Wet wood

it depends on what you want to end up with. The easiest to turn is wood straight from a freshly fallen tree. However, as it dries the piece will warp because of the nature of how wood dries. So, you will need to do one of the following, rough turn and let it dry several months and then finish turning, turn it and microwave it, boil it or treat it in any of several other ways (these are of different degrees of effectiveness.) My preference is to rough turn and let it dry until the moisture content stablizes with the surrounding air.

If you want the piece stable when you finish it, then you need turn dry wood. Dry wood will not give you those long streamers as the wood comes off, and will be more difficult, but the piece will be stable when you are finished.

Deb

Aww, you skipped turn it sopping wet to finished form, and enjoy what happens as it dries. Fancy oval turning with out a fancy ornamental lathe. Some belt sander or returning (or pin routing, for the fancily equipped) is usually required to make them sit flat, but they can be quite satisfying (and if they are not, they burn just fine). In my youth I turned some birch bowls with walls so thin they were flexible even after they dried. I'd hate to try that from dry stock.

I have never even seen a moisture meter. I rough turn while wet (green) leaving a thickness of about 10 % of the diameter in bowls. Then I put them in paper bags with the top rolled over and set them in the un-heated, un-cooled part of my shop. After about a month I start weighing them every two weeks and writing the weight in grams on the rim. When it stops losing weight it is about as dry as it is going to get in that environment. Then I turn it.

as wet as possible. Particularly for fruit wood - keep it under water until you can turn it so it doesn't check, then turn to final size and thickness in one session - turn to a wall thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 and it will not split.

Well all this is bad news,I will never get through it before it dries out. I just felled two gums that were 18" at base and there is another that fell down up the back yard about six months to a year ago,it is still above 30% cause I measured it wondering if it was ready to burn. Probably gum is not the best for turning, I am new at this game.

the way you get better is to turn what you have - if it comes out nice, great, if it's junk, great. strive for art, strive for technique - you will become better, your technique will improve and when you look back on your early "great" items, you will see them as crude and inelegant. But this all requires making the things and failing - so just make stuff.

On Sun, 1 Jul 2012 2:48:50 -0500, F Murtz wrote (in message ):

Each piece of wood has its own rules - how it likes to be cut and so on. Part of this "game" is trying to learn what the wood's rules are, and then working it, following those rules. If you can't be with the wood you love, then love the wood you're with. Cut up a chunk of that gum so it will fit your lathe, find a speed that will not make the lathe dance around, and will not be frightening, and do some lathe work on it. You will discover what works and you will learn. Listen to your "gut" and if it does not seem safe, stop and figure out what would be safer. Once the wood is roughed out to round and reasonably well balanced, you can be a little more adventurous.

Either the wood will get used, or it will be allowed to rot, or it will be cut up for firewood. As long as you work safely, you have nothing to lose. This is a great chance to explore and learn. You may very likely also surprise yourself plus get some memorable pieces in return. Folks have made some nice stuff from gum. The turning Police will not hunt you down for making something that is not of show quality. Go for it.

Follow the advice found here for preserving and preparing some turning blanks, but also be willing to work on some of this wood fresh from the stump. It's all good. tom koehler