Turning on the diagonal

[scoobiehome]

I have acquired two types of wood, cherry and cedar. Both are cut on the diagonal. The cuts are beautiful, however, I'm experiencing alot of 'chip outs' with the wood, when turning.

Any suggestions?
Renee

 

[jcm71]

Renee,
You didn't say in your post, however, I'll assume you are turning pens. Several points to consider:

 

[jcm71]

Oops posted that previous one by mistake before through.
How thorough is your gluing process? Make sure your tubes are completely covered with glue. Are you lightly sanding your tubes before gluing? What speed are you turning at? The faster the better. Are you turning between centers or using a mandrel? If using a mandrel, you'll be more prone to chipouts. How sharp are your chisels?

 

[jd99]

Apply some thin CA to the blanks, or Staibilize them.

Had the same issue with some diagonal cut zebra wood every time i touched a tool to it it would chip and come apart, soaked the thing with thin CA and it worked great.

 

[Justturnin]

Blanks that are Cross Cut or on the Bias (diag) are prone to chipout. Your tools must be sharp and your cuts light. The slightest catch can rip a piece right off. The good thing is you can usually recover and glue them back on. This is due to the direction the grain is running. You can take a straight grain blank and chances are you cant snap it in half. Take a cross cut blank and you can break it w/ little pressure.

IMHO a Cross cut or Bias makes a better looking pen but they are not easy. I have lost many a pen turning wood cut this way but it is my preference in looks over a straight grain blank.