Advice Needed

[Bob Wolfe]

I just got these cypress log ends and I want to cut them up before they start cracking. The guy I got them from said they shouldn't move hardly at all while they are drying, but I don't want to take chances. They are between 16" and 24" diameter and between 6" and 8" long. I have a 12" lathe so turning huge bowls is not an option. I plan on turning small bowls, open vessels and hollowforms. I don't want to turn everything endgrain if I can help it. How should I section these to get the most turning wood? Thanks in advance.
Bob

[David Christopher]

Bob, cypress takes a long while to dry. you may want to turn it wet and hope and for the best..Ive turned some here and it cracked very little when turned thin but cracked alot while still in log form...BTW where are you located ?

[Bob Wolfe]

Hi Dave, I plan on turning at least some of it while it is wet. Never dealt with wood this size before, not sure of the best way to cut it for turning. I'm in Mary Esther, just down the road from you if you're in Pensacola.

Bob

[Dennis Ford]

I marked a proposed cut line on one piece. You would need to trim to somewhat circular with the marked cut line as the base of the blank. As marked it could make a natural edge, if you want a finished edge, make another cut parallel with the first before triming to circular. I often use a faceplate so I marked the cut through the center. After turning away any screw holes the bottom would be away from the pith by an inch or so.

There are many other ways to do it, just have fun. Cypress is very soft but cuts well while it is wet. Some pieces tend to be fuzzy when cut dry but it sands easily.

[Dennis Ford]

Whoops, I forgot the attachment on the previous post.

[David Christopher]

Bob, if these pieces are 6 to 8" you can split them through the pith like Dennis said and get some smaller bowls

[Bob Wolfe]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of cutting it like a pizza into about 8 slices, then lopping off the corner where the pith is at. Your idea sounds better.

Bob

[Bob Wolfe]

I dug out my "Turning Green Wood" book and sure enough there are some illustrations of not only where to cut from the log, but how the grain will look in the finished form. I knew I had seen it somewhere, but I thought it was here. I guess what was throwing me off is the fact that each piece is short but large diameter, at least compared to the wood I'm used to turning. Thanks for the help.
Bob

[Chris Hayes]

Bob --
A something that might come in handy -- a microwave. I seem to find a lot of green pine that I end up turning in end grain pieces. Through the school of cracks and breaks I've come to learn that a very quick method of drying comes from using an old microwave and basically cooking the wood into a set position. My method (and this very much changes from piece to piece) is --when 90-95% complete and leaving the tennon on-- is to pop it in for a minute to get things going. I keep a sponge and water around for after this time. Then going in 30-45 second intervals I keep going until I hear the wood literally cooking. (Remember a microwave is designed to excite only the water molecule..so this is what is doing most of the work for you..as it would be doing the destruction if you'd left it by itself.) I then keep 'basting' the piece, especially the edges, for about 15 more minutes. If things get to hot, I let it settle down for a while before continuing on. IF I think the piece is close to being done (and it'll be the sound of the steam inside the piece that tells me this) I put it in a paper bag for a couple of hours to slowly dissipate the heat and moisture slowly. After it's cool to the touch and seemingly in decent repair (as they can and do break if they want to..just like air drying) I'll rechuck the piece and sand it to completion. But I also make sure that I get a coat of oil on it that day too...just to slow the movement of any water remaining (I think the polymerization of the oil also helps hold the piece together too).

That's what works for me when dealing with non-dried woods...your milage may vary. (void where prohibited and this is an unlimited offer with no certificate of authenticity)

Chris

[Robert McGowen]

Hi,

After reading your post and looking at the photo, I don't think a lot of posters realize that the logs that you have are really just slices off of a trunk and are so thin. You can slice out the pith, but anything that is wider than the log is thick is just going to get cut off. You will end up with a lot of blanks that will make bowls 5" or a little bigger wide and a whole lot of scrap. You are really handicapped with what you can do due to the thickness of the wood. You could also just cut the biggest circles you can out of each piece that do not include the pith and make end grain bowls, or make a lot of little boxes. YMMV