Novice to turning

[Colin]

Hi all need some advise please,just turned my first bowl (spalted beech) and two opposite sides which I’m presuming is the end grain will not sand up very smooth.how can I get over this please thanks colin

[crazylegs]

Welcome Colin. I too am a bit of a novice, not as new as you but still with loads to learn. How soft is the wood? You need good sharp tools and take it slowly, nice delicate cuts. Do you have a scraper this may help and a bowl sander makes the sanding easier.
More experienced and knowledgeable people will be on soon and able to give better advice. If you have a local club it's a great place for help and a lesson or two from a professional turner will give you the basic steps and get you off to a good start. Have a look at some videos there are good instructional ones online but they cannot take the place of hands on experience.
By the way you are now hooked because you have asked you will be at it for life! 

[Colin]

Thanks crazy legs,yeah I’m hooked,bought some really nice spalted blanks today,thanks for the advise.colin

[Bryan Milham]

Colin,

a picture of the problem always helps.

CL is right, a freshly sharpened tool presented to the wood properly is a good bet but sometimes it might be wood that's too far gone and needs hardening in some way. All sorts of other things might be the issue as well.

Time with a professional or very good turner is a great idea, as is joining and attending a club, there is lots to learn from a good demonstrator as well.

[Les Symonds]

Hello and welcome Colin. My initial thought was that you had over-stepped the mark by using spalted timber for a first attempt at bowl turning. Spalted timber has features that accentuate the problems of end grain tear-out. As Crazylegs has said, sharp tools are essential, but tool technique is critical. I would suggest that you follow Crazy's advise and get some guidance, either through professional training/tuition, or by attending a local wood turning club.
In the short term, get some more wood that isn't spalted and practice, practice, practice.
Finally, beware the video culture on the internet...there are hundreds of excellent videos, but there are thousands of bad ones and at this stage in your new hobby, you won't appreciate the difference between them, so you'll get drawn into bad practices.

Les

[Mayo Mick]

Some excellent video tutorials from Stewart Batty here; https://vimeo.com/woodturning

[Colin]

Thanks again everybody for your advise

[Wood spinner]

Are you using a push cut or a pull cut , Allways best to start with bevel contact then gently raise the tool handle and " Pick up the cut " that way the fibers of the wood dont get torn

[Paul Hannaby]

Spalted wood does not automatically mean softer or problem wood. It depends at what stage the fungal attack was stopped.

Also I don't think anyone has asked what tool you used to make the bowl? Was it a bowl gouge or a scraper? If the latter, use a gouge.

Sharp tools (sharpen often!) and good technique will reduce the torn grain you are dealing with. The best thing to do is to get some tuition and lots of practice.

[Bryan Milham]

I though afterwards, are you turning with cutting tools or the newly available scraping type tools?

[Colin]

Thanks again everyone.somegood advise .ps I’m using a bowl gouge on the inside and spindle gouges on the outside

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Colin you are better off using a bowl gouge inside and out, at least until you have gained more experience. Something you might try is to oil the bowl as you go and let the oil go hard or use sanding sealer and allow that to harden, and then try your cut and you may find that the torn grain areas will cut better. The other thing is keep sharpening your gouge, I know it sounds obvious but a sharp tool really will give you a better finish straight from the cut.