Author Topic: End grain tear  (Read 5586 times)

Offline Alan Fordham

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End grain tear
« on: January 30, 2012, 04:47:36 PM »
I am attempting to turn a piece of green sycamore and am getting what I think is called end grain tear. Can I do anything to prevent this?

thebowlerhattedturner

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2012, 05:07:49 PM »
Hello Alan,
              you didn't say what you were making but with end  grain tear out I assume you are hollowing. First thing is to make sure that the tools you are using are the right tools for that particular job, make sure that they are sharp, do not be afraid to sharpen at the least hint of bluntness. Sometimes even with sharp tools you will get tear out so try a sheer cut. If that doesn't work try soaking the area to be cut in sanding sealer and trying again once it has dried out. You may want to re-assess your lathe speed and cutting speed(of the chisel)
I hope this helps and I'm sure there will be more advice posted as the evening rolls on.
Regards
John BHT

Offline Alan Fordham

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2012, 07:05:42 PM »
Many thanks for the advice, it worked very well.

Alan.

Offline steve w

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2015, 09:25:38 PM »
this evening i found a rare spare hour so started to hollow a bowl i have been making but i also keep getting bad tear out on the inside,  i tried a scraper but it got worse and i am running out of wood to cut, its apple that i have stored for a couple of yrs, i will try the above.
why do i feel the need to turn a block of wood into shavings?

Offline GBF

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2015, 10:44:37 PM »
Tuition tuition tuition
The man that never made a mistake never made anything

Offline Les Symonds

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2015, 07:51:04 AM »
Tuition tuition tuition
So true, so true, so true.......I dread to think of the number of hours that I have lost by experimenting and getting it wrong! OK....there's a lot to be said for learning by experience, but there's a lot more to be said for learning by quality tuition.
Les
Education is important, but wood turning is importanter.

Offline bodrighywood

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2015, 08:01:47 AM »
Can't agree more. Got a session booked for Friday to learn how to hollow out better and dare I say it 'properly' Suspect unlearning may take a bit longer than learning LOL

Pete
Turners don't make mistakes, they have design opportunities

Offline Mark Sanger

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Re: End grain tear
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2015, 02:11:18 PM »
this evening i found a rare spare hour so started to hollow a bowl i have been making but i also keep getting bad tear out on the inside,  i tried a scraper but it got worse and i am running out of wood to cut, its apple that i have stored for a couple of yrs, i will try the above.

Hi Alan and Steve

The most common error I come across when teaching is that students when turning out the inside of a bowl tend to roll the flutes too far around clockwise. This results in the bottom flute being presented to the wood horizontally in turn it then becomes a scraper and with each pass of the end grain, twice/revolution of the bowl the fibers are torn resulting in poor finish. If your tools are sharp, the wood sound and you are getting tear out in two places (opposite each other on the end grain) then it will almost certainly be that you are rolling the flutes clockwise as you proceed.

Make sure the gouge flutes point at 2 O-Clock this keeps the flute that is cutting the wood facing up into the down coming wood, resulting in the fibers being sliced and not scraped and will give a better finish from the tool.

This info is assuming that you mean end grain tear on a cross grain bowl. If it is an end grain bowl then the tool presentation is different.

Hope this helps
« Last Edit: April 22, 2015, 02:28:08 PM by Mark Sanger »