Newbe Questions

[Dahl Troy Perry]

I'm new to turning and have no idea what I'm doing. Have a Record bowl lathe . Question 1 the wood that you buy from stores(like Rockler) that is coated with a wax like coating what is that and is the wood green or dry? when you turn green wood how much stock do you leave to turn later when dry and how long dose it take to dry? What is the best to start with ?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dahl - Welcome to the Creek!

The coating on the wood is a wax/water emulsion that helps prevent the wood from drying out and cracking. So, any wood with the wax on it is green.

Basic rule of thumb when turning green is to leave the walls 10% of the diameter of the piece. This allows you enough wood to play with to get the piece round again after it drys and warps.

Number of different ways to dry wood. Place the rough out in double brown paper bags and packed with wet shavings. The idea is to slow down the drying process. This takes about 6 months to a year depending on where you live and the temp/humidity.

DNA process (denatured alcohol) you soak the blank, wrap in brown paper with the inside of the bowl or hollow form open to allow air to flow - set aside for a couple of months.

Best wood to start with is - free wood! Find some local wood from a firewood pile, someone cutting down trees, etc and learn to turn on it. No sense paying good money for wood until you have the basics of turning under control.

Best suggestion is to join a local turning club and get some one-on-one time with other turners. Will save you lots of frustration trying to figure things out for yourself.

Have fun with it. AND remember - we like lots of pictures!