A bowl with a bark bonus!

[admin]

(NOTE, due to my camera finally deciding to die, I am, alas, without pics, my apologies.)

I caught an hour today and decided to waste it in the shop. Nothing fancy, just go in, make some mess, then clean up and get back to the matters at hand.

I ended up turning a bowl with a bark inclusion!

I had an old birch blank laying around that I have been moving from place to place for around 6 months, looking for a good use for it. I finally moved it and decided I'd whirl it instead of keeping it as a item to keep shifting 'round the shop.

I turned it down and got all the flatspots off and, like an idiot, I just shifted the speed up once it felt good, got a good shearing cut going, and started sandign it out on the outside. 150 grit, then 220, then 320, then 400. Then I turned a recess foot and sanded that out. Mostly, I do just a simple recess, nothing fancy, but I still like having the bowl fully sanded all around anyways.

Then, I put on some mineral oil with micromesh. I've been slowly developing this method and it works wonderfully for what I want. (I'll put something down in the articles section on it one of these days.)

THEN, I stopped the lathe in preparation to remount the bowl from the foot to hollow it out and saw that, while the bowl was done on the outside, it had a bark inclusion from foot to rim, 1.5" wide, with the bark pitting (spaces in the bark) going as deep as 1/16" deep. But, it looked good! So, I weighed the options, touched the spot several times, liked the feel and look of it, and decided to go ahead and hollow it.

During the hollowing process I started planning some method of securing the bark inclusion so it wouldn't fall out. Obviously, the bark falling out is the separation between the bowl being pretty and being just defective. I left the walls a little thicker than I normally would have to offer a bit more stability. (Walls are 3/8" thick on a 4" dia. bowl.)

Once I had the inside sanded out through the grit progression as well as oiled with micro-mesh, I shifted my attention to the outside again. I don't have any CA, so that's out. The glue I use for small beads would take so much, it's extremely unlikely I could apply enough at once to stabilize the bark in one whack, and there's absolutely no way I know of doing it in multiple attempts.

So, I finally settled on the 'cheap' solution. Simple rattlecan clearcoat sprayed on lightly in 6 coats applied every 1.5 hrs.

It's dry now, and it looks good. I've almost convinced myself I stopped a little early, I could have gotten more interesting colors if I'd have gone just a tad deeper, as I have several big dark spots instead of a buncha little ones.

Up to today, I really haven't seen much in favor of bark inclusions, whether in the side or on the rim, but this side inclusion just suits me at least in Birch. I'll be trying another the next time I get a chance!

BTW, you fellas have any good ideas for stabilizing a bark inclusion in the side of a vessel? With the rim, I could CA it well enough, but on one the size of this one I don't see CA as being much of an option.

Thanks,
TJ.

[TDHofstetter]

We're gonna' need pics sooner or later...

Inclusions like that can be tricky without CA, but they can be done. I won't go into the BEST way I know to do 'em 'cause that's pretty intensive - time & equipment. CA will work even on the big ones, provided you've got plenty of CA, enough thin stuff to seep in & penetrate the whole inclusion & then enough more of the thicker stuff to fill the pocks.

Lacquer's a fine approach, too, even if it takes fourteen or twenty coats. Best if it's heavily thinned at first so it seeps in. Any of the clear hard plastics will work if they're fully dissolved in a suitable solvent like acetone - acrylic shavings will dissolve nicely, and I believe polycarbonate will, too. Of the two, acrylic yields a better finished surface while polycarbonate provides better toughness.

All sortsa' ways to wind up with a skun cat.

[Mark]

TJ,

CA soaked into the cambium layer between the hard bark and the sapwood does nicely. Another that I've used, is System Three epoxy, which is very low viscosity for epoxy. It'll soak in to the cambium as well, along with everything else is gets on, but it takes a day to cure.

Pictures - yes - your description is tantalizing.

Mark

[Ruffnek]

I think a bark inclusion on the side will be much more stable than say, a NE bowl where the bark is on the rim. When it's on the rim, the bowl tends to shrink while the bark stays the same size, resulting in the bark lifting or buckling. A narrow strip along the side should pretty much stay in place, especially encased in lacquer.

That said, I probably would have soaked it in thin CA to help ensure it stays put. I also like the way CA darkens the bark.

[Doug B]

I agree that CA would work best and there is no reason for you not to have some on hand. Less than 5 bucks for a 2 ounce bottle which would last a while, even when stabilizing bowls.

Here is where you need to get it from: woodenwonderstx.com/WWBlue/NewGlueWS.html

And, he's one of us!