Turning green pine

[Chris Hachet]

I recently came into some larger pieces of very green pine. Other than sharp tools and cleaning the inevitable spa off of the tools quickly...anything I need to do special when turning this?

[Sam Beagle]

Remove it from the lathe as quick as possible and burn it. Lol. In all honesty. Pine is such a tough wood to deal with and just not a fun experience. There are so many trees out there begging to be turned. Leave the pine for 2x4s

[John K Jordan]

I recently came into some larger pieces of very green pine. Other than sharp tools and cleaning the inevitable spa off of the tools quickly...anything I need to do special when turning this?

The sap in some pine is worse than others. Be prepared in case it slings out of the wood and onto the lathe, wall, ceiling, face shield, and your shirt! We expect the water to do that but it's easy to clean up.

I'd be happier with white pine than Virginia (scrub) pine which is common around here. I run both through my sawmill and Virginia pine has always made a bigger mess, gumming up the blade, my hands, everything.

JKJ

[Chris Hachet]

It's white pine and nice close grained stuff. But it may become firewood if it turns out to be a pain the in butt to turn...

[John K Jordan]

It's white pine and nice close grained stuff. But it may become firewood if it turns out to be a pain the in butt to turn...

Outdoor firewood! Pine and other softwoods may not be good for fireplace chimneys.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have turned green pine back in Tyler several times and had good success. There is the pitch problem and need to clean lathe with mineral spirits or similar after turning. I twice turned allowing to dry and made pieces up to 18" D. Here in Fredricksburg I got some pine and again had reasonable success but pine is not the same quality. Again, sap or pitch is problem.

[Mike Nathal]

Yes, pine is not much fun to turn. But the final results can be rewarding. Especially if you get sections of the trunk where 5 or 6 branches come out nearly on the same plane. The effect is like Norfolk Island Pine without paying the big bucks.

[Chris Hachet]

Outdoor firewood! Pine and other softwoods may not be good for fireplace chimneys.

I have a fire pit in the back yard and no fireplace in the house...so yes...outdoor...but excellent point.

[Damon McLaughlin]

I enjoy turning pine. The ponderosa pine I've been turning has little to no pitch, cuts beautifully with no tear out with sharp tools. Easy to find since no one else wants it around here.



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[Damon McLaughlin]

Well, after posting the above post I can't see my photos for some reason. Maybe someone can fix that for me. But regardless, I do enjoy pine and find it excellent as is or embellished.