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Chuck Marks

I just finished turning a bowl 8" out of himalayan cedar (wonderful stuff to turn and smells a lot like camphor wood) limb root piece. Bowl turned nicely and have a bit of bark inclusion around the middle of the piece.

Being a fairly new turner, I decided to finally take the plunge and wad a sock over my chuck, put the finished bowl over the sock and bring the tail stock up against the tenon to part it off. Worked well, as you all know it does. However, I left some marks in the bottom of the bowl. Not deep, but looks like I did not sand all the gouge marks out of the bowl.

As I said the bowl is finished (shellac and wax). What is the best way to polish out the marks out of the bowl bottom? I have a small (a 2" and a

3") sanding disk I could use. I was just wondering if there was a better method before I hit it with the sanding disks.

Thanks

Deb

Reply to
Dr. Deb
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Dr. Deb, Dents can often be removed, or at least lessened by steaming. On my furniture pieces, I put a drop or two of water on the dent, and let it sit for a minute or two. I have a small iron (left over from my model plane making days) which is on medium heat. I put a drop or two of water on a piece of soft cloth, put the damp spot on the dent, then apply the iron. The resulting steam will pull up all smaller dents, and most of the larger dents. Steam helps compressed fibers to expand. Sometimes you have to steam it a couple of times, but it works better than sanding the entire dent out. Of course there is still some sanding and refinishing to do, but usually it is minimal. robo hippy

Dr. Deb wrote:

Reply to
robo hippy

Put some alcohol in the bottom. It's fairly polar, and should raise the dents. Then, sadly, sand until you can't see the difference between compressed and uncompressed areas.

In the future, you might want to consider spreading the load with a tapered

3/4 thick poplar or bass circle. Keep several sizes on hand to be gripped in your chuck.

Or - use a dovetail for your hold, and you can have the bottom sanded and finished before you even hollow.

Reply to
George

Hi Deb

Do I read this right?, you have still some sanding marks in the bottom of your bowl, not marks made by your chuck, if that is the case, than I would try to use hand sanding with the grain, I assume here, that Himalayan cedar is not a very hard wood, and hand sanding would not be that hard to do, hitting it with your sanding disk might make things worse, just my thoughts on it.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Dr. Deb wrote:

Reply to
Leo Van Der Loo

Doc, I don't put a sock over my chuck for jamming. I use a piece of soft scrap wood (box elder) turned to the shape a small thick dish with a very rounded lip. I place a piece of carpet padding over that then jam the bowl. I've never had it leave a mark. Give this a try next time to avoid those marks. Tony Manella

Reply to
tony manella

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