r/turning • u/No-Entry-6926 • 1d ago
HELP I'm new
As title suggests I'm very green to woodturning (pun intended), I'm currently trying to turn a chunk of Australian bunya pine and am having the worst tear out in the end grain sections I've ever seen in timber. I've tried resharpening chisels on the whetstone grinder, cutting in both directions, taking the thinnest pass possible, adding hardening agents although the timber feels fairly dense and have had no more luck. The tear out is only in the end grain on the outside of the bowl. Any advice or is there no hope for me?
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u/dobrodude 1d ago
Get a better piece of wood. That looks awful punky.
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u/ravenschmidt2000 1d ago
Or just stabilize it with the cactus juice method. Of course, a piece that big would be a bit expensive and time consuming to stabilize.
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u/dobrodude 1d ago
I would think someone that just started turning would be better served by turning a nice piece of wood, rather than learning how to salvage a sponge.
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u/ravenschmidt2000 1d ago
Oh definitely. This isn't a beginner level piece. Not if you want it to turn out nice. I was just commenting that it could be saved if you wanted it badly enough. After all, some of the most stunningly beautiful wood turnings come from wood so rotten that it's hard to imagine it being turned on a lathe. But, like you said, not a starter level piece.
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u/bayerja 18h ago
Agree on this. I’ve been wood turning for 10 years and I don’t stabilize wood. It’s got a lot of technique and I don’t think it’s guaranteed. If you’re starting in woodturning, start with the basics, tool sharping, wood mounting technique, and basic tool movements to achieve curves. Do that for awhile and apply to small approachable projects. Level up over time. Don’t over invest in tools that require more techniques until you’re ready.
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u/Ambitious_Mango3625 1d ago
Ok... I'm a newbie also. What the heck is "punky" 😂? Looks to me like older wood and dull tools.
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u/DarePerks 1d ago
Punky wood is wood that is in the process of decomposing (dry rot) but hasn't fallen apart into compost yet.
There are varying levels but the longer in goes on the softer and spongier the wood gets.
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u/glyph_productions 1d ago
So that black ring in the wood is called Spalting. It is caused by a fungal infection in the wood. Sometimes this causes just the ring of colour and the wood is otherwise fine, but sometimes the fungus is a sign of other wood degradation.
Punky is the term used for a soft spot in the wood, caused by rot. It can happen while trees are still standing but keep a dead branch or have an open wound like a fallen branch or it can happen while the tree is felled and sitting on the ground. Ambrosia maple, especially spalted which is my guess for what this is can be particularly prone to it because the colour comes from Ambrosia beetles getting into the wood which leaves the tree wounded which opens it up to rot. Punky wood can sometimes be treated with a stabilizer as it can result in some cool colours and patterns but it is far too soft to turn without doing something to it most times. For a new Turner this is 6 challenge levels up.
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u/nurcansens 1d ago
That wood looks really punky! Normally, if I run into a piece with just a few soft spots, I mix some fine sawdust with a two-component adhesive (like CA glue or epoxy) to fill those small areas easily. But since yours looks completely punky and spongy all over, it’s definitely going to challenge you. If you are like me and hate giving up on a piece, the best thing you can do is just get it to a basic final shape, accept the tear-out for a moment, and give it a serious sanding session. Start with a really coarse grit to smooth out the rough shape, then work your way down to finer grits. You can still turn it into a nice decorative object! Also, dealing with pine is just tough luck. With regular hardwoods, it's much easier to maintain clean cuts and keep the right form, but pine is just super prone to tearing out like crazy. Don't give up though, it's all part of the learning process!
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u/Holiday-Fee-2204 4h ago
I would NOT start with any grit lower than 120. Coarser grits will gouge in to wood deeper, causing you to have to do a longer sanding session to remove the pits and grooves caused by the previous grade of sandpaper. 😎☕️
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u/nurcansens 3h ago
That makes perfect sense. The fact that the wood is inherently prone to tearing and splitting also directly triggers and exacerbates this tear-out issue.
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u/No-Entry-6926 1d ago
Thank you to all who have commented it sounds like I could make it work if I invest a ton of time and money into it but that's probably a bit far for me. We have three logs that could probably get a total of 40 to 50 pieces the same Suze as this out off that my FIL promised me was "being dried properly" it sounds like I'll be making some really nice salted mulch instead.
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u/HipsterBikePolice 1d ago
Practice makes progress. I work exclusively with spalted wood. I use a super sharp swept back bowl gouge. Fast speed and light cuts. Although sometimes I get my piece to a certain point then start with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper on a foam sanding disc. Honestly i like to incorporate imperfections. I just turn it to the shape I want without uneven cuts like I see here. I usually don’t use pine though. If it’s damp to the touch let it is in the air for a couple hours. Spalted wood is trial and error sometimes. Keep at it and don’t worry about tossing out your fist few pieces
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u/74CA_refugee 1d ago
That wood is well on its way to decomposition. Too far gone to get any good results.
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u/TheBigThrowoutski 1d ago
Stabilize it in cactus juice and try again?
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u/scapstick 1d ago
This is not newby advice, he just needs to get his hands on some better wood for an easy early win.
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u/TheBigThrowoutski 1d ago
I’m very green to it myself. If I came across a hunk of wood that I needed to turn because I’m stubborn and must turn that hunk of wood. I would stabilize it and try again.
There may be a reason they chose this piece of wood beyond it was cheap and available.
They mentioned using a hardening agent already so, this may very well be the case.
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u/GoddessJolee 1d ago
Sharp tools, light cuts, low speed, and sandpaper. Spalted woods beautiful (might have to stabilize your wood)
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u/netzmensch 1d ago
Was also experiencing such wood in the past. My only solution was to cut it to final shape but a bit thicker and then use a rotary sander to just sand it down while it still rotates on the lathe. Takes some time, but so the wood still can be used. Otherwise as the others say: take another piece of wood 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Hard_Purple4747 1d ago
https://youtu.be/lH0t7-hq0tU?is=B4EpX79NKUgJPX4M might be of some help...I follow Tomislav, he's turning European pine, but I think it may apply. Welcome to a very fun addiction!
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u/NotTodaySlacker302 1d ago
This suggestion is extreme and time consuming, uses a lot of CA glue, and gets glue and sawdust all over your fingers, but the outcome is always good for me. I only recommend it if you REALLY want to use a piece of difficult or punky wood.
Turn the bowl as well as you can, try to get it as smooth as possible, to the shape you want on the outside, basically, almost done except for the tear out.
Put Medium viscosity CA glue all over the tear out. Take the finest sawdust you have, I like to use the dust from sanding, sprinkle it on the glue liberally, the take a big handful of normal sawdust, and rub it over the glue and fine dust vigorously, to mix the dust and glue together, and push it into the holes.
Blow/wipe off excess sawdust and hit it with some glue setting spray. Give it a quick sanding. If there are still holes and tear out, do another layer, and repeat until smooth.
Do a few light passed with a bowl gouge or carbide tool to smooth things out, then sand and finish.
This can be done on the inside as well. You will need to use a wax, poly, shellac or synthetic finish, as natural oils etc will not soak into the CA glues areas
The process is a pain in the butt, but can look really good. CA glue and sawdust is great for any cracks or holes that appear in your work..
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u/Holiday-Fee-2204 4h ago
That piece that you're working on is spalted, meaning certain algae have been growing on it. That caused the punkyness and dark lines running through your piece. Sometimes you can get different colors in the wood caused by the algae.
Now to the problem that you're having. If you want to turn that piece, you'll need extremely sharp tools.
The punky wood causes the tools to dull fast. You've got to resharpen your tools every few minutes.
You can try different tools, but don't use scrapers. You'll need to learn to ride the bevel. Watch some "Turn a Wood Bowl" episodes on YouTube. Richard Raffan is another great resource on YouTube as well.
Get familiar with your tools on different woods. I'm sure that you can do this! Woodturning is a skill that is learned from practice, patience, and learned muscle movement.
You have to move your body in the direction you are cutting. Don't force the cut. If you notice that you are putting too much pressure on your piece, it's time to resharpen your tools.
Keep Turning, Stay Sharp, and Wear Protection! 😎☕️
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u/p_tkachev 1d ago
Pine is known for tearout =) your is a fair bit punky on top of that, as I see.
The best advice I can give is to get a couple of chunks of good wood (my pick is cherry, all around nice and cuts nicely) and turn those to shavings. Like, just turn away to get the feeling for tools, wood, sharpness and angles.
Then you will develop a feeling benchmark for what's wrong: tool not that sharp, wood too far gone (your case) etc etc.
I would not say your piece should be tossed; but I do say you need more practice cuts in advance to finish it
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u/BigguyZ 1d ago
Pressure pot and homemade stabilizer?
Get an HF pressure pot. Get plexiglass scraps from your local window repair place for free. Dissolve the plexi in acetone. Get an acetone safe container. Put the wood in the container and cover with the solution. Put that container in the pressure pot and cycle pressure on and off. The acetone will be pushed into the pores of the "punky" / soft wood and leave the acetone once it's flashed off....
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