and sell some as I'm never going to use all of it.

 

[Lons]

@Lons, I'd suggest that next time you trade 10 minutes more on the bandsaw before you even think about starting and do something more satisfying with the hour of agro. fighting that end grain bowl gouge impact experience.

But I guess you have already come to that decision yourself anyway.

Re:- The Bowl, unless you fully intend to give the impression of a chunky walled piece, I would suggest that in future you undercut the rim slightly on the inner and outer walls rather than chamfer the outer.
This then disguises the actual wall thickness, sometimes necessarily left thicker as a precaution against suspect wood structure defects.

Yes that was the point of my post really, I had a senior moment.
I've turned chunks of wood like that previously without too much bandsaw work but all smaller sections and thought I was capable of doing something I clearly wasn't. Bits of it were also quite unstable so next time I'll pay a lot more attention to preparation mounting on the lathe. I don't do much turning these days so might be a while.

Your thoughts on the shape are much the same as mine and usually my preferred shape. It's what I intended if rectangular. Typical yew had some nasty cracks.

I've shown this other piece previously I think and don't have a before pic but it was a pretty wild bit of elm when I started, turned out to be a keeper 'cos the missus nabbed it.

 

[Lons]

I like it Lons.

Do you have Specsavers in the US Duke?

 

[Lons]

I saw the first photo and felt a little faint........

Wimp.

Well you’re a braver? man than me Lons. That lathe must be rock solid for you to even think of attempting that.

More like stupid Ian, and the lathe isn't as solid as I thought it was.

 

[duke]

Do you have Secsavers in the US Duke?

You lost me on that one.

 

[Lons]

You lost me on that one.

Specsavers is a company who test your eyes for defective vision Duke.

 

[duke]

Oh , should have known that. I'm really thick lately.

 

[Lons]

OOPS
I finally decided to reshape the bowl and got most of the undercut done on the outsidegiven the thickness available, started on the inside, a huge bang and bits all over the workshop. I wonder if it will glue back together as a jigsaw bowl?

I had clearly underestimated the extent of that crack in the base.

 

[duke]

Bet you had to change your undies.

 

[Lons]

Bet you had to change your undies.

Shows it's advisable to wear a full face mask and gloves.

 

[duke]

I once was turning a shallow 16" bowl for holding all my missus crap on an end table and had it fly off in pieces. Scared the hell out of me, fully face masked etc., luckily it didn't hit me. Took an hour break then made another one. Of course she asked why is it taking me so long to make it.

 

[Lons]

I once was turning a shallow 16" bowl for holding all my missus crap on an end table and had it fly off in pieces. Scared the hell out of me, fully face masked etc., luckily it didn't hit me. Took an hour break then made another one. Of course she asked why is it taking me so long to make it.

Of course she did. Women.

 

[AndyP]

Off to The Repair Shop then? Bit of glue nobody will notice.

Glad you avoided getting hit.

 

[fuse]

Repair Shop but you'd have to perfect your fake sobbing to get a place on there!

 

[Lons]

Repair Shop but you'd have to perfect your fake sobbing to get a place on there!

You're not kidding.

More than 18 months ago I made an application to them on behlf of a neighbour. I took great care to include all the facts and make it as interesting as possible as it's a lovely story and imo would be perfect for the program. No response not even an acknowledgement let alone refusal.

The lady is in her late eighties and has dementia, at the time not too bad though now serious. She brought me her damaged Polyphone music box made in the late 1800s and I didn't know they existed, the lid was missing so ideally needs a replacement otherwise a clean up and minor wood repairs plus a proper clean up and maintenance of the mechanism. It's working and has more than 20 disks though many are bent because as a very small child she used it as a roundabout for her dolls. Because of it's importance to her I didn't want to try the repairs and she mentioned the Repair Shop which she watches on TV.

Anyway, the story of her family in Yorkshire and her disabled furniture and coffin maker father, how he aquired the Polyphone and how it was damaged I was sure would invoke a response. She's still waiting hopefully and mentions it every time I see her.

the second and third pics are what it would have looked like originally.