End grain turning

[Bob Rotche]

I have quite a few log sections of trees we have cut down (walnut, cherry, box elder), some of which are large enough to cut decent size typical bowl blanks but was wondering about smaller sections maybe 8-12 inches in diameter. Would like to try some vase forms but was wondering how best to deal with the pith. Drill it and plug it or just take your chances? Other suggestions? As always, the voices of experience are greatly appreciated!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Bob
I think most people here are going to tell you to avoid or remove the pith. I'm not in that camp myself. All the vessels I turn are end grain & I will always center the piece directly on the pith regaurdless of how off center the pith is. If the pith is to far off center I won't use it. I've had great success with the method we use. Is it 100 % effective? No but nothing is when using green wood. But it's been Very successful for us.

[Marty Eargle]

I've turned three pieces with the pith left in and only one has avoided the fire pit as of right now. I've never tried this method myself, but why not rough the bowl out to whatever thickness with the pith in. Prep it for drying and just keep a close eye on it. If it starts to split...chuck it up, finish the form and remove the pith, and plug it up.

It's hard to say, because of how unpredictable wood is. Safe bet is always remove the pith...but playing it safe isn't always the most fun.

[Dale Miner]

For the walnut, if it does not have a pith crack already, saturate the pith and surrounding area on the end that will be used as the tenon with CA. Immediately rough the outside and the inside. As sood as the inside is rouged, saturate the pith area from the inside with CA. Paper bag the roughouts, keep your fingers crossed, and you should have a pretty good success rate (75%?).

The cherry and BE should be done the same way, but the success rate may not be as high, especially with the cherry. The CA will likely leave an objectionable stain on both the cherry and BE.

The CA does two things. It makes the pith area stronger and more resistant to cracking, and, it seals the wood in that area and make the moisture loss much slower. The slower rate of moisture loss keeps the pith area 'plump' and less likely to start cracking from drying faster than the longer fibers on the outer portions of the vessel.

If there are already cracks in the pith area, they won't heal up, and will likely get worse regardless of any post turning efforts.

[Jon Nuckles]

Hi Bob,

I don't have as much experience as most, but I do have a picture of a cherry "vase" I turned with the pith centered. I got the outside done, but it started cracking while I was hollowing it. I treated the cracks with CA as they appeared, but there was no stopping them! Maybe I will try Dale's method next time, or I will try a less crack-prone wood. Good luck with yours and let me know if you come up with any effective method to avoid the results shown below (the good, the bad, and the ugly):

195797195798195799

[Michael Mills]

I’m a novice but I saw a couple of items where the bottom was removed and a large “plug” turned. The plug was decorated on the inside with a spiraling cutter so it was a surprise when you looked in. The plug was turned cross grain. The joint underneath was also decorated with v cuts to blend in.
For 8-12” logs you can still get four bud vase or larger sizes and avoid the pith if quartered.

[Dennis Ford]

The easiest way to get pieces with the pith included to survive, is to turn them THIN while green.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

I agree with Dennis Ford, turn them thin when green, I let it set for a week to dry and then rechuck it so the sanding can be done on the lathe, power sanding at 100 rpm, sanding at that slow of a speed the warpage doesn't bother the sanding process too much. While it is sitting for that week, I anchor seal the bottome of the pith. It usaually works 80% of the time.

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will give them a try and report back. Sounds like its a roll of the dice but what the heck, its just firewood anyway!