Walnut turning questions???

[Tom Sweeney]

Came home from work today & the wood fairy had dropped off a nice looking walnut log :D It's about 4' long & about 12" diameter. Another silver lining gift from Isabel via a friend of mine.

Since I don't have a ready supply of Walnut & I've seen some great turnings from it - I don't want to screw it up.

Should I turn it green & turn it real thin or should I rough it out & let it dry then finish it? Turn it with the grain (pith at the face plate) or normal orientation?

Anything else I need to know about turning Walnut??

Thanks

[Barbara Gill]

Everyone has their own way of proceeding with their turnings. I usually rough turn walnut and let it dry in a paper bag for at least 6 months. Most of the walnut that I turn is very stable and could probably be turned to finish green.

[Jim Becker]

I've turned it both wet and dry with no problems, including right to finishing as Barbara mentioned. Even wall thickness is a good thing for that and on those that I did turn all the way right away, I made sure I flooded them well with Watco or Antque Oil Finish inside and out. Walnut is pretty stable and I haven't had any cracking problem with the items I turned this way. ANY problems I've had have been because of "technique"...or lack, thereof.

[Tom Sweeney]

I anchorsealed it for now - probably no turning this weekend :(
I'll try the first turning right to finish & see what happens.

I actually have a hankerin for turning a real thin bowl & hoping it warps - doesn't sound like the walnut will do it - but we'll see what happens.

Barb - good to see you posting - I hope everything is going OK from the storm cleanup - glad it wasn't worse for you.

[Barbara Gill]

Thanks Tom. We got our power back last night. Clean-up is slow. Most of the downed trees are around firlds so their removal is not top priority. The large cedars have been pulled off the road in sections. Most will not make saw logs. Anyone need cedar turning wood? :D

[Bill Esposito]

Sure Tom, rub it in. We hardly got any rain up here from Isabel let alone downed walnut trees :)

Here's a pic that's reportedly Isabel on her way in...Quite beautiful and admittedly much easier to say that from New Hampshire then it would be from Virginia.

[Tom Sweeney]

Nature is amazing aint it.

Unfortunately along with a whole bunch of downed trees around here - including a pretty big wild cherry tree at my Church (as a Trustee I'm responsible for clearing it out :D ) Isabel blew a chunk of Stucco off the side of my house. The block wall is completely exposed & needs to be restucco'd before winter. The best estimate so far is $3,000 - read huge dent in the tool budget for the foreseeable future. The stucco was cracked before & I'm pretty sure insurance will tell me tough luck then report my claim to the CLUE report - been there done that & it's costing me $300 a year more for insurance on my rental property even though they denied the claim.

I know there are some folks here that got a lot worse beating from the storm - so That's just the way the stucco crumbles :rolleyes:

[Richard Allen]

Sure Tom, rub it in. We hardly got any rain up here from Isabel let alone downed walnut trees :)

Here's a pic that's reportedly Isabel on her way in...Quite beautiful and admittedly much easier to say that from New Hampshire then it would be from Virginia.


BTW the picture is a composite. The "tell" on the picture is the placid seas. The storm wall is most likely from a thrunderstorm in the midwest. Funny how stuff like this gets spread around.

Thanks

Richard

[Jeff Rich]

The large cedars have been pulled off the road in sections. Most will not make saw logs. Anyone need cedar turning wood? :DCEDAR? as in Eastern Red Cedar? wish I lived closer, I would bring Big Blue down there for a truck load! Cheri, my GF loves turning cedar.

[Barbara Gill]

Yep, Eastern Red Cedar; very large ones.

[Mac McAtee]

BTW the picture is a composite. The "tell" on the picture is the placid seas. The storm wall is most likely from a thunderstorm in the Midwest. Funny how stuff like this gets spread around.

Thanks

Richard

Richard,
Thanks for your comment. I saw that picture and said to myself, "Dang, I have never seen anything like that. My brother would appreciate seeing this."

Mind you, I grew up in Florida. I spent 20 years in Savannah. A great deal of time on the ocean in sailboats. Never seen anything like that. You, my friend, just put a pin in my balloon.

I keep forgetting that people tamper with photographs.

Mac