Louisiana Pecan Bowls

[Rangertrek]

I am continuing to try learning bowl turning. This is my latest, it is rather plain Louisiana Pecan. Cut it green about 6 months ago and let the wood dry. It is about 6" dia. and 1-1/2" tall, probably more of a dish than a bowl.

No stain, just natural wood with blo+paste wax finish. This one is a bit out of round, still having a little problem with chuck wobble.

 

[Ruby pen turning]

Pretty cool, is it rounded on the bottom? and I hope you didnt chop down a live tree. From what my wife tells me, it takes forever for one to grow. I will try some bowls and maybe some sort of vases someday when I get the proper tooling.

 

[jimm1]

Very nice looking. Classy.

 

[Rangertrek]

Brian, no foot on the bottom, just a flat surface area. The wood came from a friend last year from their property after a storm. I was told the tree was over 36" diameter. Still have 4 more blanks in the drying process. I may try to stain or dye one of them, the wood is so plain.

 

[nativewooder]

If you cut the wood 6 months ago, unless you put it in a kiln, it is not dry, and will warp, to some extent, as you turn it. That could be the "wobble" you feel. It will probably continue to warp as it dries after you are finished with it. The old premise for air drying wood is one year for wood one inch thick. Usually talking about slabbed lumber. Also, IMHO, you are making it hard on yourself by not using the curves you see when you look at a woman! Soft flowing curves are much easier to turn than the steep sides and sharp curve to the bottom of your pecan, which is some nice looking wood. It would give you much more practice and experience to first turn a saucer, then a plate, a shallow bowl, and move on from there. I started turning with the same shape bowl as you until I was rescued by a woodturning club member who mentored me and saved me many hours of frustration.

 

[bitshird]

John, I like the plain Pecan, sometimes a little dab of pure Tung oil makes a sweet finish on Pecan. And you may have wanted to turn the bowl pretty thick, then put the bowl in a paper bag full of the shavings and curls that came off while turning. Let the bowl sit for a month or two and then finish turning it thin, Also I realize that the mark of an "Expert Wood Turner" is how thin and even they can make a bowl or vessel, but I kind of like bowls with a bit of wall thickness to them especially on a bowl over 8 or 10 inches. I'd say you are off to a good start, and bowls are a lot of fun.

 

[Fred]

Yep, I agree with Ken. You are definitely off to a good start.

If you are having a slight wobble with the chuck, have you premoved the chuck, CLEANED the threads?y using a wire brush as the lathe on and the spindel is turning slowly. Also, clean out the threads in the chuck as well. Be sure to apply a V E R Y light oil to the thread areas. IF your chuck has a mounting adapter remove it and clean the threads there as well. Remount and tighten chuck and check for the wobble again.

If the wobble remains then the cause is elsewhere.

 

[Rangertrek]

The bowl blanks were turned green, placed in a bag with shavings and allowed to dry for 6 months. Boy did they ever warp. The blanks are dry now, about 8-9% moisture content. We I do a bowl, I generally don't have a shape in mind. The shape just evolves as I turn and see what the wood is doing. I'll give the tung oil finish a try on the next one. Chuck problem ideas have all been checked, probably an internal thread issue during manufacture.

 

[moyehow]

Nice. Pecan is one of my favorite woods to turn.

 

[holmqer]

Since you followed a reasonable twice turned method, I suspect that the "wobble" was a stress relief effect. When I re-turn, I first just bring it back to round inside an out then let it sit (do not remove from chuck) a day and there can be degree of movement as the internal stresses of the wood sort themselves out. I then go back the next day and re-true the outside with very light cuts. I can then go to the inside and get to final thickness without much worry that there will be a lot of additional movement of the wood.

Of course all wood will have seasonal / weather movement, but if you can eliminate some of the big movement before getting final form you can minimize post turning movement.

While I tend to agree with Barry in a preference for more flowing curves, the aspect ratio of this piece did not leave you a lot of options. This form with steep sides is more functional than a very shallow bowl. What I would suggest for your remaining blanks (assuming that they have the same rough proportions) is to make a more traditional closed form profile where the widest point is midway between the bottom and the top. Have the outer profile be as close to a half circle as you can make it. Make the inner profle match the outer as well as you can, but most essentially try for a smooth curve that goes from rim to flat bottom.

 

[Glenn McCullough]

NIce form! It is a unique shape and the accent grooves are a nice touch. Keep up the good work.

 

[Don Wade]

I love turning pecan. I have sold many bowls of pecan for mucho dinero. The best that I have done is wormy wood, which had laid outside my shop for about a year. I turned it and filled the many worm holes with turquoise and coffee. Fine wood to work with.

 

[truckerdave]

I love turning pecan. I have sold many bowls of pecan for mucho dinero. The best that I have done is wormy wood, which had laid outside my shop for about a year. I turned it and filled the many worm holes with turquoise and coffee. Fine wood to work with.

I would love to see pics of the bowl you mentioned!