Setting Pitch in Pine, Spruce, etc

[Rich Aldrich]

I have access to several spruce burls, but have been concerned about pitch. When any lumber with pitch is kiln dried, the kiln operator normally raised the temperature to around 130 degrees F (or at least a higher temperature than the wood will see in use) for a certain amount of time to set the pitch. This ensures the pitch will not run out of the wood up to that temperature.

With those of you that have turned pine, spruce, etc., how have you dealt with the pitch issue?

One theory I have is after the wood has dried in rough form, I could put it in the non burning portion of my outdoor wood boiler. (The boiler is built in its own separate building, but part of the boiler). This area gets quite warm as the water in the boiler is 160 to 180 degrees F. I guess it would also be a good test to see if the wood is dry.

[Art Kelly]

Rich The Yooper, I'm about one step further along this process from you. I scored some (burls/galls, not sure which) from a scrubby pine tree in North Georgia in September. Not sure about the differences between your wood and mine, but mine turned like butter, however the shavings are sticky. No big deal--you just have to shake out your clothes before you come in.

I kept a tin can with some mineral spirits and stuck my tools in it between uses, then wiped the pitch off with a rag before resuming.

Sanding is an issue and would probably be an issue even if you were to effect some kind of "set" or "cure." The bottle stoppers were turned as smooth as I could get them with s spindle gouge. I sanded a little bit, but got frustrated and ended up smoothing them with 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits. Worked pretty good. I'm thinking the m-s dissolved some of the pitch out of the wood because they felt dry within a day.

I haven't finished the stoppers yet, but will probably use a varnish finish--something that is soluble with m-s and hence somewhat like the pitch in chemistry.

I'm going to finish roughing the bowls and let them sit in the house over the winter (sorry, we call it that by tradition here), and see what they're like. Right now they are just slightly damp/tacky to the touch but not sticky. Some of the pitch that was weeping out through the bark (the tree is in grave distress from the fusiform fungus disease that's causing the galls) is already crystallized.

I hope more people with experience chime in--I'll be watching this thread. Also, as I move along I'll post anything interesting that happens.

Keep us updated.
Art

(The wood on the bottoms of the vessels are glued-on "faceplates" I make out of scraps of red oak or chickasaw plum. Saves wood on small pieces like this--no tenons or screwholes--and makes it easy to work a bunch of pieces without changing chucks. Just screw one off the lathe and screw another one on. Also seals the end so the piece dries a little slower.)

Overheard in Eagle Harbor: "So, Lena, how long do we have to stay here before we're Yoopers?" Lena: "I don't know Ole. How long would we have to stay in China before we were Chinamen?"

[Norm Zax]

Lookin nice! What happens if you just spray them with two or three coats of rattle can, without waiting for the pitch to decide what it wants to become?