Turning wet vs dry?

[Toney Robertson]

I have as of yet only turned dry pieces. My family owns about 90 acres of wood so I need to grab the old chainsaw and see what I can find. About 20 years ago we had about 300 trees logged out so maybe some of that would be spalted and still usable.

What can I expect when I get around to turning something wet?

Is there enough water that I should cover stuff with plastic?

Can you turn frozen wood?

Any other differences that I need to watch out for?

TIA

Toney

[Ron McKinley]

Until recently I had only turned dry wood. Then I started getting green or wet wood and that's so much easier to turn and it's really fun seeing the long strings of shavings coming off the piece! :)

Green turning is easier on your tools since you don't have to resharpen as often. The downside is having to rough turn and wait a month of so to finish turn. I want it now! :) Waiting is not in my psyche--but the older I get the more patient I get and I now have several bowls drying in paper bags.

I live in the Mojave Desert so about a month is all I have to wait to finish turn........Ron

[Reed Gray]

Don't know where you are located, but most wood that has been down in a forrest is probably mulch, or cracked beyond salvage. I love green wood because it cuts so much easier. Two choices on turning green wood: turn to final thickness (1/4 to 1/2 inch), slow dry for about 2 weeks, then sand the warped bowls out, or turn thick (10% so a 10 inch bowl leave about 1 inch thick) seal, and slow dry for a couple of months, them remount and return. These will stay fairly round after returning. Drying is the hard part, too fast and they crack, too slow and they mold and spalt which can be a good thing. Exactly how to dry them can depend a lot on what your local weather is like. On the floor in a cool spot in your garage, on a shelf, in a plastic bag, in a paper bag, in a pile of shavings, boil then bag, and a few other methods. Of course, some woods are easier to dry than others. As a friend said about Madrone (one of our Northwest natives) "that stuff starts to split when you fire up the chainsaw!". Find some one local, or close by to help, or learn from.

I have heard that frozen wood turns fine. If you are turning very wet/green wood, you may need to put up some cheap shower curtins, and have wipers for your glasses and face shield, especially if the wood is a bit stinky.

robo hippy

[Ron McKinley]

Forgot to mention about turning frozen wood. Never had any wood to freeze so I can't really address that. I've read others that say NO......Ron

[Toney Robertson]

I am in central Indiana. Sorry, I had forget to list that in my bio.

[Bernie Weishapl]

The only problem I can see with all the wet wood I have turned is to make sure you clean your lathe off when done. The bed will show rust the next morning if you don't. Other than that I like turning those long wet curlies and it is a lot easier on this old body. I don't mind waiting for it to dry a month or so after DNA soak.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Toney,

I can tell you this. I turned nothing but dry wood for about 4 months. Then I turned my first green wood......saw that long string of wet curlies shooting over my shoulder. Shut off the lathe...ran to the house....got the wife....brought out to the shop. Repeated the process.....she wasn't nearly as impressed as I was.....:confused: Turning wet wood is a dream after turing dry wood but it has it's down side as reported above....Some it cracks.....most of it warps...but it is still the method of choice in my shop.

Where are you at in Central Indiana. My mother lives near Heltonville....I go there regularly.

[Raymond Overman]

As others have said Toney, you can turn green wood to final thickness and let it warp (this is what I do with natural edge pieces and hollow forms usually) or you can use a turn and re-turn method for turning round bowls (salad bowls, decorative bowls, etc).

The key to green wood is to remember that it will shrink across the grain much more than it will the length of the grain. If I have a green log, I try to keep it in 4-6 foot lengths until I'm ready to turn it. I stand it up with one end on the ground and I coat the other end with a wax emulsion sealer. When I'm ready to turn, I cut a piece off of the un-sealed end and stand it back up. I've found this works fairly well for minimizing checks in the wood.

When you turn a bowl from a green piece of wood, turn it to 1/10th the diameter of the bowls thickness as stated before. Then put the roughed bowl to the side. Some turners like to date and weigh the piece of wood to keep up with it. Weighing it can help you determine when it's dry. It will lose weight during the drying process. I usually put it on the shelf under a shelter out of the sun. If it's summer, I'll even go so far as wrap it in brown shelf paper and put it in a plastic bag. What I'm doing is trying to create a micro-climate where the moisture level stays somewhat constant. I'll turn the plastic bag inside out every three or four days for a few weeks. You'll see that the bowl has changed shape and is oval as well as it has lost water weight.

From there you can true up the tenon between centers and return the outside and inside of the bowl to final thickness. By leaving it thick in the previous steps, you should have enough wood to make it round again.

[Toney Robertson]

Toney,
Where are you at in Central Indiana. My mother lives near Heltonville....I go there regularly.

I had to Google earth Heltonville. I saw that it is south and a little east of Bloomington (God's country). I am just north of Kokomo which is 50 miles north of Indy. Probably around 3 hours from here to Heltonville.

Got to try the green. Sounds fun.

Toney

[Toney Robertson]

As others have said Toney, you can turn green wood to final thickness and let it warp (this is what I do with natural edge pieces and hollow forms usually) or you can use a turn and re-turn method for turning round bowls (salad bowls, decorative bowls, etc).

The key to green wood is to remember that it will shrink across the grain much more than it will the length of the grain. If I have a green log, I try to keep it in 4-6 foot lengths until I'm ready to turn it. I stand it up with one end on the ground and I coat the other end with a wax emulsion sealer. When I'm ready to turn, I cut a piece off of the un-sealed end and stand it back up. I've found this works fairly well for minimizing checks in the wood.

When you turn a bowl from a green piece of wood, turn it to 1/10th the diameter of the bowls thickness as stated before. Then put the roughed bowl to the side. Some turners like to date and weigh the piece of wood to keep up with it. Weighing it can help you determine when it's dry. It will lose weight during the drying process. I usually put it on the shelf under a shelter out of the sun. If it's summer, I'll even go so far as wrap it in brown shelf paper and put it in a plastic bag. What I'm doing is trying to create a micro-climate where the moisture level stays somewhat constant. I'll turn the plastic bag inside out every three or four days for a few weeks. You'll see that the bowl has changed shape and is oval as well as it has lost water weight.

From there you can true up the tenon between centers and return the outside and inside of the bowl to final thickness. By leaving it thick in the previous steps, you should have enough wood to make it round again.

Raymond,

I have always admired your pieces. When you turn to final thickness using wet wood, I assume that you have to sand it wet. How does that work?

Can you get it really smooth when it is wet? Does it fuzz up when it dries?

What about finishing? Do you finish it wet? If so, what kind of finish do you use?

Excuse all the questions.

Thanks,

Toney

[Toney Robertson]

The only problem I can see with all the wet wood I have turned is to make sure you clean your lathe off when done. The bed will show rust the next morning if you don't. Other than that I like turning those long wet curlies and it is a lot easier on this old body. I don't mind waiting for it to dry a month or so after DNA soak.

Bernie,

Thanks for the info. Have you ever thought about covering the ways and associated metal with plastic before turning? Or would that be more hassle than just cleaning before leaving?

The DNA has worked well for you? Are there certain species that it does not work well on? I will probably be turning mostly domestic woods.

Thanks.

Toney

[Raymond Overman]

Raymond,

When you turn to final thickness using wet wood, I assume that you have to sand it wet. How does that work?

Can you get it really smooth when it is wet? Does it fuzz up when it dries?

What about finishing? Do you finish it wet? If so, what kind of finish do you use?

Excuse all the questions.

Thanks,

Toney

No problem Toney. I do not sand when it's wet. I usually let it dry over three or four days then sand it. Most of the time I'll leave the tenon on (1/4") and then rechuck it so I can sand on the lathe. I don't turn the lathe on and I use a angled drill with a 2" sanding pad. I turn the spindle by hand to get to it.

For finish, I either use deft spray lacquer or a mix of boiled linseed oil, mineral spirits, and varnish (1 gal./1 gal./1 qt. respectively). I mix the latter in a 5 gallon bucket and dip pieces. I then let it drain upside down on chicken wire over the bucket and wipe it down with rags from old blue jeans. After that dries, sometimes I'll buff it with carnauba.

[John Fricke]

I've turned a few pieces that were frozen...Wear Gloves...it feels like your hands are getting ice blasted as the curlies come off.

[Reed Gray]

I do power sand my warped bowls. I with the outside, I have the lathe on as slow as it can go, usually in the 10 to 20 rpm range (one advantage of the PM3520A over the B model is a slower speed). I usually spin by hand when starting to sand the inside. After the first grit (usually 120), then I will leave the lathe at very slow speed, unless the bowl is really warped.
robo hippy