My first wood gloat....how do I handle all of this? (Long post!)

Tom Baugues

Member
Messages
2,790
Location
Lafayette, Indiana
A friend of mine had told me that I could have this wood if I came and cut it up and hauled it away. I looked at it about a month ago and really thought it looked like a rotted out tree stump. Well now that I have my lathe all set up and a few new tools bought I'm ready to give larger turnings a try. I didn't have any wood to "play" with so I had the day off work today and thought I would go over to my friends house and at least cut into this log...just to confirm that it was indeed rotten. Well, it was not rotten at all. In fact it is very beautiful Walnut. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to get it cut up into smaller chunks. I say smaller but some of them are still HUGE. My friend came home about the time I was done and he and his boys helped me load them into my truck. Some of this stuff is 20 inches across. I cut all this with my 16 inch Craftsman chainsaw. I tried to cut some of them into blanks but my chain saw did not like cutting with the grain like that and it became very difficult to cut. Almost impossible. I even put a brand new chain on my saw. Anyway...now I have lots of questions. How does one deal with this much wood at one time? There is no way I can rough out all this on the lathe. I will have to store most all this outside somewhere. Should I still cut it all up to get rid of all the piths? Then seal just the ends with ancorseal? Will it be ok outside with just a tarp over it? I do want to cut up a few blanks to work with on the lathe in the coming few weeks. I'm new at all this so helpful information is appreciated. I just received my DVD from Bill Grumbine today so I look forward to learning all about this large turning.

Tom
 

Attachments

  • Walnut resized.jpg
    Walnut resized.jpg
    105.1 KB · Views: 68
Wow, congrats, Tom. That's a gloatworthy haul for sure. :thumb:

I'd recommend cutting out the pith as soon as you can, and getting the end grain sealed on the pieces you're not planning to turn in the next few days. Most of us use Anchorseal, which is sort of a wax-based "paint" you brush (or roll) on the wood. Rockler sells a similar product they call Green Wood End Sealer. You can also use other things like latex paint (a great use for the lime green your wife had leftover from the guest bathroom project) or even Elmer's glue thinned a bit with water. Although a lot of folks seal only the end grain, I prefer to seal all the cut faces, end grain or not.

It's not necessary to cut them into their final blank sizes, and in fact it can be useful to leave them a bit oversized for now. That way if they do start to check a bit on the ends, you can trim it back to good wood before you turn it.

I store most of my turning wood in a shady part of the back yard, under a bunch of juniper trees where it's somewhat protected from the elements. I seal it, but don't cover it. That works in my climate...your mileage may vary.

The timing for Bill's video to arrive couldn't be better. In it, you'll see some good advice for cutting and treating the blanks. I believe he's got a good example of ripping a log (cutting with the grain). If you cut straight into the end of the log (end grain), it's tough going. If you cut lengthwise along the side of the log (following the direction of the grain), the cutting is much easier. You might also need to sharpen the chain on your saw.

Have fun, and be careful with the chainsaw. :D
 
People often say to use Anchorseal soon after cutting the blanks. How soon is soon? I mean...I'm sure it's best to do it right then and there but is it ok to do it several days later? Or do I need to stay up late tonight and get it all done tonight?
 
I wish I knew enough to talk here Tom, but I'm a lower skill level than most on this board. But, I've cut green wood that will split in literally 30 seconds after it's cut...almond, walnut and pistachio are noteworthy here. Before someone else mentions it...yes, they are all fruit woods as that's what I have access to. If you're talking a different wood that someone has more experience with...go with what they say.
 
Jim, you make a valid point. Earlier this spring I cut down an Apple tree in my back yard. I simply cut it up and stacked it as I was going to use it for fire wood. It was about a week later while on vacation I saw a guy selling items in a local market that he had turned on a lathe....thats when I "got the bug". I returned home from my vacation and started shopping for a lathe. I went to this wood pile of Apple and it had almost all cracked so bad that it is mostly useless. All within about 2 weeks. So I do understand that some woods are more prone to this than others. This Walnut log has been down about 2-3 years but my concern was that now that I have it into chunks I hope it does not start to split overnight. I hope to get all this wood sealed tomorrow. I went out tonight and bought a chain sharpening jig and files. I will give them a good edge tomorrow before I start.

Tom
 
Tom this is just how I do it. I don't care if the wood has been down or is green when I cut it I seal it right then. I have found that even with the tree down for 2 to 4 yrs it can still have stresses and moisture. 2 yrs ago I cut up a walnut log that had been down over 3 yrs. I went ahead and cut it up thinking I didn't need to seal it because it was dead and down for so long. The next morning I went out and it had cracked bad enough that all I got out of it was blanks big enough to turn lidded boxes. I got 2 bowls out of a 6 ft long log. This is just my experience. I agree with Vaughn you don't need to cut bowl blanks right away. Just make sure you get the pith cut out.
 
I think you'll be fine waiting until tomorrow to seal the blanks. Even if you do see a little bit of checking, it's not likely you'll have any real deep cracks to deal with this soon after cutting it. I wouldn't wait a week, but a day or two should be no problem, especially since the tree is not freshly cut.

[Edited to add...] Sounds like Bernie's seen it go quicker than I have. Your haul should be OK overnight, and you can seal it tomorrow right after trimming out the piths.
 
[Edited to add...] Sounds like Bernie's seen it go quicker than I have. Your haul should be OK overnight, and you can seal it tomorrow right after trimming out the piths.

Vaughn I think it depends a lot on where you are. I know out here in the summer with 95* to 105* temps if it gets above 15 to 20 percent humidity we are lucky. I believe Jim Burr said it but I have had green wood crack after cutting one half of it. When I started to cut the pith out of the other half the one on the ground was cracking. Most times in the summer if I am not going to get to them soon I will leave them in longer log forms and seal the ends.
 
Well...a wise man once said

"The next morning I went out and it had cracked bad enough that all I got out of it was blanks big enough to turn lidded boxes."

Bernie I should have taken your advice. I went out to my truck this morning and this is one of the larger peices. It was a peice cut from the very end of the log and so it may be more prone to cracking than the rest but....This crack is about 16 inches across the 20 inch piece.
The rest of the wood is not as bad and I am working on it now. I'm cutting all the pith out and sealing it all.

Tom
 

Attachments

  • 724 resized.jpg
    724 resized.jpg
    64.2 KB · Views: 20
Last edited:
Tom all I know is out here it doesn't make any difference if it has been just cut green or down for 3 or 4 yrs it will crack. I think there is enough moisture still contained and I know there are still stresses in the wood. I know our humidity here ranges from 9 % to 25% during the summer and not much better in the winter. We run a humidifier in the winter because it is so dry. I think on that one you could probably cut either side of the crack and maybe be ok. Hope all goes well for ya Tom.
 
Can someone tell me how this should have been cut. I tried to get the most out of each log. My lathe will only handle a 12 inch piece and some of these were 20 inches across so some of them I tried to get three cuts from them. As you can see in the photo the red line in what I drew on the log for my cut line with the pith circled. I ended up changing my cut a little and drew that on this photo in black. The log is already cut so please don't suggest that I do it a different way because it's too late now. However I would like to know if this was ok or a better cut should have been made.
The other question I have is everyone says to cut out the pith. Does this mean to just cut through it or do I need to actually cut on each side of it and remove it from the blank. I found myself making several cuts per log to remove the pith.

Tom
 

Attachments

  • 726 resized.jpg
    726 resized.jpg
    117 KB · Views: 17
Tom if I am turning right away I will cut thru the pith. If it is going to be awhile I will cut either side of the pith. Don't see a thing wrong with your cut. What kind of lathe do you have Tom? I was wondering about size. I generally will just make two cuts. One on either side of the pith.
 
Bernie I have a Rockwell 46-451. It is a 12 inch lathe. I can go about 16 inchs in the gap and I did end up with a couple thin slices that I want to try like that sometime. When looking to buy it I remember you and others telling me that it might be a little small but I was hoping it would be plenty big.....LOL Again..I should have listened better. Oh well...I have what I have....and I will make do with it for now.

Well, I finally have it all cut and sealed. I ran out of sealer so I found some old ugly latex paint in the garage and finished it with that. I will have to start buying this by the gallon. Now I just have to find somewhere to stack all this. That will be tomorrows project.

Tom
 
Tom, I'm with Bernie. I usually just cut through the pith if I'm turning it right away, but I'll cut an inch or two on either side of the pith if I'm going to store it for a while. I think the cut you illustrated above is a great way to do it.
 
Top