The Woodturning Forum - Woodturner's Resource - heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....

jimmy russell

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central machinery 10 x 18

heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....
Oct 13^th, 2017 at 8:19am

please tell me what Im doing wrong...It seems like everytime I try to work with pine, it starts out clean and smooth....then for some reason it begins to wobble...and I get all these tears...it is on a face plate where it was centered and rounded to begin with....the tears begin as I begin working the shape...btw I never have this problem with other types of wood...thx in advance

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Ed Weber

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Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....
Reply #1 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 8:37am

There could be a couple of different reasons you're getting tear-out.
1. It's Pine, many Pine varieties are soft and don't have a very tight grain structure.
2. The tool/s you are using and how. Spindle gouge, skew and how sharp they are.
3. The lathe speed.

All these things, either by themselves or combined, can contribute to the grain pulling out as shown in your photo.

There are many things you can get away with when turning hard woods that you can not when using soft woods such as pine. The physical properties of the wood make it very unforgiving.

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Mike Mills WR Addict Offline Posts: 1,115	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #2 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 10:34am Along with what Ed suggested. The bottom of the pic (bottom cove and center) looks fairly smooth. The upper section of the cove not very much. Are you cutting up hill on the upper section? No idea on the "wobble" once smooth unless you are putting too much pressure on it.
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John Cepko Senior Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 491 Pasadena Maryland USA	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #3 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 11:02am Sharper than sharp tools, high lathe speed, and light delicate cuts are what I use with soft, or punky, woods prone to tear out.
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Al Wasser WR Addict Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 626 Pueblo West, CO Colorado USA Gender: Robust American Beauty	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #4 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 3:02pm For me pine cuts very clean but some of the other softwoods like fir, spruce etc are more troublesome. Are your sure it is pine. Cut down hill with a sharp tool and it should cut clean if it is pine and you don't have some punky spots.
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jimmy russell WR Noob Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 14 central machinery 10 x 18	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #5 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 4:18pm please recomend a video that discusses this uphill downhill stuff...i think this might be the problem, but I cant get my head around it ....thx for all the comments btw
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Ed Weber WR Administrator WR Patron Offline Posts: 8,939 Wilton California USA Gender: JET 1642 Grizzly G0584	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #6 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 4:27pm This should help
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jimmy russell WR Noob Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 14 central machinery 10 x 18	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #7 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 4:31pm thanx a mil
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Don Stephan WR Addict Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 2,659 Cincinnati, Ohio Ohio USA Gender:	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #8 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 5:16pm Uphill/downhill is somewhat like rubbing an animal's fur - with or against. You might find helpful Youtube videos by Mark Silay on slicing wood. Coincidentally I've been reviewing the first couple this week as I have been turning spindles.
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Mike Mills

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Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....
Reply #9 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 5:17pm

jimmy russell wrote on Oct 13^th, 2017 at 4:18pm:

please recomend a video that discusses this uphill downhill stuff...i think this might be the problem, but I cant get my head around it ....thx for all the comments btw

Here ya go.... Stuart Batty is one of my favorite teachers.
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

or

He has about 30 instructional videos at Vimeo including, but not limited to...
Cutting into end grain and grain direction.
Grain direction spindles.
Grain direction bowls.
Grain direction curly & burl wood.
Tapered End Grain on bowls/platters and grain direction (parts 1 & 2)
Tapered End Grain on spindles and grain direction.

Should be a good introduction Roll Eyes

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"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

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jimmy russell WR Noob Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 14 central machinery 10 x 18	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #10 - Oct 13^th, 2017 at 6:10pm thanx...
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Mike Mills

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Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....
Reply #11 - Oct 14^th, 2017 at 10:20am

as far as the wobble...
Two possibilities, first the work surface was not completely flat or slightly concave for the face plate to seat against. Any amount of the work surface being convex will induce a wobble pretty quickly.

Second, and to me most likely, is because the screws are going into endgrain. With the soft wood any catch or undue pressure may cause the screws to smooze in the wood. Rather than going into endgrain I would use a 3/4 -1" thick section of sidegrain to attach the faceplate to. Turn a tenon on your work first then turn a recess in you new faceplate to glue it into. A snug fit and good glue should keep it running true and just part off the faceplate block at the end.
Keep the tailstock in place as long as you can.

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"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." - Edgar Allan Poe

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robert baccus Full Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 67 Gender:	Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing.... Reply #12 - Oct 14^th, 2017 at 8:00pm Or forget the tenon and CA thick glue the glueblock to the vase and be turning in 15 minutes.
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robo_hippy

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Re: heeeeeeelp......pine always tearing....
Reply #13 - Oct 19^th, 2017 at 12:32pm

I looked at this a few days back, and a couple of other times. My guess is that that side of the wood is more rotten than the other side, which is why you get the difference in cutting results. I have had pieces similar with big leaf maple. I can cut a straight spindle with fair results, but cutting down through it, I get those holes. Rotten/punky....

robo hippy

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