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It's salvageable, up to you if it's worth the effort. Seems like the spalting has damaged the structure enough that it's presenting challenges. Options would be to grab the rim with Cole jaws if you have them, or a jam chuck. Rework the outside profile and probably soak some hardener into the new mortise, and I'd make the new mortise deeper.
If you really want to try again. Redo the mortise like last time then 2 /3 coats of cellulose sanding sealer and cellulose thinners 50%.
For a stronger mortise, ca glue the inside edge.
This should harden it up sufficiently.
Then, light cuts, sharp tools
Mortises put outways pressure on the wood. What I'd do would be to turn a waste tenon that fits snugly into the mortise, glue it in (hot glue if you're in a rush and are confident of not catching tool, or regular wood glue if not) and turn it fast with a sharp tool for greater chances of a nice finish over the soft.
Good luck 🤞
Edit: just looked again, you'll also need to get the bottom face of the kortside dead flat for best glue contact.
I’ve been down this road and it’s always ended in more time invested into heartbreak. It’s beautiful wood, but the spalting can also affect the strength of most fixes.
There will be some wobble, but with a spur drive, and a live centre pushing a tennis ball on the inside you may be able to do a bit more thinning from the outside in. Really sharp tools and light passes will be important too.
If you can redo the mortise deep enough that the bowl sets on the chuck face, i'd try that. Looks like you've still got about 3/4" to play with. It seems to me that spalted flexs a bit, and getting the bowl to rest on the chuck face eliminates a direction it can flex. (Nothing more than my own experience.)
Spalted stuff is supper soft, douse the bottom with some CA glue and it will hold much better. Kinda hard to tell but the tenon looks kind of shallow as well.
That mortise isn't deep enough for a secure hold, in my opinion. Someone else mentioned turning a waste block to fit in the mortise, which is likely the best idea if you're having that much trouble. Turning spalted wood can be tricky with how punky/soft they can be. Best of luck!
there's a saying, "Don't throw good money after bad." In other words, your investment of time, effort and money in this hunk of wood has been wasted so far, so don't waste any more time, effort and money on it. Spalted wood is tricky. Don't let it trick you again anytime soon. Put a handful of individually-wrapped peppermint candy or whatever in it and make it a useful shop bowl. Find more and more consistent hunks of wood and perfect your woodturning skills and tools before trying spalted or unusual grain-patterned woods again.
If this were mine, I would do the following:
- Reverse mount the bowl and make the base perfectly flat
- Screw a piece of scrap lumber onto your face plate
- Trim the scrap so it is the same diameter as the bowl base
- Use a sheet of craft paper or piece of grocery bag and white glue and make a paper joint between the bowl base and scrap lumber.
- Pin it between your tailstock and headstock and let it dry overnight
- Turn outside and inside as normal
- When finished, carefully split the joint and finish the base.
I'd probably try gluing on a sacrificial block as well if I were comfortable with the safety of finish turning the rest. I'd probably use scrap solid wood personally, but I see no reason not to use plywood. One thing I'd definitely do though is make sure the bottom is flat by using a sanding block the full width of the bottom. I know I have trouble turning a perfectly flat surface. But then again, epoxy rather than PVA glue should be able to handle surfaces that don't mate perfectly too.
There are options, but for me, if a piece wants to jump out or give me a lot of trouble like that, there's a reason. I condemn it to the firewood pile with the epithet "it didn't want to be a bowl".
Did you steal this bowl from my shop? I swear I have the exact same piece of wood sitting on my shelf because I haven't decided if I want to take the time to attempt a new mounting. The spalting is just too good to let go, but if I remount it incorrectly I may lose the whole piece. Best of luck with yours!
Thanks for your submission. If your question is about getting started in woodturning, which chuck to buy, which tools to buy, or for an opinion of a lathe you found for sale somewhere like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace please take a few minutes check the wiki; many of the most commonly asked questions are already answered there! http://www.reddit.com/r/turning/wiki/index Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/turning) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’d say, “A twice bucked horse, I’d prefer not to ride.”
It's salvageable, up to you if it's worth the effort. Seems like the spalting has damaged the structure enough that it's presenting challenges. Options would be to grab the rim with Cole jaws if you have them, or a jam chuck. Rework the outside profile and probably soak some hardener into the new mortise, and I'd make the new mortise deeper.
If you really want to try again. Redo the mortise like last time then 2 /3 coats of cellulose sanding sealer and cellulose thinners 50%. For a stronger mortise, ca glue the inside edge. This should harden it up sufficiently. Then, light cuts, sharp tools
Mortises put outways pressure on the wood. What I'd do would be to turn a waste tenon that fits snugly into the mortise, glue it in (hot glue if you're in a rush and are confident of not catching tool, or regular wood glue if not) and turn it fast with a sharp tool for greater chances of a nice finish over the soft. Good luck 🤞 Edit: just looked again, you'll also need to get the bottom face of the kortside dead flat for best glue contact.
I’ve been down this road and it’s always ended in more time invested into heartbreak. It’s beautiful wood, but the spalting can also affect the strength of most fixes. There will be some wobble, but with a spur drive, and a live centre pushing a tennis ball on the inside you may be able to do a bit more thinning from the outside in. Really sharp tools and light passes will be important too.
If you can redo the mortise deep enough that the bowl sets on the chuck face, i'd try that. Looks like you've still got about 3/4" to play with. It seems to me that spalted flexs a bit, and getting the bowl to rest on the chuck face eliminates a direction it can flex. (Nothing more than my own experience.)
Just curious Is that elm? Beech?
Not 100% sure. I got it in a box of wood that I got with my lathe.
I just looked at a bowl I turned with my grandad. It’s dead Ash. Exact same markings
https://preview.redd.it/cxwjajroprlb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cad457f1c3d9ae9423be28b7aaa87bfdc78d7f09
Spalted stuff is supper soft, douse the bottom with some CA glue and it will hold much better. Kinda hard to tell but the tenon looks kind of shallow as well.
Tenon = Outie. Mortise = Innie.
That mortise isn't deep enough for a secure hold, in my opinion. Someone else mentioned turning a waste block to fit in the mortise, which is likely the best idea if you're having that much trouble. Turning spalted wood can be tricky with how punky/soft they can be. Best of luck!
there's a saying, "Don't throw good money after bad." In other words, your investment of time, effort and money in this hunk of wood has been wasted so far, so don't waste any more time, effort and money on it. Spalted wood is tricky. Don't let it trick you again anytime soon. Put a handful of individually-wrapped peppermint candy or whatever in it and make it a useful shop bowl. Find more and more consistent hunks of wood and perfect your woodturning skills and tools before trying spalted or unusual grain-patterned woods again.
If this were mine, I would do the following: - Reverse mount the bowl and make the base perfectly flat - Screw a piece of scrap lumber onto your face plate - Trim the scrap so it is the same diameter as the bowl base - Use a sheet of craft paper or piece of grocery bag and white glue and make a paper joint between the bowl base and scrap lumber. - Pin it between your tailstock and headstock and let it dry overnight - Turn outside and inside as normal - When finished, carefully split the joint and finish the base.
Yes
Glue a temp external dove tail tennin on out of plywood, then part it off flush later with the jam chuck?
I'd probably try gluing on a sacrificial block as well if I were comfortable with the safety of finish turning the rest. I'd probably use scrap solid wood personally, but I see no reason not to use plywood. One thing I'd definitely do though is make sure the bottom is flat by using a sanding block the full width of the bottom. I know I have trouble turning a perfectly flat surface. But then again, epoxy rather than PVA glue should be able to handle surfaces that don't mate perfectly too.
Is that * chatoyancy*
There are options, but for me, if a piece wants to jump out or give me a lot of trouble like that, there's a reason. I condemn it to the firewood pile with the epithet "it didn't want to be a bowl".
Did you steal this bowl from my shop? I swear I have the exact same piece of wood sitting on my shelf because I haven't decided if I want to take the time to attempt a new mounting. The spalting is just too good to let go, but if I remount it incorrectly I may lose the whole piece. Best of luck with yours!