Controlling warp.

[Russell Neyman]

I turn wet wood all the time, then sit back to see what develops. Sometimes it's just a."Meh," but usually the results are interesting and fun.

What many turners don't realize is that warp can be controlled and manipulated by steaming the wood, much the same way as bending wood. The process is pretty easy: place the object in a strainerabove boiling water, then manipulate it. It can be clamped, or placed in a plywood form that is cut to shape.

I'd post pictures, but the three squarish madrone bowls I did last fall all sold the first day.

One thing, though, this works better with larger, thin-walled vessels.

[Reed Gray]

Don't you just love that about Madrone! It outsells Myrtle about 5 to 1 for me. Every one does Myrtle, but most don't want to mess with the Madrone. I never wanted the extra work involved in steaming and boiling, though it does bring out the red in this wood, as does the soap soak, which does make it easier to sand out, but nothing else.

robo hippy