bradford pear

[charlie knighton]

6w x 7h

its been over 24 hours since i turned this piece, so i am confident that it will not crack, but still very wet, probably week to 10 days before i will embellish this piece

turns like butter, better than cherry

looking for inspiration in Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni by Allan Hayes and John Blom

[Steve Vaughan]

That's a nice looking piece. Lots of action going on in that grain. Hope it stays solid for ya!

[Jim Burr]

I have that book Charlie...no shortage of inspiration. Should dress up nicely!

[Thomas Canfield]

Charlie,

I hate to tell you but my experience with BP says that most of my cracks started well after 24 hours even in anchorsealed pieces or even pieces turned thin and sealed with oil. I wish you luck. With the end grain, there is likely to be checks start in the middle of the bottom.

[charlie knighton]

I hate to tell you but my experience with BP says that most of my cracks started well after 24 hours even in anchorsealed pieces or even pieces turned thin and sealed with oil. I wish you luck. With the end grain, there is likely to be checks start in the middle of the bottom. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/clear.gif (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1901397&noquote=1)





Thomas, i have no experience with bradford pear, my first time turning it. i did sand the nub off the bottom, but otherwise no sanding done. i put newspaper inside the hf, and turned it upside down in bag, am storing it in wooden cabinet. trying not to have moisture migrate to the bottom by turning it upside down in bag. i change the newspaper every 10 to 12 hours. i got the wooden cabinet idea from John Jordan last summer in st paul. here's hoping.........

[Bernie Weishapl]

Going to have a nice piece there Charlie if it doesn't crack. I haven't had real good luck with bradford pear but there are some pieces that defy when other pieces crack. Hope it works for you.

[John Keeton]

Charlie, I do hope it stays intact for you. Sounds like you have some well good plans for it. I also have that book - you won't have any trouble getting ideas from it. Lot of possibilities.

[Roland Martin]

Nice hunk of wood, Charlie and wish the best for you on the drying. Thanks for noting the book, I've been wanting to get something along this line for inspiration and ideas, I just ordered a copy. Looking forward to seeing the completed piece.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Hey Charlie, good luck on the drying of the bowl. I'd never even heard of Bradford pear until I joined SMC, but seems there are a lot of people who like it.
Just one question for anyone to amswer.... When you turn something that everyone knows will more than likely crack, why couldn't you use several hose clamps at different places on the piece and wait until it's dry??? The you just turn off any marks the clamps make when you're in the process of finishing... Of course, you would go about doing all the tips and techniques you normally do for wet wood also..... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Mike Peace]

I love Bradford Pear. One of my favorite turning woods. I have found it to dry with little cracking compared to other woods as long as you take the normal drying precautions of 10% wall thickness if planning to return, uniform thickness, put in a paper bag, etc. Turn it thin and green is fun too with no cracking. Maybe it is the generally high humidity here in Atlanta.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I wish you luck with the drying of the wood!

I find it easier to get inspiration for a piece before roughing out the wood. In this case you have somewhat limited yourself as to the finalized shape. Check out page 12 and then again on page 69, center left, for a couple of ideas that would fit right in with this roughed form. Good luck!

[Dennis Ford]

My experience with Bradford Pear is similiar to Mike's, it is not the most crack resistant wood but has given me less trouble than a lot of other woods. This piece does not appear to contain the pith and should have a pretty good chance of surviving. I will also agree with Tom that 24 hours is not long enough to be confident.
Charlie, I am looking forward to seeing this when it is finished.

[charlie knighton]

i like page 69, not so much 12, but 14 is interesting, but my favorite is right top corner page 49, i have started a form like page 49, wonder if the shape has any thing to do with cracking??????

[Baxter Smith]

Never turned pear but I have heard it is a dream to turn. Looking forward to seeing what it becomes Charlie.

[robert baccus]

I agree with Dennis, if you want a better than 30% chance of not cracking i would wax head to toe tonight. Dennis and i burned a lot of saw gas last hurricane and we had a lot of green wood to try to preserve. i still have 4 big pieces on the shelf still in wax and no cracks showing.----old forester