choosing your wood for blanks

[Ron Journeau]

After wandering through some of these threads seeing various wood species being used with such spectacular results, I got to thinking that I must be missing something very basic. How does one go about 'seeing' these awesome grains/spalts/burls in a hunk of wood? I admit that I am so new to this that I am barely keeping up with some of the technotalk, and often go off on a sidebar to research what someone just said, but I feel quite lacking when choosing a piece of raw stock to use in a project. While experience is most definitely absent, but hopefully to be worked on..is there a technique used to choose your project pieces, or is it hit and miss most of the time?:confused:

[Frank Parker]

I'm no expert on wood ,but I look for any abnormality's in the trunk or log, such as limbs, graphs, burls or growths. some woods have such contrast between heart and sap wood,that depending how turn it can produce amazing results.

When I turn solid wood bowls,vases,and such I let the wood dictate the final shape to maximize the grain of the wood. When I do segmented projects I pick the wood for the specfic project. I'm still trying to figure out some of the logo they use here, but I'm learning alot on these forums.
Frank

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Being NO EXPERT either, I agree with Frank. I look for the pieces that the "Flat Board" workers don't want.

I was at a mill several days ago, and they had a piece of Aromatic Cedar that had screwy grain, knots, and voids. It was 3.5 board ft and cost $7.00. When I got it home, I cut up the board, in 6" lengths and will be making pens from most of it.

Some will end up being pen stands for desks. These will come from the pieces with the voids, only because you can't make pens out of voids.

When turning, more times than not, the wood tells me what it wants to be; usually by splitting or something else that makes me change my original plans.

That is part of the fun; never knowing for sure what you will have when done!

The Other Bruce

[Kurt Forbes]

actually with proper care you can even turn pens with voids.
I made a few pens out of wormy cherry and had to soak them in epoxy for a bit to get them to hold together resulting in some really cool spots whear some knots were suspended in the translucent epoxy for a really cool effect.

I can not believe no one told Ron the true secret of what wood to use.
FREE WOOD

turn all you can find for free and more often than not you will got some peice worthy of posting here. Well I hope to get a few peices worthy eventually.

You can take pretty plain wood and by varying the angle of the grain sometimes get a pretty peice.

[Chris Lee]

I think alot of times you don't know what you are looking at until you get in to the log. Turn as much as you can an you will be surprised at what you find in a log. When I was at Bill Grumbine's a couple month's ago he had this log that he decided to cut up for us to turn. Well as soon as we got it cut and took a good look at it, CURLY ENGLISH WALNUT. Both of us had a little extra spring in our step after that. Good Luck and always be looking for wood. I never realized how many people cut down trees and just let them sit in their yard until I started turning.


Chris

[John Hart]

First off Ron...If you feel like you don't understand something...just ask. The folks here at SMC don't feel a need to belittle anyone and love the opportunity to share in their experience. Everyone remembers when they didn't know something. Even the most seasoned veterans have questions.

As far as wood goes...sometimes you can tell whats inside by what you see outside but sometimes there's surprises inside that you could never imagine. I agree with Kurt...Free wood is great because you're not afraid to "go for it". Besides, the beauty of woodworking is that you get to deal with the natural beauty that is in every piece of wood. All you have to do is discover it.

[Raymond Overman]

Ron,

Even clear grained wood is sought after in some instances. Holly for instance seems to be on a lot of turners minds lately and for good reason, it looks like alabaster when turned and is absolutely gorgeous.

The nice thing about the other clear grained stuff, given time it will spalt too so the firewood pile or the local woods where a hurricane or tornado went through a few years back is a good place to look for semi-rotting specimens.

Other than that, the gnarliest tree you can find generally will yield the most insteresting grain figure. I think I know where every burl, twist, knot, and hollow is in all the trees around town.

I've also found that fruit trees yield excellent grain patterns and have seen beautiful pieces made out of peach, apple, pear, persimmon, apricot, and cherry. Talk to a local orchard and find out where their burn pile is. If they are of any size, disease, age, and insects force recycling on a regular basis.

Also, talk to the local arborist, tree surgeon, or tree service. They run across ugly stuff all the time... It's your job to make it pretty.

Good luck and happy hunting.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Ron,

Can't really help on the wood. Basically I have been just keeping my eyes open for down trees with burls on them. (Not too many around :) ).

I did want to welcome you to the creek! We really appreciate you joining. This is a great forum, that thrives on new members. I hope you enjoy your time here!

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Ron

Finding spectacular wood before it gets on the lathe comes with practice and experience, and as Chris mentions, every now and then we are handed a surprise. However, that surprise can go in either direction. There are some general principles which can be observed.

In the vast majority of cases, any hardwood that is solid and in good shape will yield decent turning material. Some is better than others. My personal favorites are cherry, walnut, and maple. These species are local to me, are relatively close grained, cut well, etc. I usually avoid red oak, although if I can get my hands on white oak I will take it. Ash and birch are not real common, but if they show up, I will at least give them the once over before deciding which pile, turning or firewood, they will go to. Any burl of any species is a good find, but not all lumps are burls. I will say a bit more about that in a moment.

There is some wood to stay away from. I will not bother with wood that has certain characteristics right off the bat. Some soft species, such as any conifer, and some deciduous species, are off my list. If the wood has ring shake - cracks which follow the rings around the log - it is not only useless, it is dangerous to turn. Wood that is very dry with deep checks is to be avoided. Lumps that are masquerading as burls are to be avoided. Usually these lumps are growths over broken off branches, and will often yield disappointment. Often you can find a rotted and hollow depression in them known as a cats eye, if I recall the name correctly.

I will also avoid wood where I either have more than I can use at the time, or wood which I know will not give the figure and quality that I have come to expect. These are usually species that are not known for stunning grain or color. For example, we have tons (literally) of mulberry around here. I have turned a few pieces of it, but I am not wild about the color, the grain, or the way it finishes. It burns great though. If someone hands me walnut that is a large portion of sapwood, I do not take it. I have too much walnut that is much better in quality right now. The list could go on and on, but as you develop your own eye and your own tastes, it becomes much easier. For example, if you go to look at a maple log and you can see ripples in the bark, you know you are in for a treat. But if not, then you are taking a chance. Sometimes I have cut into a smooth maple trunk to find spectacular curl, and other times just plain old white wood.

When you are beginning, any wood is good wood, but as you progress, you will develop an eye and your own preferences. Have fun with it, and along the way you will learn more about wood than most flat woodworkers will ever know.

Bill

[Blake McCully]

This is a great topic. I've lived in the woods most of my life but know so very little about them. As long as the leaves are on the trees I can usually tell what the species is, but come winter that's another story.

I have a question regarding the external appearance of the tree. My MIL wants me to remove an old maple tree in her back yard. There is something, I imagine it is a type of lichen, of some sort on much of the bark for about the first 3 or 4 feet or so. Aside from having a fairly nice shade of green, is it significant as to what is going on under the bark? In other words, could that be indicative that the wood is somehow punky, or no good? Or is it just surface stuff sorta like arboreal acne?

Does anyone know off hand any videos or such to expand my own personal knowledge of our deciduous friends?

TIA for any info.

[Raymond Overman]

Blake,

You may (and that's a big may) be able to get more information from your local extension service regarding your tree or forests in the surrounding area. Also the national forestry service has all kinds of information about trees and forests in North America. You should be able to contact regional or local representatives of either of those groups.

Colleges with agricultural programs maintain data as well and are willing to share if you don't mind digging a little.

[John Hart]

Here's a little blurb on Lichens from Bloomsburg University in PA:

A lichen is two organisms, a fungus and an alga, growing symbiotically. The alga produces carbohydrates and vitamins for itself and the fungus. The fungus provides physical protection for the alga and absorbs water. Because both organisms in this interaction benefit from it, the relationship is a mutualism. Lichens can grow in harsh environments, including bare rock, deserts, and tundra. They also grow on the bark of trees, although lichens neither help nor harm the trees. Lichens are slow-growing and long-lived.
Lichens can be used as bio-indicators of air quality because they are sensitive to atmospheric pollution, including heavy metals, radiation, and ozone. The component of air pollution responsible for the greatest damage to lichens is sulfur dioxide (SO<SUB>2</SUB>) released by coal-burning power plants (PathFinder Science 2002). SO<SUB>2</SUB> combines with water in the atmosphere to produce sulfurous acid (H<SUB>2</SUB>SO<SUB>3</SUB>) or sulfuric acid (H<SUB>2</SUB>SO<SUB>4</SUB>) which lowers the pH of precipitation. Lichens may be directly harmed by the acidity of precipitation, and they also accumulate sulfur compounds in their thalli. Lichens growing on acidic substrates accumulate sulfur as toxic bisulfite ion (HSO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-</SUP>) and H<SUB>2</SUB>SO<SUB>3</SUB>, but lichens growing on basic substrates accumulate sulfur as relatively harmless sulfite ion (SO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-2</SUP>) (WHO 2000).