Having trouble with endgrain

[gear jammer]

I found some walnut in an old barn and the guy gave it to me. It is 14in W 4 and 5 foot long and 5 in. thick. He said it had been in there for over 40 years.

I cut out a couple of bowls and using the lightest touch I can not get the endgrain to smooth out. The 4th piece has some pith in it but I have not gone to that one yet. Took it down with a bowl gouge and tried to smooth it with a scraping. Round nosed, beveled on one side, square head scraper on the bottom and inside bottom. Tried using my bowl gouge in a scraping motion. No luck. Tried sand paper with the lathe running and stopped that didn't do anything.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Arlin Eastman]

It is late and I will think of something tomorrow. All I know is you have to support the fibers to keep the end grain from pulling out. It also depends on the gouge and if it is sharp and how you ground it and a few other things that are not coming to mind.

[theeviltwinn]

Some turners coat the grain before making the final cut. Bob Rosand uses a 50/50 mix of turpentine and sanding sealer. I think Ray Key uses wax. Both make the cut with a gouge. It's worth a try. Old walnut can be a birch.

Twinn

[MichaelMouse]

Wood works against you in this case. Walnut is dark and open-grained, so dust and torn fibers show white as they scatter light.

Makes it even more critical that you slice rather than scrape as the final. You can do it with your "bowl" gouge, but your grind may limit your ability to do so. I like a broad sweep gouge, forged to uniform thickness for the final slick. Folks who work ring or hook tools can do the same, as can those using Hunter tools with the turned "hook" simulation.

A look at the gross shavings shows what's happening.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...ngWide.jpg

One side smooth, which was the surface where the cut starts, one side feathered, where it exits the wood, taking so little off that the new surface is smooth.

Narrow the nose presentation of the gouge as much as necessary to get smooth surface and no ridging. Greenwood shot here shows the face being sheared is very narrow, while the final slice parallels the surface. On wet wood, you can get LOOOONG continuous shavings even when working thin. Dry wood breaks crossing endgrain sometimes. Good indication that the gouge should change angle when it does it too often.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...2_1024.jpg

You may add some skew to the cut to effectively lower the sharpness angle, This may be entirely from the curved (fingernail) grind on the nose, or augmented by dropping the handle of the tool slightly.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...b-Demo.jpg

As you see from the cutoffs, the sheared face is a combination of the gouge nose curve and the skew. If you slice where the edge exits the cut, you avoid lifting and fuzzing endgrain. You just have to use your relief angle to maintain the proper pitch for angular change as you turn into the curvature.

NO! You cannot "ride the bevel" and cut the wood.

[DFJarvie]

I've sanded the end rain with decent success. I start with 80, 100, 150, 220, 320 and 400. After 220 wipe the area, I use Naphta, and see what it looks like. You may need to go back to 150 and work at it more.

[gear jammer]

I got the outside smooth using the skew. The inside not so smooth. Used my orbital on the bottom and hand sanded the inside sidewalls.
Thanks for the replies.