Monket puzzle

[John]

Hello,
I have just acquired a lot of "Monkey puzzle"
My problems are - The white sap that streams out from just below the bark is there any way of getting rid of it, it makes a hell of a mess!
Second the truck is about 375m (15in) diameter, but has been cut in various lengths from 100mm(4in) to 300mm(12 in) How stable are end grain bowls and platters likely to be?
I hope it can be used as there are some beautiful pattens with the rings of knots and grain.
John

[thebowlerhattedturner]

Hello John,
               I think you will find that if you make end grain platters as the wood dries out you will get circumferential shrinkage. This will cause one or two splits to your plates and could even split completely in half. As far as the sap is concerned I don't have a method for stopping that apart from maybe boiling the wood.(not something I have done) Make sure to spray your lathe ways with oil as it will start to rust. If you made a hollow form with an even wall thickness you may be able to dry it in a bag over a period.
Regards
John
BHT

[George Watkins]

John there is an article in the late Tony Boase book "bowl turning techniques masterclass " where Ciaran Forbes tackles a monkey puzzle bowl, I haven’t read it for a while but I seem to remember he rough shapes the bowl with a saw first, that might be to remove the majority of the sap problem

[woodndesign]

Drop a PM to Frans Brown ...  http://www.awgb.co.uk/awgbforum/index.php?action=profile;u=614 ...  He uses alot of MP and would give you nodoubt all the pointers.

Cheers      Davjd