Just wondering.

[Bruce Lewane]

Seeing as though turning green wood is pretty much the standard these days I was wondering what woods, turners found to be the most stable (least apt to warp, crack or check) in the process of drying. Granted the variables are endless but some woods are better than others.
In my limited experience I have found Indian Rosewood to be great fun to turn and almost rock solid while drying.
Also, anybody use Pentacryl to slow the drying process?

[Jeff Gilfor]

Actually, turning green wood has been "in vogue" for a millennium or more. Turner of old, turned what was available. Most of it was likely green.

anyway,this is a good question.

I'm sure that there are wood books that will give you that information, but I have gotten quite a bit of good info about how each species dries and works from the places that sell turning blanks. Check out http://www.turningblanks.net/; they have a nice concise summary for each type of wood. Lots to learn there.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

http://www.turningblanks.net (without the ; )- is the correct URL

[Reed Gray]

Pacific Madrone is probably one of the most unstable woods around, which is why I like it so much. Mesquite is supposed to be one of the most stable, but we don't get too much of it here. I think water content has a lot to do with it, so if you are harvesting, spring time wood will move the most, and late summer through winter will be the most stable. Sycamore does hold a lot of water, but the warping is more symetrical. Walnut and maple seem to be pretty stable. Fruit woods seem to be in the medium range for stability. The tropical woods that have a lot of oil in them are pretty stable. I guess the main way to tell is to try them out.

robo hippy

[Scott Brandstetter]

Bruce
I have found that cedar works well for me. I don't know the reasons why but it doesn't seem to have the movement like other woods. Great color and smell as well.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

Mesquite is stable, but it also does move - I think the thing that is unique about it is that it moves the same in ALL directions.

a couple people have told me that they have made turned boxes out of green mesquite - and when the wood is dry - the box still is round with a tight fit lid.

[Bruce Lewane]

The guys at turningblanks.net ( or Got Wood?) have been my go to wood suppliers since I started this adventure. Great, quick service.
In the spirit of full disclosure where I live is a wood wonderland. A sawmill every 10 miles or so. Problem is, when all the numbers are run, buying blanks and having them shipped from North Carolina (or from Florida http://www.woodturningblanks4u.com) is actually cheaper and more efficient than buying straight from the mills here.
That said, I've almost talked myself into doing a little business with these guys. http://powdercreeksawmill.com/pb/wp_4c8319ae/wp_4c8319ae.html.
And I love cedar. Got a block of it on the lathe right now. Bought 6, 2 x 12 x 8 foot live edge planks a year ago. Made a coffee table and a couple of chairs.
Now they are turning into platters.

[John Thorson]

There are several hits on a search for how the various woods of North America shrink as they dry down.

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/woodmove.shtml

(http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/woodmove.shtml)These charts are not only interesting in terms of the differences in the percentages of shrinkage between the various species but also in the difference between radial and tangential shrinkage of a single species. Explained: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/

To me this hints at why some species may crack more than others as they dry down.

(http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/woodmove.shtml)