How to prepare green blanks

[Dale Coons]

Hello! I'm just starting--havng fun with little projects like pens and pepper mills. I turned a pepper mill from a green piece of osage--the mill turned out nice, but now that it's been sitting for a few weeks, it's developing cracks. So now I'm worried about a piece of claro walnut that I'd like to turn. Both were covered in wax. I've turned the walnut to a cylinder but left the wax on the ends. It's been sitting a week or so. Is there a rule of thumb about how long the wood needs to dry or something I can do to prevent it from cracking. I thought the osage would be ok since the center was drilled out and the walls were relatively thin in most places. Both pieces were 3 inch square turning blanks.

[John Fricke]

There are many different opinions on drying techniques on this forum. When turning green wood though the general consensus is to rough turn & leave 10% thicker than intended final thickness. Then you have a few options: Soak in DNA (denatured alcohol) for 24 hours or so, wrap in newspaper or grocery bag, let sit for 3-4 weeks til dry. Some use a scales to monitor weight loss (when it quits losing weight it is dry)

Another option is to place rough turned piece in paper bag covered with shavings until it is dry. Some coat the end grain with anchor seal.

The object is to slow drying process to prevent cracking. Sometimes despite our best efforts, it cracks anyways. Then there are many repair options that have been discussed here.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use the DNA method of drying green wood and use a scale to keep track of the weight. When it quits losing weight then I return it to the lathe. I will say on small projects such as peppermill, saltmill, pens and bottle stoppers I started using only kiln dried wood. I found no matter what I did on smaller projects using green wood that they would crack and I lost more pieces than I finished. I talked with a couple of the woodturners that demo'd at Richmond and both recommended using kiln dried wood rather than green wood. One was pro turner Ted Sokolowski who has a DVD on turning peppermills.

[Don Carter]

Dale:
I have turned some green wood lidded boxes that did not crack. Sometimes it is just not something you can control.
I rough turned the boxes and soaked in DNA for a couple of days, then wrapped them in paper and taped the ends with masking tape. I left the open ends open to the air. They usually warp and I have lost some, but after waiting two or three weeks, they are ready for finish turning. For a project like a pepper mill, I would use kiln dried wood. It is much more predictable. Good luck!

All the best.

Don

[Jeff Nicol]

Dale, If you are in a hurry to finish a project then I reccomend you get some dry stock to turn. If you have plenty of time use it to season the wood be it in the whole blank or roughed out. What most woodworkers go by is that it takes 1 year to dry one inch of timber. This will take a little longer for each inch of thickness you add. Like say a 4" block might be dry to 3 to 3.5 inches in 4 years, and that is effected by where you live and the type of wood. That leaves the best way is the way that works the best for you, but I would rough turn your pieces and seal them and let them dry as slow as you can. The Claro walnut, Osage, fruit woods and many other woods with high figure will crack much easier than straight grained woods. So be patient and take your time on green/wet wood and you will be rewarded in the end.

Jeff

[Burt Alcantara]

When you find green wood take a few pieces and seal the ends. Put them somewhere away from moving air and let them dry out. These will make good stock for pens, boxes, mills and anything else where you would need dry wood.

I have a huge stack of branches and log segments that have dried over years. Even then, I have a few large chunks of apple that have split all over the place. A lot depends on the wood. I have a large amount of cottonwood that was never sealed. None have cracked or moved.

Burt

[Dale Coons]

Thanks for all the help--guess I will have to clear out some room in the garage for seasoning wood!