Any tips for drying Sycamore rough outs?

[Jeremy Leasure]

I have quite a bit of sycamore I need to rough out but the last three blanks I've turned from it have split on the end grain from the top of the rim to about midway down. Each survived about a week. I bagged them all, boiled one. Didn't matter. Do you think getting some Anchorseal for the end grain AND bagging would do it? Fun to turn but kind of uncomfortable and clammy because of the lower temps and all the water it holds.

[Donny Lawson]

When I do sycamore I add anchorseal to the endgrain and put them in a paper bag with shavings. I haven't had a problem at all.

[Michael Menzli]

If memory serves me well..which isnt often ...sycamore likes to rock and roll around the pith..when you say end grain Im assuming you have some pith left. Also I read some about radial shrinkage in a book...understanding the various stresses and how different woods like to dry would serve you well. Anchorseal really works but HIGHLY recommend the old blend vs the newer store bought stuff (as2)

[Dennis Ford]

I have had good results with coating the entire rough out with anchor seal. I put them on a shelf for a few months. You definitely want to avoid leaving the pith in sycamore rough outs, I try to eliminate anything within an inch or two of the pith.

[John Beaver]

The Sycamore out here in California is extremely wet and the wood is not very dense so it evaporates very quickly, making it prone to crack. It also moves a lot, so I recommend leaving the walls a little thicker then normal.

I have had pretty good success soaking in DNA and placing in a bag to dry. I have also had reasonable success with microwave drying, but it can be a little tricky. I have had the best results coating the end grain (or whole thing) with anchorseal and then placing it in a bag (we have pretty wide humidity changes here so I think the bag helps keep it constant).

As far as the pith goes, I would keep the rim of an open vessel pretty far away from the pith. You will really see the rim rise near the pith, and that will certainly make it more prone to splitting. I did however just rough a Sycamore hollowform with the pith in. I soaked the pith in CA and then sealed the whole outside of the vessel. It's almost dry and so far has held up fine - but I wouldn't recommend trying this.

[Bill Bulloch]

I got some awesome looking Sycamore from Donny Lawson this past Summer. I cut it into blanks, anchorsealed the ends and stored it under roof outside -- none of it has cracked todate. I have finished two bowls from it and they came out nice. I put the roughed out blanks in my kiln for about three weeks to dry on low temp (about 75 degrees first week then upped it to - 85), got a little warping, but no cracks.

[Reed Gray]

I have noticed that Sycamore and London Plane tend to warp way beyond the 10% rule for drying. That doesn't bother me as I turn to final thickness of about 3/8 to 1/2 inch for sycamore, let it dry and warp then sand and finish. If you want the rays/flecking to show in the bowl, you need to quarter saw it. For bowls, that means that the top of the bowl is to the outside of the tree, and the bottom is the center of the tree. For plates and platters, you take slabs that are oriented straight to the center of the tree, not flat sawn. The rays can be spectacular.

robo hippy

[Dan Forman]

If you want the rays/flecking to show in the bowl, you need to quarter saw it. For bowls, that means that the top of the bowl is to the outside of the tree, and the bottom is the center of the tree. For plates and platters, you take slabs that are oriented straight to the center of the tree, not flat sawn. The rays can be spectacular.

robo hippy

Reed --- Thanks for that tip, love the rays, but hadn't figured (no pun intended) a way to preserve them.

Dan

Dan