I Should Have Seen This Coming...

Unknown quantities of dirt, rocks, and sand do not make for a great turning experience, and I certainly learned a few things the hard way with this one. For starters, the manufacturer of the casting resin, @superclearepoxy advised me to expect resin chipout when turning at high speeds, so I have grown accustomed to intense, hand-scarring resin shrapnel for the first rough shaping passes. (Hence, this was also my first time using gloves while turning.) In the past, I have had problems with carbide bits loosening, but I had never before had a carbide cutter break. So, my initial assumption was that I had hit a rock or a piece of metal, but nope, it was just super hard SuperClear epoxy. @EasyWoodTools was great and replaced both the carbide cutter and the screw for free. I eventually resorted to an angle grinder to negotiate the dirt, and I knew there was more dirt and rocks potentially inside the piece. While hollowing the piece, I could tell that a significant portion of the material was dirt/sand/and small rocks, because there were very few clean cuts and lots of vibration. @Lyle , the manufacturer of the hollowing system, had some great advice for me regarding proper hollowing techniques, but we eventually agreed that this material was becoming unworkable and potentially unsafe. However, with the help of Starbond CA glue and SuperClear Tabletop epoxy, victory was within reach!

Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoyed this project. Please comment letting me know what you think, and please let me know what you would like me to make next!