I started off the morning with a 4x4x8" long Ambrosia maple blank mounted on centers. After cutting the shape of the vessel, I discovered a very thin crack that ran almost the entire length of the timber from side to side. This was not a repairable, shallow crack. Nor was there any possibility of carefully cutting the crack out of the work. It went in the firewood pile.
My second Ambrosia maple blank was 4x4x12". Mounted on centers again, I started turning the blank into a cylinder. I started with a spindle roughing gouge. After a while, I decided to switch over to a 1 1/4" skew, hoping that peeling cuts would be a faster way to go. I was wrong. This blank had a concealed defect - most likely a result of the outcome of damage done by the Ambrosia beetles. While the spindle roughing gouge takes a very narrow bite of the timber, a peeling cut with a skew presents considerably more tool to the wood. This blew out the defective wood, which spit the entire length of the black, except for a couple inches near the headstock.
The 10" torn-out shard of wood continued to spin for a couple of revolutions, at least, in spite of hitting the tool rest as it went around. My left arm is slightly worse for the wear. I have a couple of bruises, one looking like a knife slash and one about the size of a quarter. There are two lesions that were easily covered with band-aids. There is some reddening, without any bruising, over most of my forearm. My open-fingered gloved left hand was uninjured. I had on a Lexan face shield - I don't think that anything hit the face shield.
After cleaning and dressing the cuts on my arm. I went back to the lathe and carefully removed what was left of the defect with a very sharp spindle roughing gouge, standing well out of the line of fire.
I have turned a lot of Ambrosia maple, both spindle work and face work. While all of it has defects from the Ambrosia beetle, these are the first blanks that had serious defects, and certainly the first blank to come apart. In the final analysis, I think that I'm going to rely more on my spindle roughing gouges going forward, instead of a more aggressive skew doing peeling cuts.
One of my non-woodturner friends asked me months ago why woodturners don't wear more protective gear, especially arm and chest protection. While I have seen turners use chest protection designed for Motocross riding, I had never seen much of anything that would be safe to use for arm protection. He suggested elastic Kevlar arm sleeves. Kevlar sleeves might not do a lot to protect from bruising, but they should help with abrasions and cuts.
My second Ambrosia maple blank was 4x4x12". Mounted on centers again, I started turning the blank into a cylinder. I started with a spindle roughing gouge. After a while, I decided to switch over to a 1 1/4" skew, hoping that peeling cuts would be a faster way to go. I was wrong. This blank had a concealed defect - most likely a result of the outcome of damage done by the Ambrosia beetles. While the spindle roughing gouge takes a very narrow bite of the timber, a peeling cut with a skew presents considerably more tool to the wood. This blew out the defective wood, which spit the entire length of the black, except for a couple inches near the headstock.
The 10" torn-out shard of wood continued to spin for a couple of revolutions, at least, in spite of hitting the tool rest as it went around. My left arm is slightly worse for the wear. I have a couple of bruises, one looking like a knife slash and one about the size of a quarter. There are two lesions that were easily covered with band-aids. There is some reddening, without any bruising, over most of my forearm. My open-fingered gloved left hand was uninjured. I had on a Lexan face shield - I don't think that anything hit the face shield.
After cleaning and dressing the cuts on my arm. I went back to the lathe and carefully removed what was left of the defect with a very sharp spindle roughing gouge, standing well out of the line of fire.
I have turned a lot of Ambrosia maple, both spindle work and face work. While all of it has defects from the Ambrosia beetle, these are the first blanks that had serious defects, and certainly the first blank to come apart. In the final analysis, I think that I'm going to rely more on my spindle roughing gouges going forward, instead of a more aggressive skew doing peeling cuts.
One of my non-woodturner friends asked me months ago why woodturners don't wear more protective gear, especially arm and chest protection. While I have seen turners use chest protection designed for Motocross riding, I had never seen much of anything that would be safe to use for arm protection. He suggested elastic Kevlar arm sleeves. Kevlar sleeves might not do a lot to protect from bruising, but they should help with abrasions and cuts.