New score of blanks how do I keep them?

[Josh Bowman]

What a hobby! You get to knock on strangers doors and haul off their piles of wood. You lurk around public parks and pick up fallen limbs. What have I become?:eek:..............oh I digress:o
Anyway I was on my way to the doctor and saw a mystery tree that had been taken down and piled up, so I met the owner and piled lots of the stuff in my Toyota Rav 4. Then right after that a friend called and said the city had taken down a wild cherry tree so off to that score I went.
Well here's the question, I now have all this nice wood for turning, how do I preserve it for future turning? Is there a limit to how long it will be suitable for turning?

[Norm Zax]

Josh - you are definitely whirling around in the vortex with the best of us. Hang on. As to preserving wood - brush of the ends and seal asap. There is the method most use - a waxy emulsion called Anchorseal. Trick is to get it in smaller quantities. I myself melt wax and dip the ends or brush them. Then store out of sun. Drying is slow (an inch a year on average). If left unsealed on damp earth, spalting (much wanted) will occur in some woods. This needs to be stopped before the wood becomes punky (read "spongy") by drying. Limbs = not as good as trunks as there are hidden tensions inside. Finally, woods that are more problematic (read - tend to crack more than others) should have their pith taken out asap. That means cutting the trunk lengthwise, leaving the middle inch for nature to consume (or fire wood). Cracked = dangerous; Free = worth practicing on.
Turning - green wood is a different experience all together, much less dust but may crack or deform when drying. Try it! Turn to within one inch (same all over) and leave in paper bag for a few weeks to stabilize. Return to finish.
Next chapter: enhancing chances by alcohol (DNA) submersion, drying by microwave, boiling in water, etc.
Enjoy!
Norm

[Dennis Ford]

Norm gave you some good advise.
The best way to preserve the wood is to turn it ASAP either to finished thickness or roughed out for drying. There is defintely a limit on how long you can keep green wood before it de-grades. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to predict an "expires on" date. Too many variables; climate, time of year, type of wood, storage conditions etc.
Collecting wood is a part of our hobby, and it is easy to let this portion of the hobby overwhelm our capacity to actually use the wood. The wood we collect usually was cut down for some other reason (or blown down by storms) so it was firewood before we get it and if it de-grades before we get to, it is firewood again.

[John Altberg]

Collecting wood is a part of our hobby, and it is easy to let this portion of the hobby overwhelm our capacity to actually use the wood.


You should see my shop. I may have to sell logs instead of bowls, someday! The search for good, free wood is fun, though! Plus you usually meet some nice people who are amazed to find out that there are woodturners in the world.