vessel cracking need help!!

[Bill Wilcox]

Hey All,
I am turning a large lidded vase out of Black Walnut. I have not separated the lid from the vase yet. However, I have been distracted with some hunny do projects and have not been able tio get back to finishing this off. I went this morning and looked at it and right where I am going to make my cut for the lid, the wood has begun to crack.
Question: If you are not going to be able to finish a piece, what do you do to protect it from drying out too fast to prevent cracks??
I have thought about taking the piece off the lathe and putting it in a bucket of water. Using a wet towel and wrapping the piece and having a plastic bag around it. What do yiou guys and Gals do??
Thanks,
Bill Wilcox

[patrick michael stein]

hi bill,



what I have done and still do is coat the piece with anchor seal.This helps the piece dry more evenly.





patrick

[Bill Wilcox]

I should mention that the Black Walnut is green wood. So... what your saying is that you are putting anchorseal on the piece after each turning event? What if the piece is a very large bowl and it would take several days to complete?
Thanks,
Bill

[Gary Conklin]

Cover it with a plastic trash bag.

[Bill Bolen]

I do the same as Gary. I just leave it on the lathe and put in a plastic grocery bag and tie the ends shut. Just did this with a Walnut hf that sat on the lathe for over a week. No problem when going back to it...Bill..

[Steve Schlumpf]

When roughing out green wood - and I have to leave for whatever reason - I use a spray bottle filled with water and get the wood good and wet - then cover it with a plastic grocery bag to trap in the moisture. Works real good at both - keeping the wood from drying out and creating rust on the jaws of your chuck!

[Bill Wilcox]

Thanks all, I just was wondering about this and am glad I was on the right track.
Bill

[Allen Neighbors]

Ditto what Steve said. Works well. Don't stay gone for a month, though, unless you like spalting. :D

[Bill Wilcox]

Well here is what I did. I used some fingernail polish and marked one of the 4 spurs on the headstock. I then marked on the wood with a indelible pen. Since I used a revolving drive center on my tailstock I didn't need to mark anything. I then took the wood to the sink and soaked it well with water. I then placed it in a plastic bag and sealed it well. I then placed the whole thing back on the lathe and referenced the marked points.
thanks all for the help.

[Brian Brown]

I use pallet wrap (stretch banding) to wrap it tightly. That minimizes the air content, so if I have to leave it for two or three days, there is less chance of mold.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hey All,
I am turning a large lidded vase out of Black Walnut. I have not separated the lid from the vase yet. However, I have been distracted with some hunny do projects and have not been able tio get back to finishing this off. I went this morning and looked at it and right where I am going to make my cut for the lid, the wood has begun to crack.
Question: If you are not going to be able to finish a piece, what do you do to protect it from drying out too fast to prevent cracks??
I have thought about taking the piece off the lathe and putting it in a bucket of water. Using a wet towel and wrapping the piece and having a plastic bag around it. What do yiou guys and Gals do??
Thanks,
Bill Wilcox

Bill you got some good advice already, mostly much like I would do it, though some of it depends not only the time I'm going to be away from the lathe, for whatever the reason might be, but also on the time of year, kind of funny that that has a bearing on it right ?, well over here I'd have a coffee often in the shop in the cold season, as quite often LOML will bring me some as I don't take the time to go for some fluids, (not good for my kidneys, I know) and I often will show what I'm doing and then move the light away (heat) and hang a rag or plastic bag over it, especially if I already am turning the inside (thinner walls end grain can dry very fast), but if only still roughing the outside, I might not even bother covering the piece.

Now in the nice weather time, I quite often go sit outside and have my coffee break, and enjoying being out there, I often will be away longer from the lathe, and so for even a coffee break I will wrap a plastic bag around it closely then.

Lunch or supper will make me cover the piece and I might even spray some water or wipe it down with a wet rag before that, overnight the same thing, though I usually finish the piece even if it will get very late/early even, but yes it happens.

If there's some piece that takes me longer than a day or two and/or we are going away for a few days or weeks before the piece is finished, it will get bagged and put away in a cool place, though this doesn't happen normally, but has happened once or twice, it usually means that I will have to re-do the piece as it will move for sure, being wet wood.
HTH :D

[Mike Minto]

Bill, sometimes you just have to let the wood go and crack (nothin will stop it, anyway, if that's what it really wants to do). Then, deal with it as best you can, by filling with some medium and glue; that's what I do; ie, sawdust from the piece I'm working on mixed in epoxy.