When you have green wood I have always been told to paint the ends to keep it from drying too fast and cracking. Well if you finish turned a bowl that was green and gave the whole thing a few coats of poly would that keep it from drying too fast and cracking?

Some turners do rough turn a bowl and the seal it- at least the end grain portion- with sealer. THat slows the drying process. If you turn the bowl to finished dimensions, the stresses are much less- thinner walls- and the chance of cracking is really reduced. Although the bowl will probably still warp some.

Hmmm might be something I have to try next.  Because I didn't even seal the Plum wood bowl I roughed out a while back before I got the new lathe.  I'm hoping it doesn't turn out warped to crazy or even that matter shatter.

34 minutes ago, lew said:

Some turners do rough turn a bowl and the seal it- at least the end grain portion- with sealer. THat slows the drying process. If you turn the bowl to finished dimensions, the stresses are much less- thinner walls- and the chance of cracking is really reduced. Although the bowl will probably still warp some.

 

Lew got it right. I've gotten to where I prefer to turn to finish green but even a larger bowl wants to be less than 1/2" and needs to be a uniform thickness as well. It will almost always warp unless turned end grain. End grain will likely split a little around the pith and need filled but the warp is not as noticeable.

Sounds like I am better off to continue to rough turn, dry then finish turn. Thanks.

Warped bowls can really have a unique personality and be really beautiful.

Give it a shot.  At least you'll see first hand what happens.  If you turn it thin enough and put some some wipe on poly it will sink deeply into the wood and may not warp too bad.  When I apply wipe on poly I keep brushing it on until I see a wet shine and that way I know the wood has had enough.  When it dries the shine most always disappears as the poly gets sucked into the wood as it dries.   

When I was rough turning it I could feel drops hitting my face and hands. Should I at least let it dry a little bit? How well will it sand being that wet?

If you turn it thin enough , most of the water will gone and it will be surprisingly dry. I'd stick it in a paper bag with shavings just to let it finish drying couple of days.

 

 

Late but I agree with everything . If turned to finish it is best to put in a bag a couple days or 4 and then sand . The drying process does cause a little grain raise. If you finish right away you will probably not only have a slightly rough surface but may also get finish failures. All that is still a matter of preference for the turner and depends on the wood you use also.

Thanks I will try that with a bowl that I don’t care about that much.

On 1/19/2021 at 6:25 AM, lew said:

Warped bowls can really have a unique personality and be really beautiful.

And if you got luck, some people pay seriously big dollars for those pieces, they don't want perfect shaped pieces. Heaps of people want natural edge pieces.