Tips for choosing blanks

[Sean Hughto]

I had a cherry blank that I thought was pretty good - no pith, no visible checks. It had some bark along two edges, but not much, and I thought it would turn out without issue. Come to find out that under the bark were some nice deep checks. Also, the blank had come from a trunk that was maybe 16 inches in diameter, meaning that while the pith wasn't in it, the blank had lots of very early growth - the grain had tight curves rather than flat ones you get with very large trees. After turning out the checks and tryign to make a large a bowl as I could, I was left with something very different than what I thought I was going to make. It still has some cmall checks and a wind shake crack that will keep it from ever seeing hard use, but so far it's holding together:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4220530429_3b69ba6f68.jpg

My question to you more experienced folks is: are blanks just always a crap shoot - like Foerest Gump's box 'o chocolates? Or are there things you have learned to look for. If so, please share your wisdom. Thanks!

[Terry Murphy]

Interesting post. I will be keeping an eye on this.
I think the bowl looks pretty good.

Terry

[David E Keller]

I agree... Nice looking bowl.

I too will be watching this post with interest. For me, it's a crap shoot, but I'm far from being an experienced turner.

[Toney Robertson]

I would think that it is mostly a crap shoot.

Someone with LOTS of experience may be able to minimize problems popping up but unless you have x-ray vision like Superman then unexpected cracks, voids, bark pockets, etc always have the potential of appearing.

It is the nature of the beast.

Just my .02 worth.

Toney

[Mike Minto]

i agree - crap shoot. i've started blanks that looked very solid, only to find 'tunnels' that ran thru 3/4 of the their length. othertimes (word?), i've mounted blanks with small cracks and defects that completely turned out. Nature!

[Robert Arrowood]

For me thats a large part of the fun.Not knowing just what you might find.

[Fred Perreault]

I have been turning seriously for a year or so, and my experience is that a wooden blank is in fact a lot like a wrapped Christmas gift. There is really no way of telling the surprise till it is "opened up". And when we add the variables such as soil and weather conditions, the growing climate, and certainly the manner and care with which the tree was felled, the outcome is somewhere between heartbroken sorrow and jubilant elation.
We can do our best by assessing the wood from the outside, and from the sawn ends or center, but nature is a powerful force. I have found something new to learn with every piece I have put a chisel to, whether it went to a gallery, a family members' kitchen, or the firewood box.
I am sure almost all of us has put a save or two on a faulty blank. I just love turning....
Fred

[Dennis Ford]

There are certainly things to look for that might cause you to reject a piece of wood but if you don't see any of those, it is a crap shoot. If you see any very dark stains, be on the lookout for iron. Not all wood will give you the warning about embedded iron.

If we knew just how every piece was going to come out, it would not be nearly as much fun!

[alex carey]

You might have already known, but where the blank comes from the tree also matters. If it is from a limb the blanks has a lot of build up pressure from gravity that make it warp a certain way, besides the stuff you pointed out I know of nothing else. Just gotta get lucky, choose woods that are less prone to cracking and find out which process of drying works for you.

[Jeff Nicol]

Sean, As has been discussed many times on the Creek, the fruit woods are prone to cracking and checking no matter what we do to the blanks. With cherry that I want to get the biggest and best turning out of I will rough it out as soon as I get the wood. Even if it was cut just a few hours before you get it, cherry will start to check on the fresh cut areas. If you plan to make bowls out of it cut the blanks and rough them out and seal them, or DNA, or bag them to slow the drying down as much as possible. If the blank has been around for a while, even if sealed it will tend to check wherever it is not sealed even under the bark. So if you plan on buying a blank that has bark on it, it should be sealed on the bark also, but then it makes it hard to do a nice NE piece if the sealer is deep in the bark, but it you plan to turn it away, no problem.

So the fresher you can get fruit woods like cherry and the faster you can rough them out the better you will be. Wood can be very fickle and decieving. The gum or pitch pockets can't be forseen no matter what, shakes or cracks in the rings will show themselves pretty quickly after the felling of the tree. If there are shakes in a blank that someone has for sale you will be able to see them most times, but some are very tight and if it was sealed well after it was cut green you won't see it until some drying has taken place, like when you are turning it and it is drying faster.


The bowl you made looks just as it should from the type of blank you described, beautiful undulating lines of grain. Nice shape too!

Good luck,

Jeff

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks for all the good information, Jeff.

What woods do you consider optimal for utility bowls? I'd guess maple, walnut, and ash, from my experience with those woods so far, but I'd be curious on you your take. Thanks again!

[Jim King]

I have spent many years producing turning blanks and have never worked with or turned a North American blank so I cannot comment on that.

From my experience here in Amazonas the quality of the blank is directly related to the care in selecting the cants to be cut into blanks. When producing blanks here more than 40% of the wood that came to town was rejected in the various stages of production.

I take hairline cracks for granted and part of the drying process. In the production I would cut the cants to 2" , 4" or what ever thickness and let them dry for several months and then cut into rounds and waxed and shrink wrapped. The tropical woods apparently have less natural hidden defects than North American species as we had virtually no complaints over the years on tens and tens of thousands of blanks.