Hi all. I am trying to finish up a pepper mill that is made from walnut. Here on the side I am pretty pleased with the results of the finish. Not stellar, but not bad by any stretch.

 

Here on the bottom we have no finish at all, but notice that there is NO grain tearout.

 

Here we have the top of the body and it has finish on it but notice the nasty finish due to grain tearout. I have tried sanding and re cutting, and even a different tool to cut the grain instead of tearing it, but it seems to insist that it wants to be TORN on this end. Not the other, not on both ends, just this one. Any ideas? I cannot cut into it much more or the piece won't fit the hardware.

 

I am using Wood Turners Finish

 

 

Thanks

Charles, if the tear out is below the depth of where you need it to be, then you are simply out of luck, perhaps some clear filler to build it back up and sand it fine.

But if you have room to sand, I would go at it with some 220 then 320 and burnish the end grain smooth. The end grain is nasty isn't it?

I am by far not very experienced with turning. But I do remember reading or seing a video about using some of the dust from the piece and mixingit with CA and applying it to the piece. Then all you have to do is sand it smooth. Just a thought is all.

Charles,

Here's a link to a video discussing specifically walnut and its' tendency for tearout and some remedies. Although, the video is discussing a bowl, it may apply to your situation.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b774h96nWrw

 

 

Also, if you have enough stock left, try rubbibg some paste wax on the end grain and then re-cutting. The wax is supposed to lube the fibers and reduce the tearout. Look about half way down the page at this link-

 

http://www.aawforum.org/vbforum/showthread.php?5587-tearout-remedy

Thanks guys. Yea it's nasty, but the end result is usually worth the hassle, it just wants to be a bit more of a hassle this time around. IF the tearout HAD been on the bottom instead of the top, it would't be a big deal at all, because I have almost a half inch to play with there. Would a clear urethane fill it and smooth it out? If not, the only other thing I can think of doing would be to take a forstner bit (about 3") and try cutting it that way and see if it's any better.

 

Thanks for the help Wayne and Lew. I would rather not try and build it up that way Wayne, but I may do that just to see if it will work, if nothing else that is suggested here works Thanks for the links Lew

OK I see he uses shellac to combat the tearout, is shellac food safe?

Yes, when dry for sure after all it's nothing but alcohol and bug poop ;^)

Yes, when dry for sure after all it's nothing but alcohol and bug poop ;^)

Bug poop? LOL that's funny. but hey, women have been putting poop on their eyes for years LOL