Is it too soon to turn?

[Paul Williams]

Last summer I purchased some 4 inch thick blocks of ambrosia maple. They are waxed so I assume they were fairly wet. I want to attempt an emerging bowl. So I measured the moisture content from both ends. Came out at 16%. I don't see twice turning an emerging bowl as being a good idea. Is it too soon to start?

[Scott Hackler]

Paul, it is not to early to turn them if you don't mind roughing, drying and returning (or turn to final thickness and let the wood warp). Moisture meters are only accurate to 3/4-1" into the wood and it is likely that the center is still sopping wet. So, you can either do the above or scrap the wax off the blanks on all the sides except the end grain and come back to them in 12 months or so. 8-12% moisture content is generally considered dry. Of course relative humidity effects or "dry" wood.

[Scott Ticknor]

Old timers say an inch per year for air dried

[Dennis Ford]

I think the one inch per year "rule" only works for 1 inch thick stock and then only for some woods. My experience is that thin stock dries faster than one year per inch and thick pieces take more than a year per inch. Your block being short would dry much faster than a long piece the same thickness except that the wax slows it down an unknown amount. I agree with Scott; scrape off some of the wax and be patient.

[Paul Williams]

Thanks for the input. You agree with my thoughts. The blocks have already warped quite a bit so there is a chance that most of the warping has already happened. My thought is that I can't do the rough out and then finish turn because a emerging bowl will still have a large section of solid wood that may crack after turning.

[robert baccus]

A really fuzzy area of opinion. Don't be afraid to doubleturn however. it may be the easiest of all the methods. Rough turn to 1" uniform thickness and cover with one of the endseals and park it for 2-3 months. Your chances of success are 90%+ at least. There is a lot of witchcraft out there on this subject.