Storing Blanks

[Burt Alcantara]

I just cut a large number of logs into various shapes for turning as I can get to them. At the rate I turn I will probably have enough to last a year or 2. Can I put them in a pile or box or should they be stored like boards with air between each one? Thing is, I don't have any room left for neat storage.

Thanks,
Burt

[Terry Quiram]

Burt

When I first started turning I did the same thing. I couldn't get enough wood for turning. I came to realize that it is better to get fresh stock as you need it. You can store your blanks. Anchorseal them will slow down the release of moisture but will not stop it. Your blanks will eventually self destruct. My advice is rough turn as many as you can and alcohol soak them for drying. Your dryed rough stock will store much better and longer.

Terry

[George Guadiane]

I cut and store LOTS of wood, and sell at turning symposiums. I lose more wood in a weekend at a symposium where the relative humidity is ALWAYS lower than where and how I store the blanks.
For all but the largest blanks, I store them in banana boxes, they are STURDY and they will stack up to 5 high (if properly filled). I don't mind spalting, so I'm OK with having them touch (which slows down the moisture loss, but provides more opportunity for the fungus).
I have also used Rubbermaid storage tubs, they are ALSO very sturdy nad when covered lose no moisture... Now the wood continues to dry, and sometimes the tubs have water in them from the process, which can ALSO lead to spalting, but overall, those two methods of storage in a fairly confined moist cool area reduces loss to checking to almost nothing for most of the NE hardwoods that I use... One exception being red oak which cracks when you think about it.
Sorry for the run on sentences.

[Burt Alcantara]

I began experimenting with soaking small unturned blanks in DNA. I'm finding that the small ones, 3"x3"x6" are dry in about 12 weeks in my basement. No warping. No cracks. Fingers are crossed. This is fine for me because most of my turning is boxes.

Next week I should receive my hollowing tools from Trent Bosch. That will be my next endeavor. At that point I will probably rough turn a lot of the larger green blanks and put them away for drying.

I'll join the growing blank pile into a heap which will save me a ton of room.

So far, I haven't noticed any mold in the wood pile but I still keep a cautious eye out.

Burt

[Frank Kobilsek]

Burt

Stack the sealed blanks on a pallet, no stickers needed, indoors if possible. Throw a tarp over the pile. Hope for the best. I cut large logs into slabs which can later be roughed round with the bandsaw or resawn to whatever I need. I have had pretty good luck. My pallet/s are in a pole barn, gravel floor, no heat.

I have had worse luck with air dried boards I purchased at estate auctions. I had an order for 9 walnut bowls. I took a plank from the collection a bandsawed it into rounds. The plank yielded 13 blanks which was a good thing because 4 cracked in the weeks time it took me to turn the order. I think it was moving the plank from the cold storage shed to the garage where the force air heat was running.

Wood storage is like fishing, you'll loose a few.
Frank

[michael gallagher]

I have also used Rubbermaid storage tubs, they are ALSO very sturdy nad when covered lose no moisture... Now the wood continues to dry, and sometimes the tubs have water in them from the process, which can ALSO lead to spalting,

I never thought of the Rubbermaid storage idea...thanks for the hint, as I have literally half a dozen or more of the large tubs sitting empty in my attic.

[John Hart]

Another thing to consider Burt is that turning blanks love cool, dark places....just like bats, spiders, and my first wife.:p With winter coming on, that'll help...but Boise is pretty dry in the winter, so you might want to provide some humidity in the form of a tray of water or even a vaporizer. But really....cold is good and direct sunlight is devastating. Stacking them without stickers is ok too. Anchorseal is an extremely good idea....without it, you're gonna lose a lot of blanks, no matter how you store them.

[TYLER WOOD]

If you have plenty of blanks already cut. Store the other wood in log form with the ends coated in paint or anchorseal. Prevents most checking for me. I do loose some logs, but I have lost more blanks than logs.

[Burt Alcantara]

All of the log segments that I've heavily waxed ane are aged close to or over a year have large cracks. For this reason I've begun to cut them into blanks. I do have a few large bowl blanks that are of the same age but they have remained stable. Why? No idea.

Over the next week I'm going to convert all of my wood into blanks. With winter rapidly approaching along with $4+ a gallon, I'm hunkering down into the shop and won't emerge until everything is blanked and turned (yeah...sure).

Burt

[Richard Madison]

Does anyone store their wood as half logs, i.e. cut through the center or even with an inch or two of pith removed, but otherwise left as 2', 4', or longer half logs (with the ends sealed, of course)? Have had a few pcs. of post oak that held up fairly well this way, but very small number of data points.

[Jude Kingery]

Burt and Richard, we pretty much do as Tyler suggested. Sometimes halve the logs, but lots of times just wax ends and they store ok. Probably mostly depends on what kind of wood you want to store, and how arid your climate is. We also do what Frank suggested and use a pallet to stack the wood. Best to you, Burt! Jude

[George Guadiane]

Does anyone store their wood as half logs, i.e. cut through the center or even with an inch or two of pith removed, but otherwise left as 2', 4', or longer half logs (with the ends sealed, of course)? Have had a few pcs. of post oak that held up fairly well this way, but very small number of data points.
I sell blanks, so I TEND to cut stuff up and pack it so that I'm not cutting blanks at the last minute, but I still have several log lengths slabbed and stacked with the pith line cut out and the 1/4 sawn stuff in the stack. Sealing the ends REALLY helps. Kep them stickered and stacked in as weather neutral a place as possible (in the shade).

[Burt Alcantara]

George,
As a seller of blanks, what saw do you use for you HF blanks? When I began making my box and HF blanks I was very careful to make the neat and symmetrical. After cutting what seems like a thousand blanks, I'm just ball-parking.

I'm going to assume that you make your blanks "pretty." What saw are you using for this?

Thanks,
Burt

[Dale Gregory]

I sell blanks, so I TEND to cut stuff up and pack it so that I'm not cutting blanks at the last minute, but I still have several log lengths slabbed and stacked with the pith line cut out and the 1/4 sawn stuff in the stack. Sealing the ends REALLY helps. Kep them stickered and stacked in as weather neutral a place as possible (in the shade).


I tried taking a few maple logs this summer and cutting them into 2 pcs. and with the pith layer removed, sealed the open grained leaving the bark on the outside and stacked them in a barn on shelves. Just looked at them this month, and they have deep cracks going from the bark inward on the outside edges. Look to be a complete waste. I always thought the cracks would start at the pith and move out? Should I have removed the bark and sealed that also?

Dale

[George Guadiane]

George,
As a seller of blanks, what saw do you use for you HF blanks? When I began making my box and HF blanks I was very careful to make the neat and symmetrical. After cutting what seems like a thousand blanks, I'm just ball-parking.

I'm going to assume that you make your blanks "pretty." What saw are you using for this?

Thanks,
Burt
Yes,
I make them "pretty." I have a grizzly with a 10 inch height. If I want a longer HF blank than that, I make the stock square (up to 10 by 10) and turn the corners off.
Bandsaw blades by Suffolk Machine. I use the 1/2 inch by 3tpi AS, but if you call Suffolk, they will ask you a bunch of questions then tell you what you need for the jobs you want to do.

[George Guadiane]

I tried taking a few maple logs this summer and cutting them into 2 pcs. and with the pith layer removed, sealed the open grained leaving the bark on the outside and stacked them in a barn on shelves. Just looked at them this month, and they have deep cracks going from the bark inward on the outside edges. Look to be a complete waste. I always thought the cracks would start at the pith and move out? Should I have removed the bark and sealed that also?

Dale
:eek: YIKES! :eek: I have no idea why you got that result. Sounds sad. Were the barn shelves on an outside - southern wall? Heat might have gotten to them, even inside. Other than that, I have no suggestions.

[Dale Gregory]

:eek: YIKES! :eek: I have no idea why you got that result. Sounds sad. Were the barn shelves on an outside - southern wall? Heat might have gotten to them, even inside. Other than that, I have no suggestions.

They were inside, but they were stored during the summer with about 2 months of 90F days. I guess it was the heat, the wood was pretty dry. I did manage to savage a few bowls. Turned them down to about 1" thick and filled the cracks with CA. Will wait a few months and finish turning, we shall see if they survive.

[Burt Alcantara]

George,
I also have a Grizzly -- G0555 with riser. I had been using the same blade as you mentioned but recently switched to the 3/4x3 VPC. My problems have been drift and deflection. I'm beginning to believe that my bandsaw problems are tensioning.

When I put a fresh blade on, I can cut anything anywhere anyhow. The blade cuts like butter. But after a dozen or so big cuts I get the deflection.

I initially use the flutter method for tensioning but notice that after a short while I get random flutter, as if the blade is vibrating at a very low frequency, i.e., 1 flutter per 5-6 turning cycles.

I'm squimish about adding more tension for fear of breaking the blade, especially while the saw is running. I called Suffolk and they said to add more tension. I'm curious about how much tension I can add before I hit the "red zone."

Burt

[George Guadiane]

George,
I also have a Grizzly -- G0555 with riser. I had been using the same blade as you mentioned but recently switched to the 3/4x3 VPC. My problems have been drift and deflection. I'm beginning to believe that my bandsaw problems are tensioning.

When I put a fresh blade on, I can cut anything anywhere anyhow. The blade cuts like butter. But after a dozen or so big cuts I get the deflection.

I initially use the flutter method for tensioning but notice that after a short while I get random flutter, as if the blade is vibrating at a very low frequency, i.e., 1 flutter per 5-6 turning cycles.

I'm squimish about adding more tension for fear of breaking the blade, especially while the saw is running. I called Suffolk and they said to add more tension. I'm curious about how much tension I can add before I hit the "red zone."

Burt
You can call Timberwolf and tell them of this issue and they will tell you to tighten the blade. ALL of their recommendations seem to be for light to moderate users, people who don't push the envelope.
I was having similar problems and called them, they were very nice and walked me through everything I was doing, then told me to use higher tension.
The red zone is unknown to me, I have tightened till my fingers couldn't and have broken only one blade in probably 50, and I think that ONE might have been defective.

[Scott Crumpton]

Has anyone tried sealing all surfaces of the blank, letting the sealer dry and then wrapping the blank in plastic stretch wrap to further slow drying?

---Scott.

[Burt Alcantara]

Scott,
Sealing a blank completely and then wrapping in plastic will not allow the blank to dry and possibly promote mold. I have a few 100% sealed squares from Woodcraft. Some friends told me to scrape off the wax from the long grain so it would dry out.

Burt

[Dale Gregory]

:eek: YIKES! :eek: I have no idea why you got that result. Sounds sad. Were the barn shelves on an outside - southern wall? Heat might have gotten to them, even inside. Other than that, I have no suggestions.

Yep, stored them all summer in the barn, and had a couple of months of 90F+ temps. That makes sense that they may have just dried out too quickly.

Dale