Green wood turning question

[John W Johnson]

Reading the post below about the Osage splitting makes me wonder about an upcoming project. My turning has also been limited to spindles, well mostly pens and pepper mills. I've turned a little greenish maple for Windsor chair legs, but those billets were fairly dry by the time I got them.

I've got to take out a couple of dogwood trees in a few weeks and want to turn a few mallets and mauls from the trunks and roots. I guess I need to know how soon I should turn them after I get the wood. And what I need to do to keep them from cracking after.

[Paul Engle]

seal end grain , turn asap , pack in chips/paper bag, let sit on shelf for a time, finish turning.

[Dennis Ford]

Dogwood is difficult to dry without cracks. To improve your chances:
* Seal the ends of each piece the same day that you cut the tree unless it is raining (sealing the next day will be OK if it is raining)
* Do not include the pith in any of the turnings
* If you are not able to turn the wood within a few days of cutting the tree, cut the wood lengthwise through the pith. Even better would be to remove the pith and an inch or so on each side of the pith.
* Once turned, slow the drying rate dramatically.

[Reed Gray]

Cut out the pith, turn a cylinder, round over the ends, wax the ends, and up an inch or so onto the cylinder, let dry in a cool dry place with no wind or sun, like bottom shelf on the concrete floor. 2 inch cylinder is dry in about 2 years or so. Not easy or fast to do. You might be able to microwave it though, but that is hit and miss, especially with a piece of any thickness. Boiling is another method to release tension.

robo hippy

[Tim Rinehart]

definitely need to slow drying and seal the ends. I would even suggest a paper bag to slow things a bit more, after initially letting surface moisture dissipate. Don't want to encourage mold growth by bagging too early.

[Joe Lukach]

I use the microwave to dry green. Rough turn it. Weigh it, 2 minutes in the mw in a bag - let it rest for 5 min -- weigh it --- should decrease in weight as it drys. Repeat until you feel it is dried. Good articles out on the net -- they have more details. Good turning

[Peter Blair]

Hi Tim. Here on the Wet Coast I continue to struggle with mold after boiling. How long do you wait to bag? I sometimes try anchor seal as well before bagging. Here's and example. I cut a large maple round in half, removing the pith, place it in my area for spalting for several months then rough turn (it is about 14" did and 6" deep) using the 10% common guide. Then boil for about one and a half to 2 hours. I generally let sit on my concrete floor covered with a towel for a day or so. Do you have any suggestions to minimize mold?

[Scott Hackler]

Peter, if you dry via the Dna (denatured alcohol) soak prior to wrapping or bagging the rough out, it tends to minimize mold growth and will halt spalting because the Dna is strong enough to kill the fungus. Or at least that is my experience. I rough, soak in Dna and wrap in newspaper for ALL my green wood turning and let them sit in a low shelf for 4-6 weeks and they are dry. No staining and generally no cracks.

[Reed Gray]

Maple is pretty stable, and usually the boiling is done for very difficult to dry woods like Madrone, or Arbutus as you call it up there. If it is molding, it needs more air. I think that when boiled, you let it air dry till the surface is dry, hours, or maybe a full day, then seal, and leave on a shelf to dry. General rule for drying, if it is cracking, you are drying too fast. If it is molding, it is drying too slow.

robo hippy

[Peter Blair]

Thanks guys!