Wood choice for large architectural turnings?

[Scott Conners]

I've been turning some 6"x6"x30" balusters, and am looking for a better choice of wood. They are being used as plugs for molding concrete versions, so they don't have to be pretty, just smooth and the right shape. The first one I did out of doug fir (not my first choice), which was terrible, as can be expected. Splintery, bad tearout, and bad wavy grain after sanding. I've been using MDF since, as it's easy to lay up myself (I don't have a planer/sander/bandsaw or other way to size the blank, so I have to lay it up at correct size). The MDF turns easily, but has some issues with fuzziness/tearout at certain cut orientations.

I'd love to hear what woods other turners use for large spindle work. Easy to turn and smooth sanding are the biggest prerequisites, with cost and availability a factor too.

[Michelle Rich]

what is the cheapest lumber in your area? poplar? aspen? alder? whatever it is, get it 6" wide(or a tad wider) and lay-up a 6x6, then turn

[John Keeton]

Poplar comes to mind, but it is not very stable and if exposed to moisture it will warp quickly. I am betting that you have limited choices in California. Big Leaf Maple turns well, but large pieces can be hard to find as it is considered a pulp wood and is rarely harvested for lumber.

[Nathan Hawkes]

If wavy grain after sanding is an issue, then you may have to use a harder wood than what has been mentioned. All the softwoods that are inexpensive are going to have larger growth rings, and will consequently have softer early vs. harder late season growth rings, and come out with the softer wood sanded away, hence wavy grain. I've even experienced this with some hardwoods when bowl turning, but that's a digression. If it is really an issue to have near-perfect turnings before casting concrete forms, then I would bite the bullet and get some red oak to glue up. (cheap in VA, not sure what it costs on the west coast). Poplar, if it is going to be used only once for the casting, should be just fine. Any wood is going to swell, I would just expect Poplar to do so more than some other wood choices. Alder should be fairly comparable, but I think Aspen is even softer than poplar?? We don't have it in VA, so I've never turned it. Good luck with your project!! Let us know how it goes. By the way, you might have heard the saying, but if it doesn't include pictures, it never happened.

[Reed Gray]

If it is going to be used for concrete molds, I would guess they will use the plastic/rubber type stuff that peels off easily, I would go with poplar. Go with a heavy surface finish to seal it, and then they add some other surface treatment so the rubber will peel off. Should be stable enough to get molds made. If you want to get fancy, you could do stave construction. Personally, I really hate MDF.

robo hippy

[Richard Allen]

Turn it out of a fresh green log and store the turning is a water tub. The turning will remain the same as long as it stays wet and will reshape itself when put back into water storage.

[Scott Conners]

Thanks, here's a pic of the first one. No way to turn from wet, as I don't have a way to mill a long with square ends. So far I'm 1 in 3 for getting my MDF layups square, and I need to buy more wood. Without a reliable way to layup square from typical lumber, I think MDF may have to be my choice still.
225791

[Reed Gray]

Scott,
3 piece glue up. Mill the square ends and drill a center recess. Turn the cylinder with tenons on it, and glue together. I would still use poplar as I just can't stand MDF and all the fine dust it creates.

robo hippy

[Scott Conners]

Thanks robo, that was one of my early thoughts too. I thought making the square ends might be too hard, but at this point I may try it with the next sheet of wood. It's just the difficulty of milling the square ends with only a cheap table saw, old chop saw, and skil saw.I think I'm going to try it though, because I have a two blanks that are 1/8" out of square at one end sitting here now. I think I can get away with a hand drill (lacking a drill press) for the center recess, as there is plenty of surface to index the ends square, and I can adjust the ends and tack w/ CA before the titebond dries. Hopefully a small square layup will be easier for me to keep square. I may need to go buy better clamps, perhaps some deep parallel jaw type.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

If you use MDF, use some serious dust mask/face shield combination. I wouldn't want to breath that adhesive/dust. It can't be good for you.

[Bill Boehme]

I agree with Reed and Ken. If MDF is not be the most noxious dust producing material to turn, it certainly is a contender for the honor. I recently reminded myself why I can't stand it when I turned part of a vacuum chuck out of the stuff. In addition to being a serious respiratory irritant, it is also terribly abrasive and seems to find its way into every crack and crevice in every machine in my shop.

[Scott Conners]

If you use MDF, use some serious dust mask/face shield combination. I wouldn't want to breath that adhesive/dust. It can't be good for you.
Definitely! I wear a 3m respirator with good filters (a gift from a fellow creeker). I do have facial hair which doesn't help, but I avoid as much as possible. I find the bigger issue is dealing with the dust in my eyes and face. The large square blank makes quite a wind, which drives the dust right into my face. The wind moves in really interesting patterns too,, I'd love to read a study of the air movement on a spinning square section. There's almost no breeze near the ends, and air seems to be pulled toward the center where there is a strong jet. It changes in interesting ways as I round sections. The practical effect, however, is that my eye and face protection gets coated in dust extremely quickly. I have to stop and wipe every couple of minutes, depending on what cut I'm making. I find just wiping with my fingers seems to create less static than trying to use a cloth when cleaning the plastic lenses, but with my hands coated in dust it takes a few tries to get it clean enough to turn again. I have a small rigid shop vac, but I'm not sure it would be that functional as a dust collector (I will test it). I'm also not sure it'll survive that kind of duty cycle.

MDF definitely isn't fun to turn, but it's the most readily available, well machined wood I have found so far.