Barron Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 So, I was turning a canarywood bowl. I had the outside shaped and was making good progress on the interior when I accidentally bumped the end of the gouge into the rim. The bowl flew off the lathe and bounced across the garage. The tenon is in good shape but the bowl is cracked. There are parallel open cracks on each side and a spider web of shallow cracks on one side. My question is can I save the bowl by filling the cracked with epoxy? I've filled cracks in furniture projects but have never tried this with a turning project. What are you experienced turners thoughts on this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I don't have any experience turning, but I would give it a try considering that's a really nice looking bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I'd epoxy fill and be on my way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I'm not an experienced turner, but I suspect an epoxy fill will work just fine. You might want to finish up with carbide tools, I don't know how hard the epoxy will be of standard steel cutting edges. Peter Brown (youtube) turns epoxy resin castings quite often, but a solid piece is a bit different than trying to cut across dissimilar materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 Epoxy fill with something slow drying then Saran Wrap and a strap clamp to pull the cracks shut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 Yep, what Steve said. Epoxy, wax paper, strap clamp, let it cure for 2 days before turning again. Don't spin it too fast. You don't need more than 800 RPM on a bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 It's toast. Aesthetically speaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 It's toast. Aesthetically speaking. Depends. Use epoxy to solidify it while turning. After final turning, grind out the epoxy and do that Japanese (Chinese?) thing where you fill the cracks with gold. Or do it Frank Howarth style. Slice out the cracked sections, glue in a contrasting filler, and turn it. I have to agree with Eric, that just filling the cracks with plastic doesn't seem all that appealing, unless the band clamps will actually pull the gap closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 "and one time at band clamp...... " 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmotjr Posted January 9, 2017 Report Share Posted January 9, 2017 The epoxy and clamp method is one way, and the one I'd consider first. But with that much damage, I'm not sure how clean those glue lines will look. Another method, and it's quite drastic, but if pulled off is gorgeous, is to cut it into pieces, and glue in some segments. Frank Horwarth has a couple great videos on this. In this case, since the cracks are almost opposed from each other, you can cut those sections out on the band saw, and glue in either a segmented section like in the video, or a solid piece. Since the top is chipped too, I might go this route. You might be able to cut out only the broken sections, leaving the tenon intact, which will simplify turning it again. Cut out some contrasting, or even complimenting, colored wood to tightly fill the gaps you cut out, and glue those into place. Then turn it round. As you've already lost it once, and this would be pretty off balance until it trues up, I'd use the tail stock to hold the bottom of the bowl if it can reach. If not, I've filled bowls and such with towels so the tailstock has something to press against. Or if you can get your hands on a really big tennis ball, like those 8-10" ones from a toy store, that should hold the bowl nicely. I frequently use regular tennis balls when turning goblets,as the stem gets dicey real fast. I've also made a large cone from a bowl blank that I can mount on my live center that well help hold a bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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