Disappointed in results

[Ken Glass]

Hey gang,
What might have gone wrong with this Heritage Birch HF I was about to start finish turning? I rough turned it to about 3/4-7/8" thickness. It is about 12" tall and 8" diameter. It was green when I started. I soaked it in DNA for 48 hours and wrapped it in a paper sack up to and over the rim about an inch and tapped it to the rim. I let it sit for about 14 days upside down on a rack and here is the result. It has deep cracks running up from the bottom and the rim is cracked all the way through. I don't think is at all salvageable. What did I do wrong? This was a great looking piece of Birch when I started, and a have several hours in it as it sits. What can I do the next time to keep this from happening?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ken - sounds like you did everything right. The way the form checked tells me (and I'm no expert) that the wood dried way to fast. Sounds like you had it wrapped correctly, so the only thing I can think of would be heat. Something had to cause the rapid moisture loss. I've had a couple of bowls I had wrapped and stored in my shed. Summer heat destroyed them in 2 days - lesson learned, at least for me!

Hope some one else can come up with something to help you out!

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
It was drying in my shop in the basement, at about 70 degrees or so. Should I have put it in a cooler place to dry?

[Bob Hallowell]

Ken,
not sure what happened to it but sometimes it just does. But I would fill those cracks with tuquoise or something similar if I was you and finish it you might be surpised how it turns out.

Bob

[Richard Madison]

Sure looks like what Steve said. Next time you could
anchorseal the whole piece and let it sit for maybe 9 months. Or you might try sealing it a snug fitting plastic bag. Open the bag every few days or once a week to let moisture escape and rebag in a dry plastic bag. It may mold and mildew on the surface, which looks bad but will disappear when you finish turn. Also might spalt, and a little spalting is ok as long as it does not get punky. Just some stuff to try, but not on an expensive piece of wood.

Oh yeah, remembered another one. Wrap the piece in paper, preferably brown paper sack, and seal that in clear plastic. Inspect regularly, and when the paper sack is saturated with moisture, replace with dry sack and reseal in plastic.

The idea, of course, is to slow the drying process but not stop it completely. Surely someone will have additional suggestions.

Edit: What Bob said, but let the piece dry a couple or six months and then fill cracks w/ epoxy and additive of choice.

[Jim Underwood]

A cooler place to dry is always a preference. The more slowly you dry a piece the less chance of cracking. Of course some wood is more prone to crack than others. If I remember right, birch is one of those. And springtime is always the worst time of year to cut wood for turning because it's so wet. I just hope all my peach holds up to the drying in this heat.

But if this hollow form were mine, I'd be packing it full of super glue and coffee. Those cracks are giving it a lot of character right now. Put tape in the inside of the crack (if you can reach it) and fill it up! Then go to work turning with a really sharp tool and a light touch.

But if you do that, be sure to stand out of the line of fire and wear plenty of protection.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ken - I wouldn't think 70* would be a problem. I turn a lot of white birch and have to admit that they check very easily. The pattern of the checks reminded me of the way my bowls cracked from heat - which is mainly just having the wood dry out way to fast. Heat could be a factor, how you wrapped the form could also have allowed moisture to escape - could be any number of things including having the wood starting to check during the roughing out process. Remember that the wood is drying the entire time it is on the lathe.

I've turned a lot of forms with cracks - some I've filled, most I just left alone. Only you can judge if the cracks are a hazard or not. You may want to try filling them - even if it is only with CA glue for support.

Good luck - looking forward to seeing one of your hollow forms real soon. If not this one - the next one for sure!

[Greg Ketell]

I'm with Bob on this. Fill those cracks and get turning. It will turn out beautiful.

If you don't feel like it will do you justice send it to me. I'd love the headstart on my first HF. :D

Seriously, keep going!

GK


Ken,
not sure what happened to it but sometimes it just does. But I would fill those cracks with tuquoise or something similar if I was you and finish it you might be surpised how it turns out.

Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with the above. Some woods and birch is one that I think will crack no matter what you do. I have found if I turn it from start to finish and give it a soaking in Antique Oil I have had pretty good luck. I just take a foam brush and paint it till it won't take anymore. Wipe down and let dry. I usually put on 3 coats after each dries for 24 hrs. I have not had good luck soaking a HF and then drying.

The other thing I do for cracks is to mix 5 minute epoxy and then mix in some DNA to thin it. I paint in on the cracks if they aren't to wide and if they are I use some sanding dust to fill the crack and then paint the epoxy on. I always let it dry for 24 hrs. even though it is 5 minute epoxy to give it time to cure in the wood. As Bob said you could use brass filings or turquoise or coffee grounds.

[Ken Glass]

Thanks to all. This forum is a wealth of information. One never seems to be alone with the problems that pop up. I think, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I'm going to try to fill the cracks with whatever might look OK, and go for it. If it turns out I will show the results. If not, I am sure the experience I gain, will be worth the effort.

[Jerry Sambrook]

If you get another chance at something this size, try loosely packing the inside with some of the shavings you took off the piece, and put an inch or so around it (room permitting) when you put it in the paper bag.
This also helps to slow down moisture loss.

Also, can you tell if the cracks originated from some sort of "defect" as in figured areas or branch piths. If so, next time, when you get another beautiful piece like this again, try oiling or sealing the pith areas

Just my two cents

Have a great day
Jerry

By the way, great job

[Burt Alcantara]

Ken,
A neighbor gave me a few logs from a young apple tree. The first 3 I turned did this exact thing. I've since put a heavy coat of wax on the remaining log ends and have packed them away for storage. I'll revisit them in about a year or so.

My shop is very dry so they may season sooner. Some woods are like that.

Burt

[Barry Elder]

Sorry for your loss! Just pack it up and ship it to me and you can go on to your next happening!
The way I read your post, you set up the outside to dry much more slowly and didn't do anything to the inside, so it dried much faster and therefore the wood cracked. Don't know if that's so, but the idea of putting wood chips on the inside is a good idea.

[curtis rosche]

i dont know if this will work with bgger peices but i know it worked with some smaller ones, after i took the wood out of dna, i put it right into vegtable oil, after a day or 2 i took them out and they are still crack free

[mike fuson]

By looking at the picture my guess is that you left the pith in the piece. One side of the tree pulls and draws different from the other side of the tree. When cutting your blank with a chainsaw it is best to always cut the pith out that way all the anualar rings in your turning are from the same side of the tree and they all move the same direction. I only learned this about a year or so ago from in my opinion an expert. I was loosing about 1/3 of my pieces to cracks, now that I know to ALWAYS cut the pith out I rarey even have a slight check. Hope this helps

[Ken Glass]

Again,
All great ideas to try. I am going to try the coffee crystal method with epoxy this time, and see what the result looks like. If presentable, I will post it for all to learn from. If not, well, Ive got several more Birch logs to try . Thanks again to all who responded.

[Scott Conners]

Your description isn't completely clear, but it sounds to me like you taped paper to the outside of the form but didn't cover the opening. If that's true, then the inside of the piece dried much more quickly than the outside, which could have caused the cracks. I was taught to wrap the entire piece in paper, so that the air can't carry away moisture from any one place, and it has time to work it's way out from inside the wood.