Elementary Turning Blank Question

Hi all,

Okay, I don't turn and know nothing about turning. In another thread I discuss cutting down several knotty maples in my yard. My question is, in order to cut/save some "turning blanks" for my lathe-mongering Family, how do I cut them?

1. Are they just square blocks of wood with a knot or burl in the center?

2. I understand I should coat them with Anchorseal (assuming I can get it in Canada) while they are waiting for a new home. Is there any substitution for Anchorseal? Beeswax?

3. How big should the blank be? How much margin do I leave around each knot or burl?

4. Should I remove the bark before coating them? and if so, how? with what tool?

THANKS
 
If your "lathe-mongering Family" is going to pick them up, just save some sections and let them do more of the work. Try not to cut through the middle of a burl (unless it is huge). The portion just above ground level will likely have some curly figure it in that they will love. If you need to cut it up for some reason, best to talk to the lathe owners about what size they want.
 
This site has a brief description o cutting a basic bowl blank...

http://www.nestlerode.org/Fun_with_Chainsaw/turning_blanks.php

Burls would be handled a bit differently, but this the basics.
 
Cynthia as to preserving them you can coat the ends with pva paint if you have some lying around. Color wont matter just need to seal the ends.

BYW if you really want to get fancy and have a substitute for anchor seal in Canada you can get this at Lee Valley and its meant to do the same thing.

As to how to cut them i will leave to the turners here to comment on. My skills and knowledge in that department leave a lot to be desired.:rofl:
 
Cynthia as to preserving them you can coat the ends with pva paint if you have some lying around. Color wont matter just need to seal the ends.

BYW if you really want to get fancy and have a substitute for anchor seal in Canada you can get this at Lee Valley and its meant to do the same thing.

As to how to cut them i will leave to the turners here to comment on. My skills and knowledge in that department leave a lot to be desired.:rofl:

Thanks everyone:

Rob, what is "PVA" paint? I don't know about the fancy part, but I will be driving by a Lee Valley next month........:D
 
Just your normal water based house paint. Acrylic paint. Its cheap if you have some left over cans or your turner family might have some. Rather than you shelling out for special stuff. Save the coin for tools of your own.
 
Another cheap way to seal the ends, though not as good as a green wood sealer like Anchor Seal, is take regular white glue, and mix it 2/3 glue 1/3 warm water, then paint that on.
:thumb:
 
Thanks all.

If I'm sealing big pieces, should I put sealer over the bark too?
YUp....

Sorry Don, but I disagree. If it's a half log shape, it ruins the chance for making a bark-edged bowl. Also, you really only need to seal the end grain, and there is no bark on the end grain. (I usually seal all the cut faces.) If it's a slab with bark on one or two of the thin faces, it's not going to lose much moisture through the bark edge. The end grain and fresh-sawn face grain will lose moisture much faster than the edges with bark on them.

Cynthia, the link Alan pointed to is good basic info, but like cats, there are a bunch of different ways to skin a log. This is one of the best references I've seen for illustrating how a turned piece (and thus a turning blank) can be oriented within a log:

http://www.woodturnersresource.com/extras/projects/Log_to_turn_Object.pdf

Since it's likely you're going to end up with more wood than you can turn in the next couple of months, I'd suggest leaving the blanks as big as possible in half log chunks (after removing the pith). That way, if you do have a bit of checking (cracks) after a few months, you can just trim it off the ends of the blanks to get to the good wood. In other words, if I have a 12" diameter log, I'll cut it into 18" lengths (or so), then cut the pith out of the middle (like Alan's link shows). Then I seal the ends and optionally seal the cut surfaces, and each half is ready to be stored until I'm ready to turn it. If there's any checking, I'll trim it off and end up with a 12" blank. If no checking, I can get a 12" blank and a 6" cutoff that can also be turned into something. On the really big stuff, I'll typically cut it into smaller, more manageable pieces, keeping in mind how I'd like the grain orientation to end up, as illustrated in the PDF file I linked to above. On blanks that have all six sides cut, I'll typically seal each face, even though only the end grain is critical.

And I agree with Dennis...if there are local folks who will be picking any of it up, leave it in as big of chunks as you (or they) can handle, and let them do the grunt work and cut the blanks how they want. :)
 
Just your normal water based house paint. Acrylic paint. Its cheap if you have some left over cans or your turner family might have some. Rather than you shelling out for special stuff. Save the coin for tools of your own.

FWIW, my experience using the 'latex paint' method of wood sealing has not been favorable. I'm no expert by far, but I've always been of the understanding that latex paint 'breathes', thus allowing moisture to escape. This prevents the paint from blistering, but is the opposite from what we want in this application.
 
Alan, like you, I've also had mixed results with latex paint, but some breathability is actually desirable. The idea behind sealing the ends is not to completely stop moisture from leaving the wood, but to slow it down considerably. Anchor Seal and other wax emulsion sealers also allow moisture to escape, but just much more slowly than untreated wood, especially end grain.

BTW, welcome aboard. Always good to see new faces around here. :wave:
 
Disagree with the 'ends only' suggestion.
A hunk of burl from the crotch or roots is ALL end grain.
Best would be to dip in melted paraffin.
That not being possible, slop on whatever sealant is available on whole chunks.
 
You can also use parafin from the store and shread it up then mix it with MS in any container.......some say 50/50 but i add a bit more parafin and make it thicker.........I put it outside in the Calif heat and in a day or two I have a thick paste that can be brushed on.....works very good if you don't have anything handy.......you can adjust the consistency by adding either if you want.........i suppose you can heat it up other ways to melt quicker but I have not tried.............
 
Since it's likely you're going to end up with more wood than you can turn in the next couple of months :)


Next couple of months? :rofl::rofl::rofl: Vaughn, I don't turn AT ALL. I'm giving away this weird stuff to the turners--that's why I'm asking all the questions about how to prepare the wood properly until I get it to them. I'm just going to keep the lumber. But a couple of people in my other thread suggested that I wait until fall to cut the trees or the wood may turn "sour". I have to get in touch with a sawyer and ask that question because I was going to get them cut down next week......

THANKS so much everyone. I really appreciate it.

Cynthia
 
Next couple of months? :rofl::rofl::rofl: Vaughn, I don't turn AT ALL...

Well then, I was right. It is more wood that you're gonna turn in the next few months. :p

My bad...I've met a couple other ladies recently on another forum who are starting out on the lathe, and I mistakenly mixed you up with them. :doh:
 
Well then, I was right. It is more wood that you're gonna turn in the next few months. :p

My bad...I've met a couple other ladies recently on another forum who are starting out on the lathe, and I mistakenly mixed you up with them. :doh:

What she really means is that she does not turn yet:thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Come to the dark side Cynthia........................ we have cookies:thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Top