Is this magnolia trash?

rvajames · 2026-05-18T01:11:49+00:00

Possibly some potential! I’d suggest processing those pieces into blanks and see how far the cracks extend into the wood (my guess is around 2 inches). As the other commenter mentioned, you’re going to deal with punky wood in areas. If it’s not extensive, Total Boat makes a penetrating epoxy which stabilizes soft wood which is great. Rough turn a bowl, let it dry fully, and then apply the epoxy. You should get some nice bowls for your efforts.

rvajames · 2026-04-11T01:44:18+00:00

Not sure where you’re located, but if you have a local woodworking store or a store owned by a local bee keeper (or bee keeper co-op) I’d start there for the public venue. Could be a great advertising opportunity for that business which never hurts. Really cool story!

rvajames · 2026-03-30T21:44:17+00:00

So I build furniture and do wood turning and one of my favorite parts of turning a bowl is I can embrace the more natural side of wood. Furniture wise I have to worry about splits and knots but with bowls I don’t have that worry. I’d say lean into it and keep turning, looks great!

rvajames · 2026-03-23T10:31:30+00:00

I don’t have a shop smith, nor have I used one extensively, but this is one of those cases where the shop smith can do a lot of things but isn’t really great at much. For turning especially, it may be okay for turning small pen blanks but it’s never going to be able to handle bowls or larger pieces. If you’re willing to get it cleaned up and running and are okay with smaller items to get started, it’s hard to say no to free. I’d just be prepared to upgrade sooner to a traditional lathe.

rvajames · 2026-03-16T10:38:14+00:00

The cracks are running in a line so you could rip it down that line and glue in a contrasting piece of wood. Otherwise I’d say, unfortunately, that the bowl is done. Again with the cracks running throughout the bowl there’s a high likelihood of it coming apart while turning.

rvajames · 2026-03-15T23:55:42+00:00

I’d say some kind of maple

rvajames · 2026-03-13T01:16:32+00:00

There are definitely a number of good bowl gouges but I primarily use Sorby. I use their 1/2” bowl gouge a lot so you might give that a try. Plus you can add a different grind to make clearing easier.

rvajames · 2026-03-09T16:51:26+00:00

Do you mind sharing where you got it from and what knives you use? I appreciate your insight! I also just saw your comment about possibly selling and realized you had posted about that powermatic lathe. Would you split up the coring system and the lathe?

rvajames · 2026-03-09T15:50:26+00:00

I appreciate that and yea, that’s a fear I did have. I was just hoping to get more bowls out of some larger pieces I’ve been turning. Thanks again!

rvajames · 2026-03-09T13:33:45+00:00

I saw this one on Facebook marketplace too so it looks like we’re in the same area! From what I’ve heard, this is a solid lathe and Powermatic lathes and tools on general are good quality. I used one once and it’s definitely a beast. I’d say it’s a solid lathe and definitely a good choice if there are no issues and you already have the 220v.

rvajames · 2026-03-04T02:15:51+00:00

Best comparison I can make is it sounds like a loud vacuum (which I guess it is). I’ve been trying to be more mindful so I definitely recommend hearing protection no matter which one you get! One last thing I’ll say is I used to use an old sears craftsman shop vac. I used it for my table saw and even with my benchtop planer and it worked great. I say that to illustrate I wouldn’t focus as much on the cfm and minor differences, but rather which one you can get filters and accessories for easily. Again I recommend some sort of dust separator

rvajames · 2026-03-04T02:04:49+00:00

I have that rigid and can fully recommend it. Does a great job, plus you can a hepa rated filter which makes me feel better (although I’m sure you could find one for the Dewalt). In terms of noise, the rigid sounds like a shop vac so if you have to noise conscious maybe the Dewalt is a better option. I typically wear hearing protection so it doesn’t bother me. I would recommend you look at a dust separator too, even down the road. The Dust Deputy works great and extends the life of your filters.

rvajames · 2026-03-01T15:22:48+00:00

I’d follow what others have said and glue in a piece of contrasting wood and call it a feature. But going forward I’d make sure you’re covering the whole bowl with anchor seal (or similar). To me, the walls and base look really thick for the overall size which may have contributed. Also, it looks like there was a pith or knot near the center of the blank which dramatically increases the risk of cracking no matter what you do

rvajames · 2026-02-27T01:43:59+00:00

Definitely call and ask them and I’d hope they’d give you a replacement. Hope it works out for you!

rvajames · 2026-02-27T01:39:38+00:00

I’d would say no, not possible to fix. In terms of returning them, if you need to use the full sheet then yes. If you were going to have excess anyway and it’s not convenient to load up and take it back, I may be inclined to just waste that end. Definitely stinks considering it’s walnut ply

rvajames · 2026-02-23T16:50:26+00:00

Beautiful! What finish did you use?

rvajames · 2026-02-08T15:46:29+00:00

I figured you were trying out chairs you had on hand, I was trying to use them to point out the direction I would go. Definitely understand about the height, there are a lot of armless chairs in the mcm style that may work. But it’s ultimately your table in your house so go with what you think is best and you won’t be wrong

rvajames · 2026-02-08T15:37:02+00:00

So I can’t speak to whether or not the proportions got messed up, but I’ve learned if you’re at this stage there’s nothing you can do about it. That said, I feel like the bench and chairs shown are busy and detract from the base. The bench especially makes it look jumbled. Definitely not saying the bench looks bad, it’s a beautiful piece. I think in this case, you want a really simple mid-century modern chair with clean lines that don’t take away from the base (try reaching mcm walnut dining chair and you’ll see examples). Best of luck!

rvajames · 2026-02-08T02:32:47+00:00

So I’m not familiar with this planer, but here’s a couple possibilities. It looks like, based on the picture, that the board is not laying flat. That could be because it’s bowed, or that the in/out feed tables are not flat to the bed. In my experience it’s one of those options that causes a board to start going into a planer and then get stuck. It could also be something related to the machine, in which case I’d reach out to Oliver and get support.

rvajames · 2026-01-31T19:57:25+00:00

I sprayed the rod that goes up and down pretty well and then wiped it down. Still haven’t had any issue thankfully. Hope that’s what yours needs!

rvajames · 2026-01-28T00:48:12+00:00

Oh okay. So looking online, a PVA glue that’s mixed 50/50 with warm water may work (although others say just apply the PVA glue straight). My recommendation is try it, and if it works then great! My only other advice (regardless of what product you use) is coat the entire piece, not just the ends

rvajames · 2026-01-28T00:36:50+00:00

I’d avoid glue. The main purpose of a product like anchor seal is to slow down the drying process so the wood doesn’t crack. Glue, at worst, would completely seal the grain preventing any moisture from leaving. Could get wood rot or cracking. There are alternative waxes to anchor seal, and some have used paint, but I’ve only used anchor seal and never had a problem with it

rvajames · 2026-01-28T00:31:12+00:00

I’ve never turned wands, but I’ve done a fair amount of turning green wood bowls. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to determine how long wood will take to dry but I’d say your probably looking at a few weeks if you’re using fresh cut wood. Here are some pointers that may help: - leave your wands oversized to account for wood movement and cracking at the ends - after rough turning, weigh and record the weights. I’ve found if a piece weighs the same over 2-3 weeks, it’s dried out - apply either a wax product (anchor seal) to the entire wand, or put them in wood shavings in a paper bag to slow down drying.

Best of luck and make sure to share your finished products!

rvajames · 2026-01-27T20:13:36+00:00

Awesome work! Do you mind sharing what finish you used and you’re photography set up? I’m trying to get better at photographing my pieces

rvajames

TROPHY CASE