Hickory Hangover?

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I rough turned my first Hickory bowl blank this evening. Now, here is what I'm thinking. I've heard all this talk about how hard Hickory is and how it works folks to death and so I was expecting the worst.:eek: Well, the worst never came.:confused: As a matter of fact the turning experience was pretty pleasant.:) Now I'm thinking that maybe this Hickory isn't the same kind you guys have been talking about or you've never turned the same kind of Live Oak I've been talking about. Then I thought your Hickory may have been dry and when I go to do the second turn after the DNA bath and drying period, I will find out what you've been trying to tell me. Anyway no matter how it turns out I think from the looks of it, I may just end up with a great looking bowl.:D

[John Hart]

Cool.;) I think you're right though. The hardness is yet to come. I had the same experience with some Ash. Very pleasant green and but burned my hands on hot shavings coming off the tool. The hickory I worked with never made it to the lathe for finish turning though, because of the warping. Just sanded it by hand and gave it away to someone who liked the football look.:)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris....let us know how it turns after drying...



John......was the football look or the horse "road apple" look?:confused: :rolleyes: :D

[Bill Boehme]

I just skip the drying part before final turning and turn hickory all the way when green. I was given some ash, but by now it is very dry and hard so it probably will wind up being firewood.

If you turn hickory so that it is well away from the pith and make it thin warping will be minimal.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

Weren't you the turner who delved into turning oak from the get-go??? :)

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Weren't you the turner who delved into turning oak from the get-go??? :) YeP!! that's why this Hickory thing seemed funny to me.:D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Always thought hickory was a beautiful wood but that made me stop and ask - where's the pictures?

Looking forward to seeing the finished bowl!

[Bob Hallowell]

Chris,
I made a chisel mallet out of some dry hickory fire wood my dad. And yea it was tuff to turn. Hard as a rock!

Bob

[Gary DeWitt]

Maybe you are so used to that darn oak, the hickory seems easy to turn!

[Cody Colston]

Green Hickory turns fine, very pleasant experience. Dry Hickory is another story. It is very hard and like John Hart mentioned, the chips spewing out the flute of a bowl gouge will burn the side of your hand if you are using an overhand grip. I've taken to wearing a fingerless leather glove on my left hand just to protect it from the heat. Frequent sharpening touch-ups are a must.

BTW, if you've ever turned dry Pecan, then you know how dry Hickory turns. They are very similar woods.

As for pictures, I believe Andy hoyt has posted many pics of spalted Hickory pieces here.

[George Tokarev]

Green is always easier, of course. Think pasta.

Still, there are some things you can do to help your case on the dry end as well. First and foremost, don't rush. If you put pressure into the equation you build friction which manifests as heat, push shape which increases your possiblity of catch, and make your arm tired to boot. Sharp's sort of a mantra, but if you think about it, this is more forgiving of a dull gouge than willow, but less forgiving of an improperly presented one.

Distortion is a function of the orientation and interval of the annual rings, of course, just like all wood. Hickory in most varieties has a huge radial shrink percentage, which means you want to stay off the heart on the top rim for sure, because the sides will drop almost twice what they do on say, cherry.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Just out of curiosity, I just checked the Texas Trees Database. It shows five different elms in Texas under twenty different names. Mabye that's the reason why the cat didn't pee on my popcorn, who knows?:) :D

[Mark Pruitt]

Then I thought your Hickory may have been dry and when I go to do the second turn after the DNA bath and drying period, I will find out what you've been trying to tell me...
Hello Chris.......this is your Hickory calling......come get me.....I'm waaaaaaiting.......heh, heh, heh......:p :D

[Paul Engle]

Chris let us know how it goes ,a co-worker here wants a hickory bowl set to match their new kitchen.. I am leary and think I will look for commerical out let for the 8/4 and 12/4 planks kiln dried ( if anybody knows a place holler out )that i need to make them. I told her that I would do test piece first no charge and see how much fun it is. Tried to talk them into birch but that did not work...:(