Hello,
I've been watching the Del Stubbs video, and it it, he turns green bowls from firewood to finished bowl in one go. How does one do this without having cracks, etc? He just puts them on the shelf after he's done with each of them, and they look fine. I'd appreciate some wisdom on this subject.
CB
Me too.
Just came up for a glass of tea after turning some cherry that was standing in the woods day before yesterday. It's differential moisture content that creates the stress leading to cracks, so if you take the piece to a place where it can't build up a big differential in drying, normally 3/8 or below in thickness, it survives. Warps, but survives. If you can live with the warp, and you know pretty well how it will warp, because you studied The Wood Handbook available here free
Ok... so I have a question..
I have some DRY firewood, (bottom of the pile for 1 or 2 years). Providing theres no serious checks or splits, no reason I can't try turning it to final size?
Mike
You may turn it to final size, but it will probably move a bit anyway. Simply put, wood is influenced by the relative humidity of its environment. The percentages and rules of thumb people spout are meaningless and often worse - incorrect. It's a case of equilibrium with surroundings or not. The greater the section of the wood, the greater the possible differential between the interior and surface. Could be the interior is dryer than the surface, most likely the reverse. If you're talking wood made green but under cover outdoors where air could circulate for a couple of years, should be able to turn smaller pieces or the kind of work that cares nothing about warp start to finish. If you're talking wood stored indoors, you can probably count on making a round piece that will stay pretty round, changing only with its environment.
Nothing we make on the lathe is ever round for long.
The firewood on the bottom of my stacks is generally the wettest, not the driest. Lack of circulation and proximity to the ground keep it from drying like the stuff up top in the sun.
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