How to save this bowl blank?

[eyekode]

This blank is over a year old and seems quite solid. It is Bradford pear, about 12" wide and 4-5" tall and I anchor sealed it when I rounded it originally.

I started rough turning it tonight and it seems dry.

And it has quite a crack/check:


It did not show before I cut into it. And it is not yet showing significantly inside (check the left in the following photo):


Hopeless case? I don't hold out for it being a spectacular specimen but I like the shape and the size is very useful.

Plow ahead? Proceed with caution? CA glue in the crack? Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Salem

 

[chris_goris]

It looks quite large. If it were me I would have to chalk it up as a loss. Youre awfully close to the pith and thats why it split and I would bet it will continue. The last thing you want is for it to come apart at speed!.

 

[JRD]

In the past, I've used old coffee grounds and CA as a filler. It leaves a natural looking, dark line in the crack.

 

[eyekode]

It looks quite large. If it were me I would have to chalk it up as a loss. Youre awfully close to the pith and thats why it split and I would bet it will continue. The last thing you want is for it to come apart at speed!.

I definitely screwed up leaving the pith in the blank . Lesson learned!

Salem

 

[eyekode]

In the past, I've used old coffee grounds and CA as a filler. It leaves a natural looking, dark line in the crack.

I may give it a shot with CA and turn it slow. I should not have to do much work from the outside so I will be mostly out of the way if it explodes...
Salem

 

[eyekode]

On a happier note this one didn't crack

Sweetgum, no finish yet!

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Salem, my general rule of thumb is, "If you can't hide it, highlight it." Some have mentioned CA glue and coffee grounds. Personally I prefer epoxy, but either one works. You can mix any oil based pigment into epoxy, plus a host of other materials (e.g. coffee grounds, saw dust, etc.). You might even want to use a small gouge to widen the crack slightly before filling. That way the patch looks like a decorative element rather than a fix.

 

[Roy G]

Be careful if you go the CA route. i had some pear that cracked like yours and I filled the crack with CA glue. it worked fine, but left an area next to the crack that showed up when I applied a finish (tung oil). If you glued up the rough blank, by the time you got down to final dimension you would probably have turned the stained area away.

Roy G

 

[Raymond]

Go slow and fill it in with a contrasting filler - blue or red turquoise, silver, whatever is your fancy. The idea is to add strength and beauty while the crack is small, so you can finish this piece of art.

 

[Weekendturner]

I started rough turning it tonight and it seems dry.

And it has quite a crack/check:
...
It did not show before I cut into it. And it is not yet showing significantly inside (check the left in the following photo):

I would drop some thin CA in the outer crack for now, but before going to epoxy/filler, I would carefully (face shield for sure) finish roughing it. Your photo shows the bowl is still a very solid mass. I'm guessing if you put a meter to the inside you just cleared it would read closer to 20% moisture if it sat in solid state that long. In short, that bowl has a lot of movement left in it and you will not be dry enough for a real fix until you rough the inside and let the wood go where it wants to go. IMO, anyway. That pith could still be the end of it, sadly.

 

[KenOfCary]

Not a bowl but I did a similar thing to what Bill mentioned on my workbench. I filled the cracks with Epoxy mixed with black dye. It made the fix look like natural dark lines in the wood. Someone commented on one of the pics that they liked the spalted wood I'd used to make the bench so I guess it worked.

 

[eyekode]

Well it still has the crack but it feels pretty solid. It will make a good useful but not particularly decorative bowl:



I really like the shape. The outside curve matches the inside curve about perfectly and I don't manage that too often .
Salem

 

[Hmerkle]

Salem-
You are being too picky - that bowl looks GREAT!

I like the pith being in there and movement (cracks are just part of the deal)

I think it looks GREAT!

 

[Roy G]

You got a bowl, you got to see how to fix a crack and you got to turn some bradford pear. Even though you weren't sure about turning it, I think you came out ahead. Every bowl you turn makes you a better turner.

Roy G

 

[Jeff]

Not a turner but have read about it and bowl turning, etc. so I defer to those who know a lot more. Yes, pith is a pither!

How to eliminate it for a 12" diameter bowl that's about 5-6" tall? Change the orientation of the log from which you're removing the blank. So it becomes a face grain turning instead of an end grain turning. No more pithing around. The pith is the dark brown area in the center of the log so it's gone.

​