cutting blanks from trees

[Howie French]

I have plenty of trees on my property that are laying in a pile
waiting to be cut up for firewood.

I am just starting to get into turning and could use some help
regarding using this wood for turning.

The wood was cut over a year ago, it is currently in 16 foot lengths.

Should I just chainsaw it to length, then bandsaw it to size, then turn it rough while it is green, then finishonce dry.

or should I bandsaw it to size and seal it and store it away for a few year while it dries.

I am curious because I see so many beautiful pieces displayed on this site, yet I don't see many details about the wood before it is turned.

I am interested in how people handle this situation.

thanks, Howie

[Clem Wixted]

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/logcutting.html

Then look around Bill's site and you will get an idea of what to do,

Clem

[Raymond Overman]

The best way to store wood is in the standing tree.

The second best way to store wood is in as large a piece as you can handle. Cover the ends with a wax emulsion such as anchorseal until ready to cut into bowl blanks and turn.

Personally, I like to turn green wood to a thickness of 1/10th the total diameter for bowls then soak it in denatured alcohol overnight, remove it and let it air dry for 20-30 minutes, then wrap it in newspaper and a plastic bag for about 2 weeks. (alcohol method attributed to Dave Smith) After two weeks I re-turn it to round on the inside and out and finish it.

That being said, John Jordan said in a demo that alcohol, soapy water, and other methods of drying were akin to alchemy and that all you had to do was turn a hollow form to final thinness (notice thin) and set it somewhere with no airflow until it felt dry. Once it felt dry, it was dry and you could finish it.

There's a picture of bowls in Wally Dickermans shop stacked up like cord wood drying. I didn't see any denatured alcohol or other solutions in the shot.

Every turner has their magic formula for getting a finished bowl not to crack and to dry it as quickly as possible. My suggestion is to try them all and see which combination of standing on your head while patting your tummy and singing "White Christmas" works for you.

[John Nicholas]

Howie,

Good Advice to check Bill's page on log cutting.

I have Raffan's Book on Turning Bowls checked out from our Turner's Club. He spends a number of pages on cutting logs to blanks and why. Good Illustrations.

I think you have to go two ways.

First: Prepare most of your stock for drying. Cut, seal etc.

Second: Turn green, what you don't prepare for drying.

Third: Keep turning into your drying stock as you have time.

:)

[Carole Valentine]

You might also grab a copy of Michael O'Donnell's book "Turning Green Wood". He provides a wealth of information about how to get the best out of a tree. I use the alcohol drying method for rough turned pieces. No cracks and it is ready to finish turn in a week to ten days rather than months.

[Jim Bell]

John jordan sells a cd that explains in great detail how to select and prepare wood for turning when wet. I met him at the symposium here in Orlando summer before last. He was trying to explain the process to me and suggested the cd. I figured it was just one more guy trying to make a buck, but i also figured what the heck. I bought it and came right home to watch. I did as he suggested in the cd and I turned a bowl that had very little distortion then or since. Go to John Jordan.com and order the thing. I think it costs around $35.00. it has easily been the best money I ever spent.
Jim

[Howie French]

thanks all for your replies.

Raymond and Carole - rergarding the denatured alcohol method. Do you fill and then store the alcohol in a bucket (thus reusing) and then just add/remove pieces as you go.

Howie

[Howie French]

Jim - I was not able to find John Jordan's web site?

[Raymond Overman]

thanks all for your replies.

Raymond and Carole - rergarding the denatured alcohol method. Do you fill and then store the alcohol in a bucket (thus reusing) and then just add/remove pieces as you go.

Howie

Yep, that pretty much covers it. After a while it will get dark. I haven't had any problems with using the dark alcohol but wouldn't try it if I was trying to turn a white piece of holly.

More information can be found here :

http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/

[Andy Hoyt]

Jim - I was not able to find John Jordan's web site?

Howie - Here ya are (http://www.stubbylathe.com/).

[John Hart]

Howie...With regard to re-using DNA....The nature of the alcohol extracting the water is that the water molecule bonds to the alcohol molecule....essentially making the alcohol a sponge that you can not squeeze out the water. Unless you have a method of separating easily...it's really better to discard it and use new stuff every time.

Don't mean to contradict Raymond...but there is a point of saturation to consider.

[Raymond Overman]

Not to contradict John, Howie, but at $11 a gallon, I've reused my alcohol and added a quart here and there when it got low with good results. If you're a production turner I might suggest changing it frequently but for the hobbyist I don't think that it's necessary that often. Definitely not every time since you're submerging the roughed blank.