Wet wood questions....

[Gordon Thompson]

So, i was making a bowl today out of some walnut. I had bought a block from woodcraft. I didn't realize how bloody wet it would be - i could squeeze the shavings and get moisture. turned real nice though!

Anyhow, I turned it close to final size - do I just let it sit now?

Anything I should do to reduce the chance of cracking? I really don't want this one to crack, it's beautiful! (at least to me:D)

How long should i let it sit for, before turning again? anything to look for?

Thanks!!!

edit to add: claro walnut, if that matters.....

[David Walser]

Gordon,

You said you turned it close to finish size. How close? If you still have half-inch plus thickness, you might have enough room to let her dry and remount to turn the thing round again. If not, you could always turn the bowl to finish size and let it warp into an interesting shape. If you go this route, turn everything now -- including the foot -- and hand sand the bowl when it's dry. (You can do some sanding now, but the bowl will need some final sanding after it dries.) You'll want to turn extra thin (if you can) and you'll want to keep the thickness as consistent as possible from rim to the bottom of the bowl. Thin walls move more easily so they are less likely to crack. The extra movement may leave you with an art house bowl, but that could be considered a plus!

Good luck!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Gordon,

You could try sealing it with Greenseal or Anchor Seal to slow down the drying process. Wrap it with a double paper sack. Cut a hole in the sack on the inside of the bowl. Place it on a rack where hopefully it's unheated and let it go for a few weeks.

Or you could do as David suggested.

Most bowl turners do turn wet wood..yes....as wet as you experienced. What they generally do is turn the wall and bottom thickness to 10% of the diameter of the bowl. Thus if you have a 10" bowl...the walls and bottoms are turned to 1" thickness. Then most wrap them with paper and let them dry for 4-12 weeks. Then they are returned to the lathe and turned to final form and thickness. The 10% diameter wall thickenss GENERALLY gives you enough to take the warp that may occur out of the wood and still have a presentable bowl. 10% wall thickness may not always be enough to remove the warp and sometimes forces a design change. The only time I turn to final thickness is on NEs (natural edge) bowls and then I turn to final thickness and let them warp and crack as they wish.

IMHO the climate of where you reside has some effect on the drying process too. Here I am close to desert condtitions and consequently wood dries faster and I have more cracking than you might in a damper climate. Again...that's just my opinion and worth everything you paid for it?:o

Good luck with it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

David and Ken pretty much hit the nail on the head. You can either turn it to final thickness and finish it including the foot or leave it as it is now, paint the whole thing with anchorseal and let it dry. Some wrap them and some don't. I think you have enough thickness that you could return it and finish turning after it is dry. How thick did you leave the walls? If it is a 1/2" or thicker you should be ok to return it to the lathe.