# "Cross Grain" bowl turning?



## sprior (Aug 31, 2008)

My woodturning club is having a demo of "cross grain" bowls tonight and I'm not sure if I can make it, but am not sure what this is. Is this the normal way of turning a bowl where the grain is perpendicular to the rotation, or is it something else?


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

That an interesting term. Most bowls are cross grain and spindles are end grain.
Since they put _"cross grain"_ in the description I assume they are doing something a little different. 
They may be referring to turning a bowl where the pith remains and goes through the center (side to side). 
Or, they may be cutting the wood at an angle (like 45*). I have seen this done also. The sharp ends are cut off in order be able to mount it between centers. 
Maybe you will be able to make the meeting and let us know what they did.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

It's my understanding that you have both 2 sides end grain and 2 sides with the grain when turning a bowl. I'm new to this but that's how I see it.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

In our club we call them end grain and side grain. End grain is when the grain runs parallel to the bed and side grain is when the grain runs perpendicular to the bed.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

john lucas said:


> In our club we call them end grain and side grain. End grain is when the grain runs parallel to the bed and side grain is when the grain runs perpendicular to the bed.


That's what I have most often seen.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

In reality though if you like to turn figured woods such as burl's and crotch's then sometimes guessing the grain direction is just a guess. If I can't seem to get a clean cut I will often cut in the opposite direction just to see if it improves the torn out area. Often what happens is that area turns great and somewhere else on the piece will have torn grain. I try to make a judgement call on which one is the least destructive and turn the piece in that direction.


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## hughie (Mar 22, 2008)

*guessing game*



> [ I try to make a judgement call on which one is the least destructive and turn the piece in that direction


 
...and that sometimes for me is an educated guess, with the emphasis on the guess :icon_smile:


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