what to do with waxed wood?

[Dave Cullen]

I'm a spindle turner trying to teach myself about bowls. Read some books, watched countless videos, scored a Thompson bowl gouge and a Hunter carbide tool... now I needed some wood.

While at the local Woodcraft store, I picked up a 6x6x2 inch blank of osage orange that had a wax coating on it. This was back in December. It sat in my shop until 3 weeks ago when I decided to toss it on a faceplate and have at it.

I got the bottom and outside turned and left it on the lathe. When I got back to it yesterday, the partially turned bowl had developed cracks all around it. While trying to turn the inside I got a nasty catch and the bowl self destructed along one of the cracks.

So, it's obvious that they wax coat these blanks to keep them from drying out and cracking. What then is a turner supposed to do with them? What's the point of buying an expensive blank if it's going to come apart on you?

[Reed Gray]

Well, experienced turners know, and beginners don't know. The wax seals the wood to slow down the drying process. With the seal on, the wood does dry out, but not totally. When turning the bowl, it might have been dry enough to finish turn, sand and finish. The biggest problem was leaving it on the lathe over night. It most likely would have survived if you had finished turned it the night before. That being said, both customer and sales person should mention and ask about the particular piece, like 'any special care?' or 'what are you going to do with this?'. Too often we assume that the other already knows. Better luck next time. Probably best to start with cheap/junk wood first. Poplar is good. Spindle stock is almost always dry, and with the grain orientation going length wise, it isn't subject to the same drying stresses. Also, if the bowl blank was secured to a face plate or chuck, it had no way to relieve shrinkage stress other than by cracking. If you have to leave it on the lathe over night, some damp shavings, or a spritz or two of water and a plastic bag will do a lot to keep drying to a minimum. I don't even go to lunch with a green piece on the lathe.

robo hippy

[John Thorson]

Even though not sold as 'green wood' almost any wood you purchase that is over 2 inches thick should be treated as if were green. Use your favorite methods from your videos to control the drying of the rough turned bowl until it stops losing weight when you weigh it after 6 to 8 months and then do the finish turning.

[Stan Smith]

I think that, if you do a lot of turning, curing wood before turning will be something you think about before starting. However, I had not done any turning for awhile and had a piece check on me last fall. I had bought a blank to turn some pepper mills. The ends were waxed and 3" from the end on each end also. Without thinking I drilled and turned it and noticed the checking the next day. Whop! sound of hand palm hitting forehead. Then I knew that I should have let it set for awhile and weighed every 3 weeks to know when the weight loss stopped. I've got a piece totally covered with wax that I'll probably not even think about turning for 6 months or so. Yup, we learn from out mistakes. Good tips from robo hippy, too.

[Matt Newton]

When you get those nice blanks, the first thing you should do when you get them home is scape off the wax on all but the end grain. As stated in the previous posts, the wax prevents the wood from loosing any moisture. Think about when the wood was harvested. They just want to get a much product out so the wood is processed and waxed immediately with no time for it to dry. Removing all but end grain wax allows the wood to lose moisture at a controlled rate. If you need to turn it right away, make it thin enough that it can move without cracking. Good luck.

[robert baccus]

Ignore the wax. Buy a cheap HF moisture meter. I wax most of my own cut wood on every cut surface so I can sleep at nite.

[Tim Rinehart]

The issue with wax is no different than treating this piece as green wood. Even if only sealed on ends, and allowed to dry for a couple years, a blank that size can retain enough moisture to be an issue in this situation.
Options:
- finish turning in one sitting. With green wood especially, I find I get less cracks due to different rates of drying if the piece has a consistent thickness
- don't overheat wood during sanding. I did this a lot early on. If you're heating up the wood and your hand while sanding, you're doing something wrong. Use coarser grits and progress using the 50% rule, i.e 80 grit, 120, 180, 240...and so on.
- if leaving unfinished, wrap well with some plastic or even paper to cover the outside especially. if you've still got more sanding or turning to do on the outside...slather a coat or two of shellac on...let dry and still wrap with paper. Avoid plastic wrap if using shellac...prone to stick! DAMHIKT

Hope that helps!