Help on end grain?

[scriptingseagull]

Hey all! It's not a pen, buy I'm hoping y'all can help me nonetheless. I've made my first bowl, but sanding the end grain is a royal pain. I've sanded from 180 to 800 grit, applied a few coats of shellac with sanding at 600/800 between. Today I sanded with steel wool and applied another coat. That got the best results, but it's still rough. Any advice would be appreciated!
Photos for reference, but I don't think it's all that clear in them.

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[showcaser]

Hello,negative rake carbide inserts work great on acrylics and end grain for me.Tear out is what it's called and it happens at least 10 revolutions before the final revolution.

 

[monophoto]

Torn grain is a frequent problem. There are a number of things you can to to manage the problem:

• Most important is to understand grain direction, and always cut in a direction so that the grain is supported. Grain direction is a difficult concept for new turners to grasp, and in the case of bowls, direction isn't always intuitive. Bowls are typically done with 'face grain' timber, which means that the fibers within the wood are perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and the direction of those fibers changes continuously as the piece rotates. The concern is for what happens when you are cutting face grain (which happens twice during each revolution). The picture below may be helpful. At the two points in the rotation when you are cutting face grain, the grain is radial into the turning blank. The objective is to maneuver the tool (gouge, scraper, etc) so that the interior fibers in the wood support the fibers on the surface as they are being cut. For that to happen, the tool must move from the center of the bowl out to the rim when working on the outside of the bowl, and conversely, from the rim to the center when working on the inside of the bowl. Cutting in the direction to oppose grain means that the cutting edge of the tool can catch the ends of the fibers, lifting them away from the underlying fibers and tearing them, rather than cleanly cutting them off.
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• Scraping can be helpful, especially shear-scraping where the scraping edge is held at an angle to the surface of the turning. This can be done with scrapers (including carbide tools), but experienced turners frequently use the edge of a sharp bowl gouge.
• Suck it up, and start sanding at 80 grit. You don't have to tell anyone, and no one will know if you don't tell them.
• If possible, it is helpful to reverse the direction of rotation of your lathe - sand in one direction, then reverse and sand in the opposite direction.
• Using a water spray is helpful to raise the grain while sanding.
• Some people prefer wet sanding with oil or a wax-based sanding paste. However, this can limit the selection of finishes you have to choose from later.
• Advance through the grits until you get to around 220-320, and apply a sanding sealer, and allow it to cure, Then, back up one grit and continue sanding through the grits. It may be necessary to use multiple applications of sealer.
• And practice - it takes experience to learn how to manage torn grain.