Wood for turning

[Jim Baker]

Here is a question for you turners. I am not yet a turner, although I hope to be someday.

I have read about some of you guys salivating every time you see a tree laying on the ground. With last weekend's storms in the area, there are many trees and parts of trees laying on the edges of fields and pastures that belong to me and to my family. Many of them are easily accessible.

What kinds and sizes of wood do you guys look for when you are eyeing future turning pieces? How long can it be down and still remain in good condition for turning? How should it best be stored and preserved for future turning?

If any of you central Illinois or St. Louis area turners will send me a personal message letting me know what kinds of woods you are looking for, I could probably fix you up. There's quite a bit of it laying around out there. I certainly can't use it all, since I don't even have a lathe yet.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Heck, Jim, to a turner almost any wood is good for something and size isn't really the biggest factor. In the Badger Pond archives which can be found on Wood Central, Bill Grumbine has some good advice on how to handle wood that is to be used for turning. Some people prefer the larger chunks because they make big objects, but other people go in for smaller more detailed work and can use smaller chunks. You might try getting on a turner's forum and ask the same questions there.

[Dennis Peacock]

Try your hand at some cedar, poplar, walnut and soft maple. Don't do like I did and chuck up a large piece of well dried lightenging struck Red Oak and start learning on that..!!!! Not only is it hard....really hard...but also creates an environment to where you have to really "GRIP" your tools and hold on for dear life. Start with something soft....something GREEN (meaning still wet) for learning how to turn. Starting out this way will allow you to learn what each tool does and how you can best present each tool for turning.

Just get as much wood as you can.....nothing smaller than 4" across and seal the end with house paint or Anchorseal until you get ready to turn something. Firewood piles can yield some very nice turning stock and some pretty wood besides....

Hope this helps....

[Anthony Yakonick]

I won't turn any thing with the pith in it so I like my my trees to be 16"dia and up that way I can get a few vessels from each log section. As for the types of wood I like the "junk" maples, red maple, silver maple and box elder. I also like to turn some black cherry other than that I turn very little of anything else besides some exotics. About 98% of my turning is maple.

Anthony

[Jim Becker]

Yes, to a turner, a fallen tree is more dangerous than a hand-held cell phone in one hand and a Big Mac in the other...all at 70 mph. :D

As others have indicated, you can turn just about anything. I'd suggest you leave the turning wood you harvest in large chunks or logs for now, sealing the ends with Anchorseal (preferably) or an alternative. When you are ready to make some blanks, then cut off a reasonable chunk and process it into blanks. Bill Grumbine's web site has a good pictorial on that particular process in addition to the references already made by Don.

Like Anthony, a lot of my turning is Norway Maple, Cherry and Walnut, but I've picked up some excellent finds along the road, such as Osage Orange (Hedge Apple or Bos d' Arc to some of you out there), oak and the like. The only thing I ever buy is in the burl department...